A Pup in Piran
Slovenia has a tiny little coastline along the Adriatic Sea, between Italy and Croatia. Alice and I spent an amazing four days in the coastal town of Piran in July of 2024! Piran is quite dog-friendly, and people were generally very pleased to see Alice. However, we did not know that a recent law had been passed stating dog owners must pour water over their dog’s urine! One angry restaurant owner yelled at me after Alice peed a few feet away from the edge of the restaurant’s patio.
In the summer there is so much outdoor seating which all seems to be dog-friendly, and the beaches all around Piran appeared to allow dogs as well! People were very friendly to Alice as we roamed the beautiful, winding streets of the town or hung out by the beach.
It isn’t possible to park in the town itself, but there’s a bus that runs (usually frequently) between Tartini Square and a parking garage about 1.5km away. The bus costs 1€ per ride, via card only, and dogs are allowed on the bus. I had a rental car and parked here and it was pretty inconvenient, except for the one time the bus was running extremely late (it usually runs every 10-15 minutes throughout the day) and I waited for half an hour…
While dogs are allowed on the little bus to and from the parking garage, I learned that most buses in Slovenia do not allow dogs. This is one reason I felt I needed a rental car throughout most of our two weeks in Slovenia.
Where to Stay
Art Hotel Tartini
I absolutely loved this hotel! Everyone working there was so friendly and loved Alice, and they provided a dog bed, water bowl, poop bags, and treats. The room we stayed in was slightly over my usual budget, but still quite affordable and so cute. The breakfast was really nice in the mornings, there’s a lovely rooftop bar open on certain days, our room had a view of the main square but it wasn’t very loud, and the air conditioning worked extremely well in the room!
What to Do
Walking Tour with Food & Wine Tasting
Alice was allowed on this fantastic tour of Piran! Our tour guide, Jan, shared the history of the city while showing us the most important sights. The tour ended at his shop, where we tasted local foods and wines. Highly recommend, and it’s quite affordable!
Duomo di San Giorgio
This is one of the stops on the walking tour; but if you do not do the walking tour, definitely stop by this cathedral. Dogs cannot go inside, but they can step inside the entrance door so you can still see the inside. I didn’t go up the church tower, but that is an option (without dogs).
Piran Beaches
Piran is on a piece of land that juts out into the sea, so there is water surrounding the majority of the town. The southwest side has big rocks and ladders that lead into the water. The north side has pebble beaches. Although we didn’t see a ton of other dogs, there were some dogs in both of these areas and no signs anywhere saying dogs were not allowed. We spent a lot of time in the beach on the north side of the city because it was extremely hot (95ºF; 35ºC) while we were there, so we loved cooling off in the water.
Fiesa Beach
There is a walking path that leads from the north side of Piran all the way to Fiesa Beach. It’s a beautiful walk and took us about twenty minutes from the center of Piran. The beach there is slightly nicer and more relaxing than the beaches right around Piran. Dogs are allowed on the beach itself and also at the Beach Bar Barbara where I ate lunch and had a cocktail in the shade.
Moon Bay
Moon Bay is supposedly the most beautiful beach in Slovenia. It’s in Park Strunjan, and is dog-friendly! It’s a bit of a hike to get there, either on a path through the park or up some small back roads. It’s also a bit of a treacherous stairway from the cliff to the beach. Still, I am so glad we came here. The beach itself is beautiful with gorgeous water, and the hike through the park has stunning views. We parked the car here next to Strunjan Beach (which is not dog-friendly, but we were able to get a bite to eat at one of the fast food restaurants there), which was a pretty short drive from the parking garage in Piran.
Predjama Castle
Not super close to Piran, it’s about an hour drive away. We stopped at this castle nestled into a mountain on our drive from Ljubljana to the coast. Dogs are not allowed inside, but you can get really close to the outside. I also had a crisp radler (I became completely obsessed with a Union Radler Grapefruit which is apparently only found in Slovenia) and snack at a little restaurant here, which has a great view of the castle.
Mermaid of Piran & Sunset
There is a carving of a mermaid into the rocks, which is cool to see. But more importantly, this is an amazing area for sunsets. Grab a drink and some fruit, climb up onto one of the big rocks, and watch the sunset!
Where to Eat & Drink
I wasn’t blown away by any one meal here, but I had pleasant experiences at each location. In the summer, the majority of seating is outdoors and that’s where Alice and I always sat. I cannot speak to how many places allow dogs indoors. The breakfast at our hotel did allow Alice.
An excellent spot for sunset, especially if you can get a table next to the walkway. They have a lot of fresh fish options.
Amazing little spot for drinks or sushi, nice view of the rooftops in the heart of the old town.
Lots of meat and fish options, set slightly back from the beach but still with a view of the water. An overly-friendly cat kept trying to convince me to feed him.
A quick, simple menu from a take-away window with tables around the old town square.
This is the restaurant inside our hotel, with many pizza options.
In Tartini Square very close to our hotel, we went here for breakfast one morning, and drinks another night.
A solid kebab place - I got a wrap here and brought it to the beach for lunch one day.
Some mornings there’s a farmer’s market behind the blue government building of Tartini Square. I got fresh fruit here twice and brought it to the beach, and it was delicious!
Things to Do without Dogs
Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed to go up onto the walls of Piran. These walls once protected the city and now provide fantastic views of Piran and the Adriatic Sea! It was unclear online if dogs were allowed or not, so I had Alice with me. The woman working at the entrance and another woman working at the restaurant next door were kind enough to let me tie Alice’s leash to a fence right next to them so I could go up on my own. I only spent about five minutes up there, but the view is worth it even if for only a short time! Had I known dogs were not allowed, I would have left Alice at the hotel and spent a bit more time roaming the walls.
Slovenia has a couple of very famous caves, and I chose this one based on locals’ recommendations. It was very cool and I am glad I did it; my fear of heights did make me nervous a few times, and it is a lot of slow walking in a large crowd. But the caves are amazing.
