Motovun is a town unlike any other. Scrambled atop a steep hill in the middle of the northernmost part of Croatian Istria, Motovun stands serene and thoroughly gorgeous to look at, but extremely inviting and alluring close up. Read our guide to visiting below.

MOTOVUN

**WHERE**: North Istria, Croatia
**WHY**: Amazing streetscapes, truffles, wine
**TIME**: 1 night

UNDERSTAND

Motovun, A.K.A, Montona is a hill-top village in central Istria, Croatia. In ancient times, the Celts and Illyrians built fortresses at the location of present-day Motovun. However, nowadays, the village has only 531 permanent residents. The town itself is situated on a hill nearly 300 metres up with houses scattered all over the hill. On the inner walls are several coats-of-arms of different Motovun ruling families and two gravestones of Roman inhabitants (dating from the 1st century). Significantly, Motovun was taken over by Venice in 1278 and subsequently surrounded by solid walls, which can still be climbed on today. All three parts of the town are connected by a system of internal and external fortifications with towers and city gates containing elements of Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance styles, built between the 14th and 17th centuries. It is a beautiful town, and one thoroughly worth exploring.

HEADING TO ISTRIA? READ OUR GUIDE TO VISITING HERE!

WHY GO?

Motovun is known for few things. Being beautiful, yes. Having amazing views, also true. Having access to the freshest and best truffles in all of Europe, also yes. Being surrounded by wineries, definitely accurate. Being shut off to cars, very true, and being easily explored within a day, verified. It was also in an episode of Bourdain’s ‘Parts Unknown,’ so, that should give you some indication of whether it’s worth going to or not. Regardless of the above, Motovun is a town that is charming, alluring and thoroughly distracting. It’s a town that doesn’t ask much of you. Do you wanna go wander around millenia old walls and look at the four corners of Istria? You can do that. Would you prefer to sit down with a cold glass of Malvasia instead? they’ve got you covered. Or, would you rather sample the best goddamned tasting thing in the world, truffles? They can help you out on that front. Motovun isn’t a town that asks you to hand over oodles of your hard earned cash to look at a church. You can do that, sure, but the real beauty of the town comes from basking in the Istrian sun, taking a turn through the narrow cobblestoned streets, and sipping a wine. There is no greater pleasure than that. I will also re-iterate, Motovun is insanely beautiful. Each street feels crafted by a particularly benevolent god.

Read our guide on where to eat the best oysters in Istria here.

what to do in town

Walk the city walls

Wandering the city walls of Motovun is an absolute must for any visitor. They afford you the best viewpoints you’re going to get in all of Istria, and encircle the town in a way that will let you get some amazing vantage points over the terraced roofed houses as well. Walking the walls lets you get a viewpoint for the countryside of Istria; from here you’ll be able to see rolling vineyards, distant mountains, and some very stunning countryside. To enter will cost you $3 USD during high-season, but is completely free during winter.

GO TRUFFLE HUNTING

The area around Motovun is absolutely teeming with truffles. There are several companies that will take you into the nearby forest to hunt down truffles with the trained dogs. While I didn’t do this, I’ve heard the experience is fairly illuminating, and you get to watch labradors snuffle away for truffles, so what more could you really want? I’d recommend going with Istriana Travel, who’ll charge you between 60 and 120 euro per person for the experience.

EAT SOME TRUFFLES

To build on my last point, Motovun is basically the new shangri-la in which to find white truffles. While expensive, tasting truffles is an experience without comparison, and you’d be hard pressed to find a better place to do it than Motovun. Most of the restaurants in town will use white truffles in their cuisine during the season (May to December), but you can also try some at the very fairly priced truffle shops that line the streets of town. My pick for the best truffles in town were at Zigante (Gradiziol 8, Motovun) or Miro Tartufi.

Visit a winery

All four sides of Motovun are surrounded by wineries. As far as encirclements go, that’s a pretty good situation to be in. The wine around Motovun is dominated by full-bodied, fruit forward reds, and you can fully expect to get a very, very good bottle of Teran. I would recommend checking out Benvenuti (52424, Kaldir, Croatia), Fakin (Bataji 20a, 52424, Motovun) and Tomaz (Kanal 36, Motovun, ). They all accept visitors for tastings - just call or e-mail ahead and they’ll be able to accomodate you.

WHERE TO EAT

Motovun is filled to the brim with amazing food and wine options. While we didn’t get to check out all of them, we do recommend the following based on the reviews and recommendations of some locals we spoke to;

Konoba Mondo: Down-home, Istrian style cooking. Not over-priced and centrally located. Will absolutely get something involving truffles and cured meat here. (Barbican ul. 1, 52424, Motovun).
Pod Voltum: Again, another down-home cooking joint, renowned for venison stew and gnocchi. We didn’t get to eat here, but every local in town we spoke to suggested we were ‘idiots’ for not booking a table. Expect to pay slightly more than at Konoba Mondo, but the food is excellent. really, really excellent. (Trg Josefa Ressela 6, 52424, Motovun).
Restoran Pod Napun: A very highly related joint in the middle of town. Similarly priced to Konoba Mondo, and serves up some amazing pasta. The gnocchi with truffles is supposed to be heavenly.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

As mentioned above, Motovun is located on a very steep hillside, and there are no cars allowed within the old part of town. If you’re coming by campervan or car, there is a perfectly situated carpark to the north of the town, where you can park up all day (and stay overnight). From here, you can either catch the bus into town or take a 15 minute walk up through the steep cobbled streets and through one of the many gorgeous gateways into town. My money is on taking the walk up - it’s a stunning ascent, and you’ll burn a few calories before consuming your own weight in truffles, so that’s good.

Motovun is quite a popular destination. Don’t be surprised to see tour bus groups arriving, most of whom will be whisked around the city walls, taken to a truffle shop, and then removed, all without experiencing any of the actual joy of the town. In summer, the town swells with visitors, and much of the accomodation, guesthouses and restaurants will be booked out well in advance. My suggestion is to either visit Motovun during the winter, like we did, or increase your tolerance for queues and sweltering sun, if visiting in summer.