Opatija: Angiolina Park and a walk by the sea

Updated October 13, 2026.

Explore Opatija from Angiolina Park to the Maiden with the Seagull. The villa recalls the years when the town began welcoming its first tourists.

Opatija developed as a winter health resort under Austro-Hungarian rule. Its villas and parks make a day trip from Bale worthwhile beyond the swimming season.

Scarpa’s summer villa and the Croatian Museum of Tourism

Rijeka merchant Iginio Scarpa built Villa Angiolina in 1844 and named it after his late wife. The house and its guests preceded the grand hotels, which is why the beginnings of tourism in Opatija are associated with this villa. It now houses the Croatian Museum of Tourism. A visit also reveals the villa’s interior: painted walls, stucco and mirrors in the ground-floor salon, with exhibition rooms upstairs.

The surrounding park developed on the site of a former laurel woodland. Around 140 plant species grow here today, so a walk takes in both native laurel and introduced plants such as evergreen magnolias. Two magnolias beside the façade and a circular flowerbed in front of the main staircase mark the central part of the park.

The Maiden with the Seagull on the Lungomare

From the park, follow the coast towards St James’s Church and the Juraj Šporer Art Pavilion. Beside this stretch of promenade stands the Maiden with the Seagull, a sculpture by Zvonko Car on a rock above the sea. Its predecessor on the same spot was the Madonna del Mare, dedicated to Count Arthur Kesselstadt, who died in a storm in 1891. A gilded version of that Madonna can now be seen beside St James’s Church.

The Lungomare, also known as the Franz Joseph I coastal promenade, links Volosko and Lovran. Continue from central Opatija towards either town to extend your visit into a longer walk by the sea.

Distance from Bale: 1 hour and 3 minutes driving (79.8 km)

For: families, first time visitors, history lovers, art lovers, nature lovers, athletes, recreationists, dog owners

What to do: information, architecture, activities, sea, landscape, recreation, refreshments, food and drink, water surface

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