Parenzana Trail (section through Oprtalj and Livade)

The Parenzana was a narrow-gauge railway that linked Trieste with Poreč (Parenzo in Italian, hence the name). The Trieste to Buje section opened in April 1902 and the line reached Poreč in December 1902. It ran for 123.1 kilometres on a 760 mm gauge, with 35 stations, nine tunnels and six viaducts, winding across the hills of what is now Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. It never paid its way, and the last train ran on 31 August 1935. Today much of the old trackbed is a walking and cycling route, the Parenzana trail.

The section through the municipality of Oprtalj is one of the most scenic in Croatian Istria. The line ran between Završje and Livade, with its own stop for Oprtalj (Portole) below the hilltop town, and then dropped into the Mirna valley at Livade. The gradients are gentle, as on any railway, which makes the route manageable on foot or on a bike, but the countryside is hilly and the trail surface is mostly gravel, so a mountain or trekking bike suits it best.

Livade, in the valley below Oprtalj, is the best place to start or stop. Its old station building, a two-storey stone house in the style used along the whole line, survives, and a Parenzana museum opened in Livade in 2007. Further along the line toward Motovun the route passes through tunnels, including the Motovun tunnel, so a light is useful.

From the trail there are views of the hilltop towns that make this part of Istria famous. Oprtalj itself sits on a ridge above the valley, with a town gate, a loggia and the lion of St. Mark, and Motovun rises on its hill across the Mirna. Livade is known for truffles, which grow in the Motovun forest along the river.

The trail is free and open at all times. Combine a ride or walk along the old line with a visit to Oprtalj's old town above.