Kastav Old Town

A ten-minute drive above Rijeka, the medieval hill town of Kastav commands a 365° view stretching from the Julian Alps to the islands of Cres and Krk. Its fortified core — a labyrinth of stone lanes wrapped in 15th-century walls — has been continuously inhabited since Illyrian times and served as the seat of one of the oldest continuous municipal governments in Europe: the Kastav Statute of 1400 predates most constitutions on the continent. Wander into the Lokvina, the little central square, and you'll find a stone well and a chestnut tree famous in local folklore: it is said to grow above the grave of a hated Habsburg administrator, Captain Morelli, who was drowned in the well by outraged townsfolk in 1666. The parish church of St. Helen stands on the walls with a broad terrace whose Kvarner panorama alone repays the trip. Kastav takes its cultural life seriously — the summer Guitar Fest and the Bela Nedeja young-wine festival in October fill the alleys with music and stalls of the season's first Belica white. Come at lunchtime for peka lamb or homemade fuži at one of the family konobas, and bring good shoes — the streets are cobbled and steep. Free parking outside the walls; the historic core is entirely pedestrian.