Villas in Merisce

Merisce travel guide

Merisce is one of those rare places where a sense of peace and tranquillity prevails. The village of some 45 houses is set along a ridge 250 metres above sea level and provides breathtaking views in all directions. The road through the village becomes a farm track and footpath leading to a delightful chapel. There is no through traffic. The principal town of the area, Buje, is only six kilometres away and is easily reached via a scenic rural road. Buje provides for all shopping and other services, and is itself a charming historic town. The highly regarded Kozlovic winery is close by. Merisce is perfectly located to explore the hilltop towns of Central Istria and to make trips to the picturesque coastal towns. For cultural experiences there are annual film festivals in Pula and Motovun, music festivals in Pula and Groznjan and festival celebrating the truffle season in Buzet and Livade in the autumn.

Eating out
This region of Istria is studded with excellent restaurants of the highest quality as well as bars and cafe serving simpler fare. On of the best restaurants is Marino in the nearby village of Kremenje. Like all the restaurants in Central Istria, Marino specialises in dishes incorporating truffles gathered from the local woodlands. This first class restaurant also offers its own prize winning Kabola Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malvazia wines. Momjan, just 2 km from Merisce boasts an excellent restaurant providing home cooking (pasta and grilled meat and fish) in a convivial atmosphere. Restaurant Zigante in Livade in the valley between Motuvun and Oprtalj is unquestionably one of the finest restaurants in Istria. The imaginative menu includes many dishes that incorporate truffles and there is a first class wine list. There are several other good restaurants within a 15 kilometre radius.

Beaches
There are many beaches within a 12 to 20 kilometre range from Merisce. The closest beach is at Kanegra on the Piranski Zaljev (Bay of Piran) and is less than 15 minutes drive. There are also beaches that can easily be reached just over the border in Slovenia at Portoroz and Piran. Novigrad, about 20 km drive, is a charming town and you can swim from immediately outside the town walls which is ideal if you want to combine walking round the town with a swim. Along the coast between Novigrad and Umag there are plenty of places to swim and Umag itself has beaches.