Rijeka Croatia, the biggest Croatia's port!

Rijeka Croatia (Italian-Fiume) is the biggest Croatia's port and an important transportation hub the is almost impossible to avoid. It's a centre of buses, trains and ferries connecting Istria and Dalmatia with Zagreb. Rough Guides describes Rijeka as a "Row of cumbrous cranes and rusty, sea-stained tankers in front of the soaring apartment blocks"

Despite this description, Rijeka is still nice place to visit as it has a great architecture in the old parts of the city, as well as some very interesting places to go. Although is hardly "must see" destinations, it does have few places as the famous pedestrian zone (Korzo) and a tree-lined walkway along the harbour.

If you are in Rijeka, trying probably to get ferry to sail along Croatian coast, take some time to discover this city ! You will be surprised how much is to see here. Rijeka airport is on the island of Krk, about 30 km from the Rijeka city centre. The Railway station is in street Kresimirova 5. Scheduled bus lines connect Rijeka with larger Croatian and European cities - bus terminal in the city centre.

Things to see:        

Rijeka Croatia was struck by a devastating earthquake in 1750 and the city almost entirely rebuilt. The pedestrian street “Korzo” was built as a wide shopping avenue on the side of demolished town walls. City tower was originally one of the main gates and few monuments that survived the earthquake. The Roman Gate at the end of Stara Vrata (Old gate) was probably the entrance to a Roman fortification.

The most important Rijeka church, near the bus station is Capuchin Church of the Our Lady of Lourdes built neogothic style. Another church is St.Vito which was a part of a 14^th century Augustinian monastery.

Trsat Castle overlooking Rijeka Croatia is a 13^th century fort built by Francopan dukes of Krk. The fortress is a popular place for concerts and plays during the summer and art galleries.

Rijeka natural history museum - A permanent display of collections of Methodology of oceanographic research, Geological history of the Adriatic, Geology of the Rijeka region, Systematic of minerals, Sea invertebrate, Sharks and rays, osteichthyes and sea invertebrate, Multimedia centre – aquarium, and Reptiles and amphibians of the Rijeka region. The permanent display collection Insects of the Rijeka region and the Botanical garden are currently under construction.

Ucka - Mountain and Nature Park near Rijeka.

Important events:

Rijeka Carnival- Masked parades

Sailing Club Rijeka so far has organized 40 events that include 3 World championships, 3 European championships, 6 national championships, 18 international and 10 national regattas.

Rijeka - Interactive city map - prepared by Rijeka Tourist Board.

Rijeka Croatia has very effective and efficient transportation connections to other parts of Croatia and neighboring countries. The A6 Zagreb-Rijeka motorway was completed in 2004; a shorter stretch connecting Rijeka with the Slovenian border, part of the A7 motorway, was also completed in 2004. Rijeka is also connected to the A8/A9 Istrian Y expressway network by the Učka Tunnel. A very intricate series of high-capacity bypass and connection roads are presently being constructed as well. The eastern half of this project will open on 15 July 2006, and the even more complex western half will open 2 years later.

Rijeka Croatia has an awkward air connection; it has an international airport of its own, but it is located on the nearby island of Krk. Handling only 130,000 passengers in 2005, and projected to handle only 250,000 by 2008, the airport is more of a charter airport than a serious transportation hub, although various scheduled airlines have commenced services as well. For more information visit Rijeka Airport webpage, or carrier WebPages: Hlx.com , Easyjet or Norwegian Air.

Rijeka Croatia is well-integrated into the Croatian Railways and critical international lines. A fully electrified line connects Rijeka with Zagreb, and onwards towards Koprivnica and the Hungarian border, as part of the international 5b corridor. It is also connected to Trieste and Ljubljana by a separate electrified stretch that extends northwards from the city. A transport bill, to be passed by the Croatian Parliament in July 2006, will see the start of construction of Croatia's first high-speed rail line, following the aforementioned 5b corridor, enabling speeds nearing 250 km/h. Construction on the new line starts in 2007 and is slated to be completed by 2010.

Rijeka Croatia  has good ferry connections with the surrounding islands and cities within Croatia, but no direct foreign connections. There are daily coastal routes to Zadar, Split, and onwards to Dubrovnik, where more international connections are offered. Pula offers more direct southward connections from northwestern Croatia.

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