Things To Do in Rijeka

The wide pedestrian street called Korzooriginally was constructed along the path of the town walls. It was rebuilt in 1750, after the earthquake that just about leveled the city. Today the Korzo is lined with stores, cafés, restaurants, and even an enclosed shopping mall, which makes it a center of commerce and a great meeting place in the city. Note that most stores on the Korzo close at 1pm on Saturday and don’t reopen until Monday morning, making the area pretty dead on weekends.

Also noteworthy in Rijeka is Gradski Toranj (City Tower). Baroque and bright, this yellow tower above the preserved city gate once was Rijeka’s main entry point. It is one of the few structures to have survived the 1750 quake, although it was renovated and tinkered with for over a century, further altering its appearance. The clock was added in 1873 and the dome at the top in 1890. Today, fashionable retail outlets flank the tower, which is a popular meeting place.

Walk through the portal below the City Tower from the Korzo to Trg Ivana Koblera andyou will run into the Stara Vrata (Roman Gate), Rijeka’s oldest surviving structure. The Roman Gate once served as the portal to the Roman Praetorium, which was Rijeka’s military command center. The gate looks like a loose arrangement of cemented rocks growing out of a strange mixture of buildings, including a Hapsburg residence, a church, and a building left over from the socialist era. Once you pass through the gate, you will see more Roman excavations.

Much of Rijeka’s Old Town (Stari Grad) was demolished to make way for modern infrastructure, but vestiges still remain. Remnants of the ancient city of Tarsatica, which once stood in what is now the middle of town, are visible in the vicinity of St. Vitus Cathedral.

What to See

Trsat

Trsat is an attractive suburb in the hills above Rijeka, with terraced gardens, villas, and tree-lined streets that skirt a cute center and a beautiful castle. To reach Trsat from Rijeka city center, you can either climb the 561 steps that make up the Petar Kružić Stairway, built in 1531, or catch bus #2.