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A walk with a story

Around Koper on foot

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While we can’t physically take your hand and take you with us, we can write down, where we would have taken you, were we to show you around our city.

The trip will be short, but memorable. You will have several routes available, and will be able to choose your favourite one.

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Tavern and Carpaccio Square

Just a few metres from the Grand, you will find Koper Tavern or the former St. Mark’s salt warehouse. The warehouse was erected in the 17th century, next to the wall and the old Koper mandrač (harbour). Today, the Tavern mostly serves as a site for various events. From one side, there is a view of the Koper’s harbour, while from the other, the view of the colourful Carpaccio Square. At the latter, one can find the Pillar of St Justina, a well in the shape of a capital as well as a house carrying the same name – Carpaccio House It is said that the famous painter Vittore Carpaccio was born there.

Would you like to continue along the town centre streets or by the sea?

Let’s walk along the streets of the town centre

Let’s continue along Kidrič Street, populated by numerous interesting buildings, such as the Church of St. Nicholas and the Oratory of Holy Trinity, Servite Monastery, Totto ex Gavardo Palace and the Belgramoni – Tacco Palace, which today serves as the site of the Regional Museum. If you are a history and traditions buff, the Regional Museum is a must. There, you will get to know the beauty and glamour of Koper’s Renaissance and Venetian period, get to marvel the wonderful artefacts from the prehistoric and Roman ages as well as be able to enjoy the amazing museum garden, the lapidarium – this one is really special. From here, we only have a couple of metres to Koper’s main square.

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A walk by the sea can also be a blast

From Carpaccio Square, you can also continue your journey of discovering Koper along the town harbour, make a stop at the town beach, called “The Wet Cat” by the locals, and take a panoramic elevator to the beautiful Belvedere view point. From there, you can continue past the Verger Square and the Theatre of Koper, and you will find yourself at Koper’s main square – Tito square.

Tito square and the Praetorian Palace

The main town square, which remains the centre of the town’s hustle and bustle even today, is surrounded by magnificent palaces, a city tower and a cathedral. Take a walk to the city tower’s viewing platform and take a bird’s-eye view of the square and the colourful streets of the town centre.

Through history, the square had various names: Plathea comunis, Plathea comunitas, Piazza, Piazza Roma and others, but in 1946, it was named after Marshal Tito, the former president of Yugoslavia.

Don’t forget to stop at the elegant Praetorian Palace and discover the secrets of its rich history. The palace once served as headquarters for town leadership, while today it serves as an important protocol building and town hall. It is also home to a tourist-information point. You will definitely get a couple of interesting tips on how to spend your days in Koper.

Along the main promenade

From the central square, turn to a street with the genuine city throb…

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Cobbler Street (Čevljarska ulica)

It is called that way, as in the past it used to be a home to numerous cobbler workshops, and today it is a home to many small shops and workshops. You will surely be amazed by one of the attractive shops, where you will quickly find an interesting present or two. There’s no shortage of historical buildings at Cobbler Street – you will find various palaces, houses with special architecture, Gothic windows, façades with paintings as well as other remains of the Baroque period. Some are situated a bit away from the street, so you should look carefully where you walk.

At the end of the street, there’s another decision to be made: continue ahead, to the sea, or left to another interesting town square with a unique story?

To the Muda Gate

We love buildings … Always! Muda Gate is one of the most important of Koper’s sights, as it once served as the main city gate of the twelve gates of the outer wall. Today it is also the only still preserved city gate. There used to be a bridge there, to connect Koper with the mainland … Yes, Koper used to be an island. There is also a part of the city wall by the gate, while at the side by the square, you can still see a preserved old washbasin. But there is another sight to see, hiding at the square – the largest town well, the De Ponte Well that was mentioned as early as 1423.

Do not worry, it took us just a few minutes more, and now we are already returning towards the sea …

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To the searight away!

Continue straight past the Gortan Square and we are almost back at the starting point. Probably you’ve noticed the gorgeous promenade and a large green city park, when arriving at the hotel, and you could also see them from the window. And that is what living by the sea is like – enjoying the fresh sea-side air and a view of the wide-open sea. And if there is the most interesting of Koper’s parks with recreational areas, water elements, an area for events, children’s playground and beach volleyball pitches in the vicinity … Even better!

The design of the park was awarded an international award, “The Plan Award”, in the landscape architecture section.

The promenade can take us all the way to the swimming complex Žusterna, which also includes an Olympic-size pool. And farther!

Do you dare go farther still?

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Former sea-side road, connecting Koper and Izola

On foot, by bike, kick scooter or skate-board … one can continue along the former sea-side road all the way to Izola. The side of the former road is dominated by a line of churns, and travellers have a view of the flysch cliff-wall and the sea with all its richness – this important ecological environment is home to 1800 different plant and animal species. Here you can also find the Neptune grass (Posidonia oceanica). Watch the rocks along the way – one of them is painted red. It marks the spot where the largest and fastest Italian trans-Atlantic passenger ship, the legendary Rex, sank during the 2nd World War. It was 40 meters high, had 12 stories and could carry 2032 passengers./p>

Did you know that loggerhead sea turtles and common bottlenose dolphins live in the sea here?

To the bird paradise on foot

If you would like to visit a different kind of nature, we recommend you visit the Škocjan bay. You can also go there on foot. It will take you about 25 minutes from the hotel. Natural reserve Škocjan Bay is a 122 hectare large Mediterranean wetland and at the same time the largest semi-saline marsh in Slovenia. It can be a wonderful location for a trip, a walk or a run – it also includes an interesting educational trail.

Škocjan Bay is particularly important due to its rich biodiversity, as more than 1400 different plant and animal species have been observed there. Birds are of key importance – in the last 15 years, 252 different bird species have been observed in the area, which amounts to 60 % of all the bird species observed in Slovenia.

What did you like the most during the walk? Write to us, tag us on one of the photos, that you will (we are sure) post on your social media.

For more tips, visit www.visitkoper.si, where you will find a lot of content and stories of the town of Koper and its surroundings.

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