An Old Town aglow
© Vicki Jauron, Babylon and Beyond Photography/Moment/Getty Images
Streetlights brighten the byways and plazas of this pleasant peninsula-on-a-peninsula-on-a-peninsula. Rovinj, Croatia, is encircled by the mild Adriatic Sea on the west coast of Istria, a large peninsula jutting off the much larger Balkan Peninsula. Perusing the Old Town's many streets and alleys, you'll hear chitchat in Croatian, a bit of Italian, and maybe even a smidge of Istriot—a now-rare Romance language once widely spoken in this diverse region of Europe.
Land of 1,200 islands
A dominant dune
A convoluted coast
Fish fear this village
Bright night
Of power and paddles