Novigrad is really one of my favorite towns in Istria. I hope that these photos will bring you a taste of this charming Istrian town. It’s the smallest seaside town on the west coast of Istria. But there are few reasons why I like Novigrad so much.I love to have an aperitif at wine bar Vitriol (right at the seafront, always busy, and covered terrace open almost all year around). You can find me often there, sipping a glass of local white wine while enjoying the sunset. Novigrad features some of the best seafood restaurants in the entire Istria. Bigger is not always better: being smaller than the neighboring towns, Novigrad features less big hotels, and is less crowded during the summer. I have a weakness for walled towns (I’m from Quebec after all).
Here is my photo journey through Novigrad, Istria.
Novigrad photos
The very first thing you will notice in Novigrad is its fishing harbor. This is a lovely place with fishing boats, fishermen, fishing nets, and lots of sea gulls.
Fishing boats here have lots of black flags hanging on the boats. I still don’t know what’s their purpose. (If you do, please let me know in the comments below)
Novigrad town walls are beautiful. Some houses are even part of the fortification walls with the windows looking toward the sea. Take a stroll around old town’s fortification walls.
Old town Novigrad reminds of many Italian fishing towns. Its pastel colored houses, tiny streets and passages, give a timeless charm to this Istrian town.
Old Venetian loggia, overlooking the sea and Lanterna peninsula, is the only Venetian loggia found in any Istrian coastal town. Venetian loggia are mostly found inland.
The sea can get rough here. There are few long protective piers in the town.
Vitriol Bar with its superb seafront terrace is my favorite place for an aperitif. Following photo will tell you why.
Finally two photos of Novigrad beaches. Both of them are located north of the old town.
Thanks, Jennifer. Next time you are around, let us know and we can have a glass of wine together. Or even visit few wineries together. That would be great!
Lovely! We popped by Novigrad and had dinner there a few months ago after visiting a few wineries in Istria. Lovely little town!
*whistles* Would you look at those views! I could certainly enjoy a glass of wine while taking in the scenery here. Feel like I had a mini-vacation just enjoying this blog post. By the way, I also enjoy Quebec ;P
It looks stunning the colours are so vibrant yet so peaceful. I love being near the sea so this will be a place to check out when we get to Europe.
I needed to check on the map quickly Novigrad when I was seeing your lovely post.
I must share: there are little places on the E coast with very similar imagery than these you show! I totally thought they were the ones not far from Opatija (little villages)…. Cheers :D
Each time I visit this blog, I regret having cancelled my trip to Croatia way back in 2012, can’t wait to visit it, it looks absolutely amazing!
Thanks for stopping by, Kelly! Yes, that’s exactly what we often do. Just wander around for hours.
Thanks for stopping by, Tara! Have you visited Novigrad?
Thanks, Jonny! Yeah, life is pretty simple. We just need to realize it and have fun :)
Thanks, Istria Outside My Window! Oh, Vitriol is a great little place. It’s been closed for the first time for almost two months and my life just wasn’t the same. Pathetic?! Seriously, aperitif by the sea is all I need to be happy :-) (ok, they also serve you a bowl of crisps, and olives)
Thanks, Sam! Yes, it is a small fishing town, so I am not surprised that you haven’t heard about it before. Glad to introduce Novigrad to you, though :-).
Thanks for stopping by Sharon. You are right that this is kind of old world charm. However, Australian scenery, although different, is hard to beat :-)
Thanks, Gabor! I think you are referring to another Novigrad – also a seaside town but near Zadar (this one is in Istria, close to Slovenia & Italy). We keep using the same names for different towns – don’t know why, I guess just to confuse everybody :-)
That must be an explanation, Samantha! Thanks! It is certainly not for a fashion reasons :-), ’cause they look messy. Although still cute in their own way.
Thanks, Monika! East coast of Istria has actually IMO a bit more dramatic scenery. Higher mountains, nicer pebble beaches… However, boat coasts are nice in its own way. Thanks again for stopping by.
Thanks so much, Chris! You just made us blush :-). It’s really very cute town, and certainly very colourful.
Lol, SJ! I used to bring here all the friends who were visiting us, and Vera’s question always was: Why to Novigrad? Until she took the time to explore it. Now it’s her favorite town in Istria too.
Thanks, Ashley! After SE Asia, we’ll be waiting for your visit :-)
Novigrad just looks stunning! I am so jealous of this type of scenery as it just does not exist here in Australia, well at least the town scenery. We are not short of water and boats :)
Gorgeous photos as always! I’d love to go to here :)
what about a beautiful and colourful place!
to be honest i have never heard of this place but it s really beautiful – thanks for the introduction!
I really have to commend you for the quality of your pictures! Every photo post you put together have a series of great images that encourage folks to visit the region. Novigrad is clearly one of those smaller towns in Croatia that is less recognized around the world but with such a beautiful marina and the colorful houses, I am sure that people will start flocking there to explore for themselves!
Man, we decided to skip this place last week. What a mistake, I had no idea it was so darn pretty. Even prettier than Rovinj! Drugi put!
Nice place where you guys are at, warmer than Quebec right? :-) Bonjour alors! :P
I noticed the E coast of Istria looks similar to all these beauties, am I right? Nice photographs, Cheers!
I would absolutely love to go here! The city walls and the colourful houses are soooooo pretty. I think I could happily wander around this town for hours just enjoying the scenery.
Great photos. What a charming little town. History and beaches, really what more could you ask for?
Gorgeous photos as always! Looks like a nice place to visit. From my understanding, because there are lots of boats with black flags out in the Gulf where I live is that the black flags are for the birds. I could be wrong but that’s what someone had explained to me.
Such a beautiful city – Novigrad! Thank you for sharing.
Novigrad, another a small town in Croatia with such interesting history (much part of it connected to Hungary), they were able to defend the city from the Turkish army. I love reading about these places you write about. Colorful photos, they just make you want to be there. Thanks for sharing!
I haven’t been to Novigrad for a long time… the next time I feel like heading to the seaside, I’ll be heading there. An aperitif at a seaside cafe sounds perfect!