Porec Hotels

• Lanterna Apartments
• Mobile Homes Lanterna
• Valamar Luna Resort
• Hotel Valamar Diamant
• Luna Residence
• Valamar Club Tamaris Hotel
• Sunset Lanterna Apartments
• Valamar Diamant Residence
• Valamar Rubin Hotel
• Hotel Filipini
• Hotel Pical
• Fortuna Island Hotel
• Hotel Zagreb
• Valamar Tamaris Residence
• Valamar Crystal Hotel
• Apartments Pical
• Hotel Neptun

Poreč

(Italian: Parenzo; Latin: Parens or Parentium; archaic German: Parenz; Ancient Greek: Pàrenthos, Παρενθος) is a town and municipality on the western coast of the Istrian peninsula, in Istria County, Croatia. Its major landmark is the 6th century Euphrasian Basilica, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.

Poreč is almost 2,000 years old, and is set around a harbor protected from the sea by the small island of Sveti Nikola (St. Nicholas). The town's population of approximately 12,000 resides mostly on the outskirts, while the wider Poreč area has a population of approximately 17,000 inhabitants. The municipal area covers 142 km², with the 37 km long shoreline stretching from the Mirna River near Novigrad to Funtana and Vrsar in the south.

Žatika Sport Centre used in the 2009 World Men's Handball Championship which were hosted by CroatiaThe town plan still shows the ancient Roman Castrum structure. The main streets are Decumanus and Cardo Maximus, still preserved in their original forms. Marafor is a Roman square with two temples attached. One of them, erected in the first century AD, is dedicated to the Roman god Neptune; its dimensions are 30 m by 11 m.

A few houses from the Romanesque period have been preserved and beautiful Venetian Gothic palaces can be seen here. Originally a Gothic Franciscan church built in the 13th century, the 'Dieta Istriana' hall was remodeled in the Baroque style in the 18th century.

The Euphrasian Basilica, rebuilt in the 6th century under the Byzantine Empire and bishop Euphrasius, is the most important historical site in Poreč. It is a protected World Heritage Site, so designated by UNESCO in 1997.

Between the 12th and 19th centuries, the city had defensive walls, as the better-known Dubrovnik still does today.

In 1844 the Austrian Lloyd steamship company opened a tourist line which called at Poreč. The first tourist guide describing and depicting the town was printed as early as 1845. The oldest hotel is the Riviera, constructed in 1910. Later came the Parentino and others.

Today, tourist infrastructure is intentionally dispersed along the 37 km long coastline, between the Mirna River and the deep Lim valley. The south hosts self-contained centres like Plava Laguna (Blue Lagoon), Zelena Laguna (Green Lagoon), Bijela Uvala (White Cove) and Brulo. To the north, mirroring centres are Materada, Červar Porat, Ulika and Lanterna. In the high season, the area's temporary population can exceed 120,000.

Poreč's heritage can be seen in the historic town centre, in museums and galleries hosted in houses and palaces, many of them still private homes as they have been for centuries. In the off season, weekend visitors from Croatia, Slovenia, Austria and Italy visit the area. Sports complexes are developed and used year-round. During the Croatian War of Independence (1991-1995), these complexes were used to host refugees from other parts of the country.

Text and photos partialy from Wikipedia