Understand
Koper can trace its name back to the Roman town of Caprea. In 1278, the town voluntarily joined Venice and was later renamed Capo d'Istria — hence the Italian name. However, much of Koper's Italian inhabitants fled after WW2 when the town was assigned to the Free Territory of Trieste, administered by and later incorporated into Yugoslavia. The Communists built an unattractive sprawl of factories and warehouses to the south, but mercifully left the old town almost entirely untouched, and it's this that draws the (comparatively few) tourists who venture this way.
Get in
Koper is easily reachable with bus and train. The train and bus stations are adjacent and located about 1 km south of the Muda Gate to the old city. The nearest airport is in Trieste (64 km), although Ljubljana's (124 km) is also an option.
From Ljubljana, there are hourly buses and 5-6 trains daily, both taking around two hours. There are also direct services to Trieste in Italy.
Get around
Koper's Old City can easily be covered on foot.
See
Koper's main sight of interest is the Venetian-era old city, which is in much worse shape than that of Piran, but hence also feels more real. Repairs and restoration are slowly under way.
The center of the old city is Tito Square (Titov trg), an austere piazza surrounded by slowly crumbling palazzi. From here, the cobbled Čevljarska ulica leads south and Kidričeva ulica leads west to the marina.
Do
There are no beaches to speak of, although you can pay a few euros to bathe in the sea just north of the marina.
Buy
There are two big shopping centers. One is Mercator and the other is Supernova . There is also a big department store called Blagovnica Soča.
Eat
Drink
Sleep
Budget
Mid-range
Get out
The rest of Slovenia's short coastline is easily accessible from Koper.
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