Piran / Pirano

Piran (Italian: Pirano) is a city and municipality in southwestern Slovenia on the Gulf of Piran on the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the three major towns of Slovenian Istria. The city resembles a large open-air museum, with medieval architecture and a rich cultural heritage. Narrow streets and compact houses give the town its special charm. Piran is the administrative centre of the local area and one of Slovenia’s major tourist attractions.

Ljubljana to Piran – Piran is the birthplace of composer and violinist Giuseppe Tartini, who played an important role in shaping its cultural heritage. The town’s main square, Tartini Square (Slovene: Tartinijev trg, Italian: Piazza Tartini), is named after him. In 1892, to mark the 200th anniversary of Tartini’s birth, the people of Piran decided to erect a monument in his honour. Venetian artist Antonio dal Zotto was commissioned to create the larger-than-life bronze statue of the maestro, which was eventually mounted on its pedestal in 1896. The statue dominates the square, overlooked by the Cathedral of Saint George.

Piran is now the seat of the Euro-Mediterranean University (EMUNI), founded in 2008 as one of the cultural projects of the Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean.

To the east of the city, along the northern coastline (in the direction to Strunjan) there is a small tourist settlement named Fiesa. Piran and Fiesa are connected by a promenade along the beach.

The distance from Piran to Ljubljana is around 120 km.
The journey takes 1h and 30min.
The average cruise speed 100 km/h.