The Unexpected Pleasure of Rijeka, Croatia

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There seems to be little of the Croatian coast that tourists are not familiar with these days. From Dubrovnik to Pula, tourists have flocked to admire this pristine coast and the delightful destinations found along it. Looking at a map of Croatia, I was rightfully confused when planning my most recent visit that I hadn’t heard more about Rijeka. It is after all, the third biggest city in Croatia. So why was it I hadn’t seen much about visiting Rijeka before?

Keen to find out for myself what the city offered, Rijeka was a natural fit in my Croatian itinerary. Before venturing onto Istria, I spent a few days in the city even though I didn’t know what to expect. I hedged my bet by staying somewhere where I could catch up on work too if needed. The rainy March weather did mean I spent a fair amount of time indoors, but I did get the chance to go out and see the city and came away thoroughly impressed by what this unassuming port city had to show me.

It may not be the textbook Croatian coastal destination that people rush to visit, but Rijeka was a pleasure to visit nonetheless.

Some Background on Rijeka

Before I get to what I liked about visiting Rijeka, perhaps some background info might help you place it. A port city on the Kvarner Bay, Rijeka lies just off the popular Istria peninsula where places like Pula and Rovinj are found. While Rijeka is down on the water, its immediate backdrop is hills that stretch out into fairly mountainous part of Croatia. This gives the city a bit of the sense that its wedged against the waterfront.

As far as Rijeka’s history goes though, the city follows a path quite common for this region. The city sits upon the site of where the ancient Roman settlement of Tarsatica once stood, with the odd ruin still visible today. It’s valuable coastal position meant that it changed hands many times during the Middle Ages. It wasn’t until the Austrian Habsburgs bought the city, then known as Fiume, that things settled.

With Austria’s loss in the First World War, both Italy and Yugoslavia laid claim to the city. While now most of the population in Rijeka are Croatian, back then it was far more mixed and Italian was the largest ethnic group. This mix though gave the city a far more independent nature and spirit that the local Fiumans still pride themselves on today. You can sense a little of that today, especially if you hear the local Fiuman dialect that blends Venetian Italian with Croatian, Hungarian and German.

The Port Waterfront

The most obvious feature of Rijeka being a port city is its waterfront. While there is an industrial port area, the parts of the waterfront closer to the city centre are more general public spaces lined with boats and yachts. The waterfront promenade can be a nice place to walk about especially if you like admiring different sorts of boats.

You’ll also see the Molo Longo breakwater here, which seems to stretch forever out into Kvarner Bay. Even though it’s a long walk, the views you get out over the bay towards the Istrian coast are pretty special.

The Korzo and City Centre

To explore the city centre of Rijeka, it’s best to start with the Korzo pedestrian street. Spanning the city centre, the Korzo is where you’ll find some of Rijeka’s most striking buildings and major landmarks. There’s plenty to take in as you walk along, but two spots that jump out at you are the Venetian-looking City Hall and the City Clock Tower. The clock tower is hard to miss among a row of apartments with its yellow facade and double-headed eagle on top.

Head further into the Old Town and you get led into a maze of backstreets that climb up one of the closer hills. Small squares pop up here and there, as well as the occasional Roman ruin. Right at the upper part of the city centre you’ll reach the historic Saint Vitus Cathedral, notable for its circular design.

But the church that really stood out to me in Rijeka was the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes opposite the bus station. It’s beautiful striped design and intricate flourishes made me think of the churches I’d seen in Italy, from Genoa to Lucca.

Rijeka Architecture

One of the features of Rijeka that really stood out to me was the city’s architecture and colour palette. The combination of mustard yellow and copper green roofs around Rijeka really reminded me of places I’d seen in Zagreb. I never really saw this look anywhere else on Croatia’s coast and the baroque architecture made me think of Austria more than anything. It was actually here that I made a connection between the architecture in Croatia and in Trieste to the north in Italy.

As mentioned before, the Korzo is one great place to see the city’s architecture, another being City Park. The buildings here give off the feeling that Rijeka was once a much grander place. One look at the Croatian National Theatre, even undergoing restoration, would support that view. Then there’s my favourite building in the city, the Rijeka City Library seen below.

Rijeka Marina

One little spot in Rijeka that I really quite liked was this beautiful little marina east of the city centre. Besides all the small boats there, you get a nice view of the surrounding hills and will find a number of monuments and memorials along the shore. The two memorials that are hard to miss are the Liberation Monument with its figures atop a column and the monolithic end to the Bridge of Croatian Defenders. I can only imagine how much nicer it is in summer!

Visiting Rijeka Croatia

It’s nice to know that there were other sights in Rijeka that I didn’t get to, like the Trsat Fortress on the hilly outside the city. It would have also been pretty easy to make a day trip to Opatija too, which looked beautiful on my bus ride to Pula. Since my purpose for visiting Rijeka was only partly focused on sightseeing, I’m quite content with what I did see there.

Certainly one of the strengths to a stop in Rijeka is that it seems to be a transport hub of sorts for the region. If you’re going from somewhere like Zagreb over to Istria, then a stop in Rijeka is likely. With the local bus network there are multiple connections a day with Zagreb, even in the off-season, as well as regular buses over to Rovinj and Pula.

Even though Rijeka is nowhere near as popular as other Croatian coastal spots, finding somewhere to stay in Rijeka isn’t hard. That said, the vast majority of places are apartments, which come with their own pros and cons. You do get some privacy and facilities to cater for yourself, but check-ins require more planning and you fewer opportunities for local advice.

Would you consider visiting Rijeka? Do you know of other places on Croatia’s coast that seem to get overlooked? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

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