On the way to Plitvice Lakes, a beautiful thing happened: We took a detour to Opatija.
Pastel-colored villas built by Austro-Hungarian royals and nobility still dot the surrounding hills. The Opatija Riviera has captivated many more hearts since those privileged few enjoyed its charms.
Date of Visit: September 22, 2022
A Scenic Pitstop in Opatija
The guidebooks and travel bloggers say Plitvice Lakes National Park is a must-see, so my husband, Chris, and I were headed there after spending two nights in Rovinj.
To break up the four-hour drive, Mario, the owner and chief architect of our private Experience Dalmatia driving tour, recommended a stop in “the charming town of Opatija.”
Thank you, Mario! As I write this post many months later, I realize it’s not always the much-hyped destination that captures the imagination and creates a mosaic of memories. It’s often the journey and the little stops along the way.
A Glimpse of Belle Époque
Images of Opatija’s colorful buildings and tree-lined promenades along the waterfront flash through my mind. Plitvice Lakes would be lovely, but the unexpected charm of Opatija and the rare glimpse of the Belle Époque it afforded added a historical dimension to our trip.
I felt nostalgic for a time and place I never knew. I would learn that once darker forces were brewing amidst the tranquility and beauty.
Opatija's Resort Town Appeal
Opatija is unlike other coastal towns in Croatia. It’s an Old-World resort town that attracts European tourists to the tip of the Kvarner Gulf between the Istrian peninsula bordering Italy and Slovenia and the Croatian archipelago in the northern Adriatic Sea.
The Opatija Riviera has captivated many a heart since the Habsburg era in the late-19th century. During the fin de siècle, it became popular with the Austro-Hungarian royals and nobility, whose pastel-colored villas still dot the surrounding hills.
Today tall palms, shops, cafes, and grand dame hotels line the bustling main street of Ulica Marsala Tita.
A Respite During The Cold War
During the Cold War, when Croatia was part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1947-1991), Opatija became a favorite vacation spot for Yugoslavia’s political elites, Russians, and northern Europeans.
Opatija’s Mediterranean climate, colorful gardens, and many cypress, pines, oaks, and palms make it worthy of metaphors and nicknames such as “The Pearl of the Adriatic” and “Croatian Cannes.” However, since both Opatija and Dubrovnik are called “The Pearl of the Adriatic,” I’ll refer to Opatija as “The Pearl of the Northern Adriatic.”
Magnet for European and Local Visitors
Today, most visitors come from nearby Austria, Slovenia, and other parts of Croatia to stay in Opatija’s refurbished villa hotels, modern Airbnbs, and VRBOs.
Meanwhile, luxury European cruise ships bring sightseers to Opatija on their Adriatic Sea voyages up and down the Dalmatian coast.
However, Americans bound for Croatia tend to spend their shorter vacations at the Roman sites in Split, Hvar, and Dubrovnik.
So that is where most cruise ships dock, a blessing, and a curse.
Young British tourists (Generation Zs and Alphas) prefer the livelier party scenes in those “happening” spots, again a blessing and a curse.
Opatija is a fascinating throwback to the Golden Age of the Austro-Hungarian Empire of archdukes, dukes, and counts, its stately buildings and gardens inspired by the Romantic and Art Nouveau movements. However, some of the old influences have succumbed to modern contrivances.
Walking The Promenade
The traditional Croatian boatmen, the barkajoli, who once rowed their parasol-holding passengers along the Opatija Riviera in small wooden boats, now take people out for excursions by motor boat.
Back in the day, these captains of the sea were Croatia’s version of the Venetian gondolier.
Chris and I walked along the sunny Lungomare (seafront), enjoying the warm September sun. No one was swimming or sunbathing on the lounge but people strolled along the promenade pushing baby carriages, walking dogs, and hand in hand.
Cement steps with handrails for bathers disappear into the crystal-clear seawater at the points where the cement bathing areas widen and wrap around the water to create inviting saltwater pools so clear you can see the sandy bottom.
Maiden With The Seagull
Eventually, we came to the “Maiden with the Seagull,” an elegant statue of a young woman standing on a rocky outcrop. She gazes at a seagull sitting in her outstretched right hand.
The maiden and that day’s tranquil waters belie a tragic story.
In 1956 this nymph, as the locals call her, replaced the
“Madonna del Mare” statue, a family memorial to Count Arthur Kesselstadt, who died in 1891 along with his wife in one of the Kvarner Gulf’s fierce Bora storms. The original statue stood as a beacon to guide them back to shore. Over the years, inclement weather damaged the figure, and a replica of the Madonna now stands at the Villa Angiolina in Opatija.
Fishermen and aircraft pilots landing at Rijeka Airport must closely watch the powerful north winds.
Gusts can clock 150 mph winds on the Gulf and form formidable wind tunnels through the Dinaric Mountains to the north. But the day we were there, the sun shone, and the sea was like glass.
The Abbey of St. James
As we continued our walk, we came upon Opatija’s namesake, the Abbey of St. James. Opatija means “abbey” in Croatian. I learned that during my visit and added a third Croatian word to my expanding Croatian vocabulary: Bok (Hello), Hwala (Thank you), and Opatija. Impressive? Not, I know.
From there, we could see the industrial seaport town of Rijeka across the water. Besides once being a thriving port during the Austro-Hungarian era, its claim to fame is the invention of the torpedo.
Damn The Torpedoes! Full Speed Ahead!
It’s odd when deadly innovations come from unlikely places.
I observed this not long ago when my book club read Apeirogen, a novel by Colum McCann. Deep inside the book, I learned that until 1988, the small Pennsylvania town of Saltsburg, a stone’s throw away from my parents’ home, had made the tear gas used against Palestinians by the Israeli Defense Force.
The irony was my father had spent years writing white papers and advocating for the Palestinians. None of us knew the local company was supplying tear gas to Israel and that a lawsuit was brewing for the deaths of eight Palestinians between January 1990 and May 1991.
And so the irony of the first torpedo factory opening in Rijeka in 1886, across from idyllic Opatija, struck me as odd too.
Opatija, a mere 8.5 miles away from Rijeka, was a fashionable resort town during that peaceful era 28 years before WWI. The torpedo portended the devastation that would consume much of Europe for four years.
But until WWI, the well-heeled Europeans played. Opatija had it all. The town catered to health tourism and an affluent lifestyle. An Austrian railway line ran from Slovenia to Rijeka, providing easy access.
Life's Little Diversions
I end this travel piece with the realization that life’s little diversions can surprise us, capture our imaginations, and color our memories.
So if you stop by Opatija on your way to Plitvice Lakes, remember to reflect on the history. Imagine it in the 1890s with ladies in long dresses and gentlemen wearing three-piece suits strolling the promenade. That innocent time would not last.
- Ratings are based on 1) Natural Beauty 2) Unique Activities 3) Old World Charm
No comment yet, add your voice below!