Portoroz

Portorož, the port of roses, became a resort in the nineteenth century on the strength of the saltworks next door: brine and salt mud from Sečovlje were used for treatments, a grand hotel was built in 1910, and the bay filled with hotels and a casino. It is now the main beach resort of the Slovenian coast, a strip of hotels along a made beach with a palm-lined promenade, and it remains a spa town, with the salt pan mud still used in the treatment centres.

History

The bay was named Portus sanctae Mariae de Rosa in 1251 after the church of Our Lady of the Rosary that stood here, and the Benedictines of the monastery of St Laurence treated rheumatism and other illnesses with concentrated salt water and saline mud. Its modern growth as a resort began in the late 19th century, and in the early 20th century it was one of the grandest seaside resorts on the Adriatic (Wikipedia, Portorož).

What's there

• The promenade - the palm-lined front running the length of the bay.
• The brine treatments - saltworks mud and brine used in the spa centres.
• The 1910 Palace Hotel - the grand hotel that established the resort.
• The marina - the main yacht harbour on the Slovenian coast.

When to go

May to September for swimming, with July and August busiest and most expensive. Spa treatments run all year. Winter is quiet with many hotels closed.

Things to know

The beach is made and mostly concrete platforms and imported sand, and it is packed in August. The resort is modern and has little historic character; Piran next door has all of it. Prices in season are the highest on the coast.

Nearby

Piran is west, and Secovlje Salt Pans are south.

Key facts