Umag, Umag

Umag is an Istrian town in which each step turns a different page of history. The place of honor is held by the very oldest relic - an early Chrustian sarcophagus in the old town core. Just a few steps away, Garibaldi street awaits with its crooked walls and the remaining foundations of the tenth-century town gates. An old cannonball, bearing witness to the times when they were a common sight in the area, is still lodged in the wall behind the parish church.

The Church of the Blessed Virgin, more than 250 years old, is the most remarkable cultural edifice in Umag. Its chief treasures are Baroque marble altars and its eighteenth-century organ. An old defensive tower now houses the Museum of Umag, where archeological finds from Roman times can be seen, and their replicas bought as souvenirs - reminders of this charming part of Istria.

The Sepomaia Viva festival offers another opportunity to step into the past. Old crafts and traditional dishes then come out of hiding, and there are even gladiatorial fights.

Umag is well-known for the tennis tournament Croatia Open, which some of the white sport's biggest names have taken part in over the past two decades. This tradition continues to attract many famous faces, and not just from the world of sports. The tournament is spiced up by auxiliary entertainment and musical events, meaning it does not take a sporting type to enjoy the Umag atmosphere at this time.

Lovers of nature should not miss Umag's many parks, the most popular of them being Squirrel park, where the quaint little animals are a hand's breadth away. The Umag Aquarium is home to about eighty Adriatic plant and animal species in elegant tanks, while the simplest way to enjoy nature is of course a walk in green environs, or a swim on one of the many beaches.