Pula

Pula travel guide

For shopping, culture or arrival by air, Pula is the place. Read our essential Pula travel guide for things to do, restaurants, hotels, nightlife, shopping and more...

Written by
Justin McDonnell
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Pula is as urban as Istria gets. It is indisputably the region’s commercial centre, and is home to almost half its population. The city’s growing status as a happening focus of the arts has been enhanced thanks to two recently opened exhibition spaces: the spectacularly renovated former church of Sveta Srca; and the ramshackle but promising Museum of Contemporary Art of Istria. The Pula Film Festival in July continues to be the biggest show in town, although the city has been catapulted into the music festival premier league with the recent appearance of two major four-day events: Outlook (big names in dubstep and reggae) and Dimensions (the same but with some more cutting-edge DJs).

What the town lacks in terms of attractive waterfront it more than makes up for in terms of antiquities. The original Roman Forum remains the major meeting point with cafés offering outdoor tables. Pula’s impressive Roman amphitheatre, or Arena, hosts events all summer. The city’s sprawling waterfront includes a port handling close to one million tons of cargo every year, a marina for yachters, a forested stretch of beach with a promenade and, outside the centre, resorts, built in the 1960s and 1970s in Verudela and neighbouring Medulin. 

Pula overview

Pula overview

So important to the Romans they built their sixth-largest amphitheatre here, Pula became a Roman colony a century after they first arrived in 177 BC. It...

20 great things to do in Pula

20 great things to do in Pula

Istria’s historic main city of Pula is symbolised by its Roman amphitheatre, scene of a surprisingly wide range of outdoor events every summer. Festivals of...

Pula beaches

Pula beaches

Central Pula has no beaches itself but it does not take long to reach some pleasant spots of coastline. The nearest ones at Stoja and along Lungomare between...

One day in Pula

One day in Pula

Located on the southwestern tip of the Istrian peninsula, Pula is an exhilarating mix of urban grit and Roman antiquities, with secluded rocky beaches a short...

Things to do in Pula

Things to do in Pula

The must-see attraction is, of course, Pula’s amphitheatre. Set a short walk north of the city centre, its outer walls are remarkably preserved, and a...

Where to eat in Pula...

Great Pula restaurants

Great Pula restaurants

Downtown Pula has a handful of reasonable restaurants; those on the outskirts, in Verudela and Stoja, also offer a sea view. In...

Amfiteatar

Amfiteatar

  • price 2 of 4

With culinary star Deniz Zembo (owner/chef at Le Mandrać in Volosko) overseeing the menu, this recently opened venture aims to deliver traditional...

Where to drink in Pula...

Pula bars and café guide

Pula bars and café guide

Pula’s many good bars, cafés and nightspots are not always in prominent locations. P14 and Scandal Express are classic downtown bars the discerning first-time...

Pula nightlife guide

Pula nightlife guide

For mainstream clubbing, arrange for the taxi driver to head north-east of the centre. The best venue there is Aruba, with a bar outdoors and crowded two-room...

Where to stay in Pula...

Pula hotel and accommodation guide

Pula hotel and accommodation guide

Downtown Pula has a handful of mostly rather modest hotels. The classy options are all 5km south of town in Verudela, which is accessible by bus Nos.2A and 3A,...

Valsabbion

Valsabbion

  • price 4 of 4

This family-run upmarket B&B contains ten immaculately conceived rooms, half of which have sea-view balconies, all are equipped with fine taste. Of the...