Pula

But it's no museum piece. Once you're done gazing at the colonnades, there's shopping for Istrian truffles and lavender soaps to be done on the main drags, edgy art galleries to visit, and farmer's markets selling fresh fish and shining tomatoes straight out of the fields. They even produce modern takes on Shakespeare and Euripides in the Roman theatre during the summertime. Finally, don't miss a stint in one of the bars on main Piazza Foro. It's a people-watching haven and there's something moving about the way the morning sun filters through the Corinthians of the Temple of Augustus there.

Of course, a private charter jet to Pula is also about hitting the coast; the wild, wave-splashed Istrian coast. It's rockier here than in southern Croatia, with haloes of fragrant pine forests and shadowy sea caves aplenty. The closest swimming spot to town is at Verudella to the south, but barren Cape Kamenjak is way emptier. Staying dry, day trips to the north can open up the impossibly handsome hill town of Motovun (Croatia's truffle capital) and the church-topped Italiano sea escape of Rovinj – both are musts.