Bela nedeja, young-wine fair in Kastav

Kastav is ten kilometres north-west of Rijeka; the old town is closed to cars during the fair, parking is at its edge and Autotrolej buses run from Rijeka. The detailed programme is published on the fair's Instagram and Facebook pages shortly before the weekend.

How the fair works

The fair takes over the public lanes of the old town, so you walk in through the town gate and follow the crowd. No admission price is published, and you pay for wine and food at the stalls. The wine festival is the place for belica: the native white grape of the Kastav hills, pressed a few weeks earlier and poured young and slightly cloudy by the growers themselves, alongside other young wines from the Kvarner hills. The samanj stalls line the lanes between Lokvina square and the gate with cheese, honey, dried figs, roasted chestnuts and crafts. The main stage carries folklore groups, brass bands and concerts across the 3 days, and a children's fairground is set up for families.

Sunday is the traditional day, the 'white Sunday' that gives the fair its name in the local Chakavian dialect, and it is the busiest by far. On the Sunday afternoon the lanes are shoulder to shoulder and the wine festival is crowded. If you want to taste at your own pace, come up on Saturday or on Monday, when the town is calmer and the stalls are still open. The old town is steep and cobbled, so plan a slow loop with stops on the walls, where the view over the Kvarner bay opens up from 365 metres.

Getting there from further away

The nearest airport is Rijeka, on the island of Krk, about 30 km from Kastav across the Krk bridge. It handles seasonal flights, mainly from Germany and the UK, and a shuttle bus and taxis run to Rijeka. Zagreb airport is the year-round gateway, around 2 hours by motorway, with direct buses and trains to Rijeka. Rijeka's railway station and the bus station at Žabica both sit near the harbour, within walking distance of the city-centre bus stops. Matulji, at the foot of the Kastav hill, has a station on the line towards Ljubljana. If you come from Opatija, the road climbs through Matulji and a taxi takes about 20 minutes.

Where to stay

Kastav has only a handful of rooms and apartments around the old town, and they are the first to go for the fair weekend. Most visitors sleep in Opatija or Rijeka, each about 20 minutes away by road. Opatija has the hotel stock, from the old villas along the Lungomare to the larger hotels, and October is quieter and cheaper there than in summer. Rijeka has city hotels and apartments around the Korzo and the direct bus up to Kastav, which matters if you plan to drink. Matulji and Viškovo, on the roads up the hill, have private rooms at lower rates. Book early: the fair draws people from the whole Kvarner and the nearby rooms fill weeks ahead.

The old town beyond the stalls

Kastav was the seat of a captaincy that ruled the hills above Rijeka for centuries, and the walls, gate and towers date from that time. Lokvina, the main square, is named after the cistern in its middle, where in 1666 the townspeople drowned the hated captain Morelli. Above the square stands Crekvina, the shell of a huge church begun by the Jesuits in the 18th century and never finished, now an open-air stage. The fortress Fortica at the top of the town looks across the bay to Cres and Krk and up to the Učka ridge. Walk the lanes early in the morning before the stalls open, when the town is empty.

• Lokvina square: the cistern, the town loggia and the parish church of St Helen.
• Crekvina: the unfinished Jesuit church, now used as an open-air stage.
• Fortica: the fortress at the top of the town with the widest view of the bay.
• The walls and the main gate, where the fair's stalls begin.
• Opatija: the Lungomare seafront walk, 20 minutes down the hill.
• Rijeka: the Korzo, the city market and Trsat castle, 20 minutes away.

Eating, cash and the weather

Food at the fair comes from the stalls: cheese, bread, honey, dried figs and roasted chestnuts, eaten standing in the lanes. For a table, Kastav has a few restaurants inside and just outside the walls, the best known is Kukuriku on Lokvina square, and tables go early on the fair weekend, so reserve or eat in Opatija or Rijeka afterwards. Bring cash in euros: the stalls are run by small producers and cards are not a given. Early October on the Kvarner is mild by day and cool after dark, and rain or the bura wind can arrive at short notice, so carry a layer and a jacket. Flat shoes with grip are essential on the wet cobbles. Pushchairs struggle on the steps, a carrier is easier for small children.