Opatija: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Opatija was a fishing village around an old abbey until 1844, when a merchant from Rijeka built a villa among its laurels. Forty years later the Austrian Southern Railway bought the villa, built the first hotel, and turned the village into the winter resort of Vienna's court and society. This walk goes from the villa along the waterfront past the grand hotels to the statue on the rock. About two hours on the flat; the camellias in the park flower in late winter and spring.
A short history of Opatija
Opatija is named after a Benedictine abbey of Saint James that stood here from the Middle Ages, and for centuries it was a small fishing village. In 1844 the Rijeka merchant Iginio Scarpa built Villa Angiolina with a garden of exotic plants, and this is regarded as the beginning of the town. After the Austrian Southern Railway Company opened the Hotel Quarnero in 1884, Opatija became a winter health resort for the aristocracy of Austria-Hungary. From 1920 to 1947 it belonged to Italy and was called Abbazia, and afterwards it passed to Yugoslavia. Along the coast runs a promenade about 12 kilometres long called the Lungomare.
The ten best sights in Opatija
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1Villa Angiolina
The villa where Opatija began, now the Croatian Museum of Tourism
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2Angiolina Park
Garden of exotic trees and camellias around the villa; free
3St. James's churchThe church of the old abbey that gave Opatija its name
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4Juraj Šporer Art Pavilion
Exhibition pavilion in a historic building by St. James's church
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5Hotel Kvarner
The first hotel of Opatija, still open; have a coffee on its terrace
6Hotel ImperialGrand hotel of the 1880s on the main road
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7Maiden with the Seagull
The bronze statue on a rock off the promenade, symbol of the town
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8Lungomare
Seaside promenade running 12 km from Volosko to Lovran; walk any part of it
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9Croatian Walk of Fame
Stars in the pavement for Croatian artists and athletes
10VoloskoOld fishing village at the north end of the promenade, with fish restaurants
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Opatija →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Opatija:
Free walking tours in Opatija
The emperor's Riviera
Opatija was a fishing village around an old abbey until 1844, when a merchant from Rijeka built a villa among its laurels. Forty years later the Austrian Southern Railway bought the villa, built the first hotel, and turned the village into the winter resort of Vienna's court and society. This walk goes from the villa along the waterfront past the grand hotels to the statue on the rock. About two hours on the flat; the camellias in the park flower in late winter and spring.
- Villa Angiolina · Iginio Scarpa, a patrician of Rijeka, built the villa in 1844 and named it after his late wife Angiolina. He filled the garden with plants brought by sea from far away, among them the Japanese camellia, which became the flower of Opatija.
- St. James's church · Opatija means "abbey": the town is named after a Benedictine abbey of St. James, first mentioned in 1449, which stood on this spot by the sea. The church was rebuilt and enlarged when the resort grew around it.
- Hotel Kvarner · The Southern Railway Company opened the hotel in 1884 as the Quarnero, the first hotel on this coast, to fill its trains from Vienna. In 1889 Opatija was officially declared a climatic health resort, and the winter season of the empire began.
- Hotel Imperial · The hotel opened in 1885 under the name Kronprinzessin Stephanie, after the Belgian princess married to Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, who stayed in Opatija.
- Maiden with the Seagull · In 1891 Count Arthur Kesselstadt drowned in a storm off this rock, and a statue of the Madonna was put up here in his memory. After it was damaged, the sculptor Zvonko Car made the Maiden with the Seagull in its place in 1956.
- Lungomare · The promenade, officially named after Emperor Franz Joseph, was built in stages around 1900 so that guests could walk for hours by the sea in the mild winter. It runs 12 km, cut into the rocks, from Volosko to Lovran.
Rijeka, the port city
Ten minutes east of Opatija lies Rijeka, Croatia's biggest port, a working city that changed flags more often than almost any in Europe: Hungarian, Italian, Yugoslav and Croatian, all within a century. It invented the torpedo, was seized by a poet, and still has a Jewish community. This route drives along the coast into the city, walks the centre, and ends on the castle hill. Half a day; the market is busiest and best in the morning.
- Torpedo launch station · In 1866 the English engineer Robert Whitehead, working in Rijeka with an idea of the Austrian naval officer Giovanni Luppis, built the first self-propelled torpedo. The ruined launch station on the shore is where torpedoes were test-fired into the sea.
- Korzo · In September 1919 the Italian poet Gabriele D'Annunzio marched into Rijeka, then called Fiume, with a few thousand volunteers, and ruled it for more than a year as his own state, until the Italian navy shelled him out.
- Central market · The market halls date from the end of the 19th century, and the fish hall, built in 1916, is decorated with stone fish, crabs and shells around its doors. Kvarner scampi, prized all over the Adriatic, are sold here in the morning.
- Synagogue · Rijeka's great synagogue was destroyed by the Germans in 1944. The smaller Orthodox synagogue, built between the wars, survived, and it is still the house of prayer of the city's Jewish community.
