The pose
An outstretched hand with a gull on it, on a rock in the water.
Silverije — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Petra-81 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Petra-81 — CC BY-SA 4.0
A bronze of a woman standing on a rock at the water''s edge with a gull alighting on her outstretched hand — Opatija''s **unofficial emblem** and its most photographed object. It was placed in **1956**, the work of the Croatian sculptor **Zvonko Car**, and it was not the first thing to stand on this rock. Before it there was the **Madonna of the Sea**, set here in **1891** in memory of an Austrian count who drowned offshore in a storm. When the two were exchanged, the original Madonna was moved to the nearby church of St James, where she remains. It stands directly on the **Lungomare**, so everyone walking the promenade passes it. Note: the rock is **exposed to the waves** and gets swept in bad weather — do not stand on it in rough sea for a photograph; accidents happen there. Note: it fills with photographers in summer, and the best light is at sunset or early morning.
An outstretched hand with a gull on it, on a rock in the water.
The older statue, still in the nearby church of St James.
The best light, with the sea directly behind.
Lungomare, Opatija
**By bus**, and it is simpler than visitors expect: route **32** links the two, running roughly every **15 to 30 minutes** depending on the hour, with a journey of about **half an hour**, because the coast road is slow. The bus runs the length of the riviera, stopping at **Volosko**, **Opatija**, **Ičići** and **Lovran**, so you can get off at any of them. Tickets are bought from the driver or a kiosk and are cheap. ⚠ **By car** it is 11 km, but **parking in Opatija is difficult and paid** in summer — the bus is genuinely easier. ⚠ There is a third option with time to spare: a seasonal **boat** between Rijeka and Opatija in summer, longer and prettier.
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