Oprtalj

Oprtalj sits on the ridge on the northern side of the Mirna valley, looking directly across at Motovun on the opposite hill, and it has stayed the quieter of the two. The town is entered past a Venetian loggia standing open on the edge of the drop, where the community's business was once conducted in public. Several chapels around the town carry fresco work from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, notably St Mary's outside the walls. The Parenzana, the old narrow-gauge railway line now converted to a trail, passes below, and the woods on the slopes are truffle ground.

Highlights

• An open loggia at the edge - the Venetian loggia where town business was done.
• Frescoed chapels - fifteenth and sixteenth century work around the town.
• Motovun across the valley - the two ridges face each other.
• The Parenzana below - the railway turned trail.

When to go

May to October. Half a day.

Good to know

Chapels are usually locked. The town is small and services are limited, particularly outside summer. The road up is narrow with tight bends. It is much quieter than Motovun, which is the point.

Nearby

Motovun is across the valley; Groznjan is north-west.

Key facts