Pula (Pola in Italian) is a nice town at the tip of the Istrian peninsula, Croatia. Once a predominantly Italian city, Pula was occupied by Yugoslavia in 1945 and formally annexed in 1947. At that time those Italians who had not already moved to Italy went into exile. Today there still is an Italian minority and many locals speak Italian. Most tourists visit in the summer months, with most tourist trips and restaurants closing between October and May.
The city lies on and beneath seven hills on the inner part of a wide gulf and a naturally well-protected port (depth up to 38 m (125 ft)) open to the northwest with two entrances: from the sea and through Fažana channel.
Today, Pula's geographical area amounts to 5,165 hectares (12,760 acres), 4,159 hectares (10,280 acres) on land and 1,015 hectares (2,510 acres) at sea, bounded from the north by islands Sv. Jerolim and Kozada, city areas Štinjan, Veli Vrh and Šijanic forest; from the east area Monteserpo, Valmade, Busoler and Valdebek; from the south with the old gas works, commercial port Veruda and island Veruda; and from the west Verudela, Lungomare and Musil.
PLACE TO VISIT
The Arena, the 6th largest surviving Roman amphitheatre. Towering over the nearby buildings this huge structure was barely saved from destruction several times during its life, mostly by various Venetians with plans to take to to Venice stone by stone as demonstration of the might of the Venetian empire. Many stones were taken to build houses and other structures around Pula, but fortunately this practice was stopped before the whole structure was destroyed. Entry (20 kn) gives you access to wander the inside of the Colosseum and visit the caverns beneath. The audio tour is very worthwhile.
The Forum is the main square in the center of the city. The square is built on the place of the ancient Roman forum. On the square there is city hall that was built in 10th century (parts of an old temple were used for the building as it can be seen on the rear side of the hall) and the Temple of August, from the first century.
Archeology Museum (12 kn).
Zlatna vrata (Triumphal arch, 1st century BC), Dvojna vrata (Twin gate, 2-3rd century), Herkulova vrata (Hercules gate, 1st century BC).
St. Francis church and monastery, 14th century
Orthodox church, 6th century
Kaštel, a Castle from the 17th century features Istrian history museum
Malo rimsko kazalište, Little Roman theatre behind the Archeology museum
Mornaričko groblje, Sailors' cemetery (1866. - about 150 000 soldiers of Austro-Hungarian nations were buried there) and Mornarička crkva, Sailors' Church
HOW TO REACH
By Air - Pula has its own international airport with daily flights to Zagreb, and direct services from many European cities including Amsterdam, Edinburgh, London, Manchester, Oslo, Vienna and Zurich. Ryanair operates direct flights from London three times a week. Many flights to Pula are charter rather than scheduled, while other flights are seasonal (summer only). There is a scheduled bus service from the bus station in town to the airport. Buses are operated by Brioni and connect to most major flights. The cost of a one-way ticket is 25kn. A taxi from the bus station to the city should be around 85 kuna in the low season and much higher in the summer.
By Land - The large and modern bus station is located on the edge of the 'old town' district and is the hub of local, domestic and international bus routes. There are direct buses from Zagreb, Rijeka, Split, Trieste, Ljubljana, Belgrade and Venice.There is also a train station near the waterfront with services serving Istria and into Slovenia due to historical circumstance rather than back towards the rest of Croatia (though a connecting coach service operates for services to Rijeka and Zagreb). Ticket prices, timetables and other information are on the Croatian Railways website.
By Sea - Hydrofoil services operate from the wharf both around the Croatian coastline, and across to Venice. These are pricey, though provide a quick journey and provide some great views. Venezia Lines ferry connects Pula with Venice. It runs five times a week, travel time is around 3hr.
