Rijeka

Korzo breakfast, the 561 Trsat steps and a Kantrida swim

Rijeka is easy to see in a day. Have breakfast on the Korzo, walk under the City Tower into the old town, and see the central market and fish hall by the port while it is busiest. Take bus 2 or 8 up to Trsat castle and church, walk down the 561 steps, and swim at Kantrida in the afternoon.

Have breakfast on the Korzo, then walk under the City Tower into the small old town behind it, where Roman and medieval fragments turn up between later houses. Head down to the central market near the port while it is busiest, and look into the fish hall to see what the boats brought in.

Late morning, take bus 2 or 8 up to Trsat. Visit the castle and the pilgrimage church of Our Lady of Trsat, and stand on the castle terrace to look down the Rječina gorge to the bay. Have lunch on the hill.

Walk back down the 561 steps of the Petar Kružić stairway, which drop you near the river close to the centre. In the afternoon, swim at the Kantrida pools west of the centre, or off the rocks at Pećine to the east. As evening comes, either eat in a tavern near the old town and finish with a drink on one of the ships moored in the harbour, or catch bus 32 to Opatija for dinner and a walk by the sea.

What Rijeka's fish hall sells and how Kvarner scampi are cooked

Rijeka eats like a port. The central market by the harbour, with its covered fish hall, shows the Kvarner Bay catch each morning: sardines, mackerel, squid and Kvarner scampi, smaller and sweeter than the Adriatic average and usually grilled or cooked in a light tomato and wine sauce. The harbour bars pour local wine.

The city's own comfort dish comes from the inland side of its history. Jota is a thick soup of beans, sauerkraut and smoked pork, shared with Istria and Trieste, and it tastes best in the damp months between October and March. Taverns around the old town serve it alongside grilled fish, while the smarter seafood restaurants in the centre cook a fuller fish menu.

Fast food around the Žabica bus station stays open late. The bar scene is spread across the centre, but the oddity is the ships moored in the harbour that have been fitted out as bars and clubs.

Rijeka Carnival's zvončari bell-ringers and the wet autumn months

Visit Rijeka in the weeks before Lent for Rijeka Carnival, whose international parade on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday draws thousands of masked participants and the sheepskin-clad zvončari bell-ringers. Come in July and August for swimming, when highs reach 29 to 30°C; October and November are the wettest months, with more than 200 mm of rain each.

Rijeka Carnival is the reason many people come in winter. Events start in January, but the climax falls in the weeks before Lent. Masked groups from the city and from villages in the surrounding hills take over the streets, and the zvončari, bell-ringers dressed in sheepskins with heavy bells tied at the waist, march through to scare winter away. The international parade along the centre on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday is the main event, with thousands of masked participants and crowds lining the route. Rooms in Rijeka and Opatija fill early for that weekend.

The weather explains the rest of the calendar. January highs average about 9°C, and the winter months are wet, with 125 to 165 mm of rain. Spring warms fast: 18°C in April and 23°C in May. July and August reach 29 to 30°C, good for the Kantrida pools and the rocks at Pećine. Autumn is the city's wettest season, with October and November each bringing more than 200 mm of rain, so pack an umbrella from late September.

For summer evenings, Trsat Castle hosts open-air concerts and theatre inside its walls, with the gorge below.