"Istrian Lifestyle" is a local saying that sums up all that is great about the place. The people are rightly proud of their fine wines, truffles, Istrian Ham, olive oil, the classic stone houses, gastronomy, history, traditions and landscapes – come and live the ’Istrian Lifestyle’ with us!

Istria – a place to experience

After a breakfast of coffee and still-warm pastries, follow any quiet inland road (no frenetic motorways here) and chance upon a quaint church festooned with frescoes. Or simply stop at the roadside, awe-struck, at the sheer natural beauty of the fertile valleys, the rich dark orange-coloured earth, the oceans of olives, figs, almonds and grapes, the waterfalls, the steep pine-clad sides of so many fiords.

For lunch a shady roadside tavern serving the crisp white, and temptingly quaffable, Malvasia wine - as good as anything from France or Italy - an excellent liquid accompaniment to the simplest tastiest pasta, fish or roasted pork dishes. One of these dishes will probably be flavoured liberally with white or black truffles.

An afternoon stroll may lead you to chance upon a village celebration, the locals dancing the ancient balun dance in the main square with swirling costumes and music from age-old instruments - and always a genuine welcome.

The twilight evening road brings you to fairytale coastal towns such as incredibly picturesque Rovinj or Vrsar, complete with their own island entourages. Time for aimless unhurried wanderings around quaint stalls and shops. An alfresco dinner set next to a vast panorama of calm sea or maybe a bustling square with squadrons of swallows, performing impossible aerobatics, wheeling and chirruping overhead. Afterwards, join the locals in a slow amble, in the cool scented air, over the characteristically shiny pink flag-stones reflecting the lively colours from different shop doorways. Or maybe a quiet stroll around a sleeping port, boats gently bobbing, and guarded by the ever present yellow-lit Venetian campanile.

Alternatively, take a road that will lead you to a lazy day at the sea-side, but no ordinary bucket-and-spade day this - Istrian seas are, without exception, clean, clear and every shade of pure azure blue. Sitting at the water’s edge on bright white pebbles, gaze out to misty islands, themselves all green pine forests and white beaches. Many are reachable by boat so why not spend a day exploring them or else just relax on your chosen island with a picnic?

Don’t miss the Brijuni Islands – a fabulous seven kilometre long necklace of fourteen islands, a paradise national park where the abundance of unusual flora and faunamingle happily withnumerous bird species, deer and mouflon. Join the celebrities and world statesmen who rightly choose these islands as their private holiday hideaway.

Shopping

As always, to experience a genuine shopping event, to get the best bargains and the freshest produce, head for the markets. Istria is no exception though they are a little less chaotic, more business-like, than in Italy.

One of the best is the look-alike Victorian railway station in Pula, complete with first floor bars so that you can plan your assault of the stalls below while enjoying a leisurely coffee. Inside are the fish and meat halls while outside is the larger market, thankfully shaded by high trees, selling fruit, vegetables and all manner of fresh local produce.

All major towns have a good selection of shops, of most varieties, but don’t expect to find the ubiquitous shopping centres or malls anywhere. Istrian shops tend to be small, but big on service and low prices.

Eating out tends to take the Italian form of trattorias and osterias, usually in stunning settings. Main courses tend to arrive with potatoes and bietola (type of spinach) already included. A 3 course meal with wine in an average establishment is around £6 or £7 per person (at the time of writing). A great place to try is the village of Flengi, near Porec, it’s littered with roadside porchetta restaurants (succulent roast suckling pig, spit-roasted at the roadside) complete with beckoning chefs in tall white hats, it is well worth submitting to them!

Local Food

Istrian food is similar to Italian food, but with its own identity, nurtured over the last ten years. There are 600 restaurants in Istria, quite a feat for such a small region, so the choice is huge.

Yet quality is assured because the tourist office vets all restaurants and tavernas and recommends a fine-tuned 80 of them. Ask your local tourist office for the Istria Gastro Guide.

Original dishes prepared with the freshest ingredients and with a bygone level of service await you in these eateries.

Here is a ’hit parade’ of Istrian food that simply must be tried: Creamy fusi al tartufo, little pasta cylinders, with white truffle shavings; scampi alla buzzara, with tomato, garlic and lemon - serviettes in collars are a must for the delicious soup that comes with this dish!; Cevapcici – herby little sausages – eaten with a side dish of onions and ivar (a red, peppery sauce); fresh wild asparagus in April, sold at the roadside by charming old ladies; Istrian ham, cut thicker than the Parma variety and very flavourful on its own or as an ingredient. Istrian truffles (both white and black) are even exported to Italy. And it is the white truffle that is most highly prized.

Local Wine

And all this washed down with wines that compare with the best French and Italian. The most notable of these are: Malvasia or Malvazija, a crisp, straw-yellow, fruity wine – the most popular white, while lively Terran, a ruby coloured red is used as the prime ingredient for making supa, a red wine soup. Other notables are the Muscats of Momjan and the Muscat Rose of Porec¡ with good Chardonnays and white and grey pinots bringing up the not inconsiderable rear. To finish, Kruskovac, a delicious pear liqueur.

Istrians are renowned as particularly hospitable people, especially in inland Istria, and you may be invited in for some locally dried ham washed down by a drink of home-made Rakija, a grape or fig brandy.

If you are considering renting a villa in Istria, Cottages to Castles are pleased to offer a selection of privately owned and superbly presented properties. Choose your dream holiday home in Istria here.