- Governor's Palace · The palace was built in 1896 by the Hungarian architect Alajos Hauszmann for the governor of Fiume, then Hungary's only sea port. In 1919 D'Annunzio made it his headquarters.
- Trsat · Legend says that the house of the Virgin Mary was carried by angels from Nazareth and rested on this hill from 1291 to 1294, before flying on to Loreto in Italy. The Frankopan princes built the shrine, and pilgrims climb to it on the long stairway of Petar Kružić.
Učka and the old hill towns
Behind Opatija the mountain of Učka rises steeply from the sea, and the old Croatian towns sit on its knees, far older than the resort below. This drive climbs from a fishing village to a statute town, up to the summit of Učka and down to the villages on the southern coast. About 80 km on winding roads; the summit is often clear in the morning and in winter, when the bora wind has swept the haze away.
- Volosko · The seismologist Andrija Mohorovičić was born in this fishing village in 1857. Studying an earthquake in 1909, he found the boundary between the Earth's crust and its mantle, which is still called the Moho after him.
- Kastav · In 1400 Kastav wrote down its own laws in Croatian, as the Kastav Statute. It is one of the oldest legal codes in the Croatian language.
- Vojak · The stone tower on the summit was built in 1911. From its top, on a clear day, you see the islands of the Kvarner, Istria and, far to the north, the Alps.
- Vela Draga · In this canyon on the Istrian side of Učka the stream has eaten away softer rock and left tall limestone pillars standing. It is part of the Učka Nature Park, and a short trail runs along its rim.
- Mošćenice · The village keeps its medieval gate and walls on a hill 170 m above the sea. Its small museum shows a "torkul", the great wooden olive press that every village on this coast once shared.
- Lovran · Lovran is known for its marun, a large sweet chestnut grown on the slopes above the town. Every October the town holds the Marunada, a chestnut festival with roasting fires in the old streets.
Getting to Opatija and getting around
- Rijeka Airport · On the island of Krk, about 40 minutes by car over the Krk bridge; mostly seasonal flights
- Opatija-Matulji station · Small station on the hill above town, on the line to Ljubljana; few trains
- Opatija bus station · Local buses along the coast to Rijeka and Lovran, and coaches further afield
Cheap eats in Opatija
Opatija eats Kvarner: scampi from the bay, often just grilled or cooked "na buzaru" in wine, garlic and tomato; Istrian ham and olive oil from the far side of Učka; and in autumn the chestnuts of Lovran. From its Austrian years it kept the coffee house and the cake. Croatia uses the euro, and prices on the promenade are resort prices; a quick lunch of burek or ćevapi in the streets behind it costs half.
- Mlinar · Croatian bakery chain; burek or a sandwich about €2-4
- Fresco Fast Food · Ćevapi, burgers and sandwiches; about €6-10
- Galija · Café on the harbour; coffee about €2-3
- Café Wagner · Coffee house by the Imperial; coffee and cake about €5-8
- Kavana Strauss · Café on the promenade; ice cream and coffee about €3-6
- Gelateria Perla · Ice cream on the promenade, about €2-3 a scoop
- Opatija market · Fruit, figs and local cheese for a picnic, from about €3
Museums in Opatija
- Croatian Museum of Tourism · Posters, postcards and the story of holidays on the Adriatic, in Villa Angiolina
- Juraj Šporer Art Pavilion · Changing art exhibitions
- Maritime and History Museum · Ships, maps and the city's story in the Governor's Palace
- Peek & Poke · Museum of old computers and childhood toys in Rijeka
- Rijeka City Museum · Industry, the torpedo and Rijeka's many flags
Nature and day trips near Opatija
- Vojak · Summit tower on Učka, 1,401 m
- Vela Draga · Canyon of limestone pillars with a rim trail
- Ičići · Pebble beach south of town, on the promenade
- Mošćenička Draga · Long pebble beach under the mountain, south of Lovran
- Angiolina Park · Old trees and camellias in the centre
Holy places in Opatija
- St. James's church · The abbey church by the sea
- Church of the Annunciation · Large neo-Romanesque church with a tall tower above the main road
- Our Lady of Trsat · Pilgrimage church on the castle hill
- Rijeka synagogue · Orthodox synagogue of the Jewish community; ask ahead
Where to eat in Opatija
- Istranka · Istrian dishes: fuži pasta, truffles, ham
- Gostionica Kaneta · Local inn on the road to Volosko; Kvarner home cooking
- Boćarija Grill · Grill and seafood beside the old bowls ground
- Bevanda · Upmarket seafood on a terrace over the sea
- Sveti Jakov · Restaurant by St. James's church
- Roko · Italian food in the centre
Frequently asked questions about Opatija
What is there to see in Opatija?
The top sights in Opatija are Villa Angiolina, Angiolina Park and St. James's church. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Opatija?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Opatija without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Opatija?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Opatija, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The emperor's Riviera.
How do you get to Opatija and get around?
The main ways are Rijeka Airport, Opatija-Matulji station and Opatija bus station. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Opatija, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Opatija that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Opatija for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.