Slovenia has just 46 kilometres of coastline and spends nearly all of its charm on Piran: a Venetian-Gothic wedge of terracotta roofs and marble squares on a narrow peninsula, with swimming ladders dropping straight off the promenade rocks. Climb the campanile — a miniature of St Mark's in Venice — then settle in for sea bass and a glass of local malvazija as the lights come on around Tartini Square. Day-trippers vanish by seven; the town becomes yours.
Featured in Ten lovely beach towns for lazy harbourside evenings · Beach