Rijeka is first and foremost a working city. Cranes, warehouses and the silhouettes of cargo ships set the tone even before docking: Croatia's third-largest urban area, this great Kvarner port was long Hungary's gateway to the sea, and it has kept the scale to match. Ships tie up at the Molo Longo, a breakwater nearly two kilometres long that protects the harbour; a ten-minute walk is enough to reach the centre. The port call rewards those who love real cities, where local life hasn't been replaced by souvenir shops.

The Korzo, the city's living room

All of life converges on the Korzo, a wide pedestrian thoroughfare laid out on the site of the old ramparts. Yellow and ochre Austro-Hungarian façades frame a constant parade of strollers, students and retirees seated at café terraces. You pass through the City Clock Tower, Baroque and topped with the double-headed eagle, to enter the old core: the Rotunda of St. Vitus, a circular cathedral inspired by the churches of Venice, is hidden around a bend on the way up. Steps from the Korzo, the three halls of the central market, built of iron and glass in the late 19th century, overflow with Adriatic fish, cheeses from the hinterland and loud conversations. This is where the city can best be observed.

The invention that changed the seas

Few passengers know it: the self-propelled torpedo was born in Rijeka. The idea of a local officer, Giovanni Luppis, perfected by the English engineer Robert Whitehead, led in 1866 to the world's first torpedo factory, set up on the industrial waterfront. The Maritime and History Museum of the Croatian Littoral, housed in the former Governor's Palace, tells this story alongside models of ocean liners and mementos from the Austro-Hungarian era. The building itself, with its state rooms, is worth the visit: it shows what this port city meant to the empire.

Trsat, the balcony of the Kvarner

Above the Rječina canal, Trsat hill bears a fortress and one of the oldest Marian shrines in Croatia, a pilgrimage destination since the 13th century. The brave climb up via the votive stairway of Petar Kružić — more than five hundred steps in the shade of the chapels; others take the bus or a taxi in a few minutes. Up top, the castle ramparts overlook the entire bay: the tightly packed roofs of the centre, the port, the islands of Cres and Krk set on the horizon. The café inside the walls lets you enjoy the panorama at leisure before heading back down.

A cultural capital

European Capital of Culture in 2020, Rijeka has converted part of its industrial heritage: the former sugar refinery palace, restored right down to its 18th-century stucco, now houses the City Museum. Architecture lovers will continue to the Ivan Zajc Croatian National Theatre, whose ceilings were painted by a very young Gustav Klimt. Galleries, redeveloped industrial sites and artists' cafés complete an urban landscape that embraces its contrasts — and every winter, a carnival famous throughout Central Europe shakes up its serious port image.

Quick reference

No makeup

Rijeka doesn't pose for the camera, and that's precisely its strength. You leave with images of noisy market halls, imperial façades and a port that keeps loading its ships as it has for centuries. Some port calls seduce; this one, more discreet, wins you over another way — through authenticity.