Experience the best of Piran

Piran occupies the tip of a small peninsula on Slovenia's short Adriatic coast, in Istria. It was ruled by Venice for more than five centuries, and its tight lanes, stone houses and seafront square show a Venetian stamp. Tartini Square, an oval piazza named for the violinist and composer Giuseppe Tartini, who was born in Piran, is the centre.

Above the town, the church of St George stands on the hill, with a bell tower modelled on that of St Mark's in Venice, and stretches of medieval wall run along the ridge. From the lookout, the view takes in the Gulf of Trieste. To the south-east, the Sečovlje salt pans have produced sea salt for centuries, and the resort of Portorož lies close along the coast. Trieste in Italy and the Croatian border are not far.

Seafood is the heart of the menu: sea bass, squid, sardines and prawns, with Istrian olive oil, Malvazija white wine and the red Refošk. The Mediterranean climate gives warm summers and mild winters, and the town faces west, so the sun sets over the gulf.