Pula castle to Small Roman Theatre: 120 m distance, and a half-day walk

Pula is often seen in passing: from a cruise ship, on the way to Brijuni or as a break on a drive through Istria. One rule covers a visit like that: the Roman monuments stand about half a kilometre from each other, and the only climb is the hill with the Kaštel. This route is about two kilometres of walking and three hours including the Arena; without going inside it fits into two.

The route step by step

• Arena (45 minutes inside, 10 from outside). A first-century amphitheatre with its outer wall and four towers intact; from Flavijevska street you see the whole of it without a ticket.
• Arena to the Twin Gates and the Gate of Hercules: 320 metres, 5 minutes along Carrarina street. By the Twin Gates are the entrance to Zerostrasse, the First World War tunnels (ticket, 20 minutes), and the Archaeological Museum of Istria.
• Twin Gates to the Small Roman Theatre: 110 metres, 2 minutes. The first-century theatre sits on the north-east slope of the hill behind the museum, normally without a ticket; the semicircle of seats and the stage foundations still stand.
• Theatre to the Kaštel: 120 metres as the crow flies, but uphill, 5 minutes. The seventeenth-century Venetian fortress houses the Historical and Maritime Museum of Istria; even the path around the walls gives a view over the Arena and the harbour.
• Kaštel to the cathedral and the Forum: 170 metres downhill to the Cathedral of the Assumption, then another 280 metres along the waterfront to the Forum with the Temple of Augustus. The temple is one of the best preserved Roman temples outside Italy; the Forum is still the town's main square.
• Forum to the Arch of the Sergii: 430 metres, 7 minutes along Sergijevaca, the old town's main shopping street. The arch from the late first century BC stands where a town gate once was; next to it sits the statue of James Joyce, who taught in Pula in 1904 and 1905.
• Arch back to the Arena: 600 metres, 10 minutes via Giardini and Istarska street. If you came by ship, this is where you turn towards the waterfront instead: the Forum is five minutes on foot from the passenger port.

Two starting points

By car: park at one of the paid car parks around the Arena and follow the route as described above; the bus station is a five-minute walk from the Arena, so bus passengers start there too. By ship: from the waterfront head to the Forum first, then uphill to the Kaštel and the theatre, come down through the Twin Gates to the Arena and return along Sergijevaca past the Arch; the distance is the same, only the climb comes earlier.

What to skip when time runs short

Zerostrasse goes first, because it needs a ticket and twenty minutes underground. Then the inside of the Kaštel; the view from the path around the walls takes two minutes. The Arena can be seen from outside on Flavijevska street, but first-time visitors should keep that ticket: the interior and the underground rooms with the exhibition on olive oil and wine are the reason to come.