Cycling
The Parenzana Cycling Trail
Motovun · Istria
QUICK INFORMATION
- CATEGORY
- Cycling
- COUNTRY
- Croatia
- REGION
- Motovun · Istria
- DURATION
- Half a day
ABOUT THIS ATTRACTION
The Parenzana was a narrow-gauge railway from Trieste to Poreč, opened in 1902 and closed in 1935 — and resurrected in the 2000s as a cross-border cycling and hiking trail. Its 123 kilometres thread the Istrian interior through dozens of tunnels and viaducts, and the section beneath Motovun is among its most spectacular: the line actually made the hill town possible as a resort a century ago, and today the gravel bed circles the hill with the village floating above.
HISTORY & BACKGROUND
The story behind it
Built by the Austro-Hungarian state to open the Istrian interior, the little railway served hilltop towns — Motovun, Grožnjan, Vižinada — that no other line could reach, with gradients and tunnels that made it a masterpiece of mountain engineering. Freight gave way to passenger traffic, the motor bus gave way to neither, and the line closed within a generation. The revival as the Parenzana trail since 2007 has made it one of the signature cycle routes of the Adriatic hinterland.
WHAT TO SEE
What to see here
WHY IT MATTERS
Why it matters
The Parenzana is Istria’s interior made rideable — history, tunnels and hilltop villages on one quiet gravel line, with Motovun as its postcard.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before you go
THROUGH THE LENS
From the road
MAP & LOCATION
The Parenzana Cycling Trail
The Parenzana Cycling Trail, Motovun, Istria, Croatia
45.3447, 13.8361
MORE ATTRACTIONS
More to see in Motovun
THINGS TO DO
Things to do nearby
FOOD & DRINK
Where to eat nearby
Konoba Mondo — truffle dishes in the village
Motovun’s wine-cellars and olive-oil shops
Terrace restaurants on the summit square — valley views with lunch
Truffle hunters’ farms in the Mirna valley — book ahead
HOTELS & STAYS
Where to stay nearby
Guesthouses in the village and the surrounding hills
Agriturismo farms in the Mirna valley
Rooms inside the walls for film-festival nights
Wine estates with rooms between Motovun and Grožnjan
NEARBY DESTINATIONS
Continue the journey
PART OF
Keep exploring
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