Bale

Bale is a compact stone town built in a ring around the Soardo-Bembo castle, whose Venetian gothic front faces the main square, and the streets behind it are narrow, quiet and largely unaltered. What has put Bale into the scientific literature is underground: a quarry and a submerged site on the coast nearby have produced substantial dinosaur remains from the Cretaceous, among the more important finds in this part of Europe, and a small exhibition in the town covers them. The town has been careful about development, and in summer it runs a modest festival programme in the castle courtyard.

What you actually see

• A castle at the centre - the Venetian gothic Soardo-Bembo front.
• A ring of stone streets - built around the castle and little altered.
• Cretaceous dinosaur finds - from a quarry and a site off the coast.
• A small exhibition on them - in the town itself.

When to go

May to September, when the summer programme runs. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The town is small and an hour or two covers it. The dinosaur exhibition is modest and the sites themselves are not open. Restaurants are few. It works better as a stop between Pula and Rovinj than as a destination.

Nearby

Rovinj is north-west; Pula and the Brijuni ferry are south.