Pula

Pula sits at the southern tip of the **Istrian** peninsula, and is the most Roman-looking city in Croatia. Its centre is the **Pula Arena**, the sixth-largest surviving Roman amphitheatre in the world and the only one to keep **all four of its side towers and its complete outer ring**. It was built in the first century AD for twenty thousand spectators, and is still used today for summer concerts and a film festival. Around it is a compact old town holding the **Temple of Augustus**, the **Arch of the Sergii** and a cathedral, all within walking distance of each other. The water here is clear and the coast rocky, and offshore lies the **Brijuni** archipelago national park, once Tito's summer residence. Note: Istria was Italian between the wars and remains **officially bilingual** — signs are in Croatian and Italian, and the cooking is closer to Italian than Dalmatian.