Free guided tour of Poreč on 18 January: The Tourist Board invites residents and guests to “get to know their country”
The Poreč Tourist Board is organising a free city tour on Sunday, 18 January 2026, led by a local licensed tour guide, on the occasion of the International Recognition Day of the Republic of Croatia. The activity is part of the national project “Get to Know Your Country”, implemented by the Association of Tourist Guide Societies of Croatia with the support of the Croatian National Tourist Board, and this year it takes place simultaneously in more than 50 cities, starting at 12:00.
Participants in Poreč are scheduled to gather at 12:00 at Freedom Square, one of the recognisable points of the city centre and a frequent starting point for walks towards the old town core. The organiser emphasises that participation is free, but due to group organisation, prior registration is required.
Registration and meeting details
- Date: Sunday, 18 January 2026
- Time: 12:00
- Meeting point: Freedom Square, Poreč
- Participation: free of charge, with mandatory registration
- Registration: by e-mail at info@myporec.com or by phone at 052/451-293
- For visitors planning arrival and stay: accommodation offers in Poreč
For those coming from other places in Istria or beyond, the Sunday time slot can also be convenient as a one-day trip, and for a weekend visit the recommendation is to plan logistics in advance, including
accommodation near the meeting point and getting around the old town core, which is most pleasant on foot.
Why the tour is linked to International Recognition Day
The International Recognition Day of the Republic of Croatia is marked on 15 January, in memory of the date when, in 1992, Croatia gained international recognition, including the decision of the then European Community. On its website, the Croatian Parliament reminds that it is a commemorative day paying tribute to that historic moment, which strongly marked the political and diplomatic position of the state in the most sensitive period of its recent history.
The project “Get to Know Your Country” does not treat that date through classic ceremonial protocols, but through an accessible, citizen-friendly format: free tours led by licensed guides. According to a statement by the Croatian National Tourist Board, the goal is to encourage residents to experience their own cities from a different perspective and, through heritage interpretation, highlight the value of local stories, identity, and cultural heritage.
“Get to Know Your Country”: a national initiative in more than 50 cities
In January 2026, the Croatian National Tourist Board states that the free tours as part of the project “Get to Know Your Country” will take place on 18 January 2026 starting at 12:00, in more than 50 cities across Croatia. The project holder is the Association of Tourist Guide Societies of Croatia, a professional organisation that brings together guides at the national level, and the concept relies on the idea that tourism is not built only through major campaigns, but also through knowledge of one’s own environment and the involvement of the local community.
In practice, such guided tours often have a double value: they offer visitors a concise and informative introduction to the city, while helping locals “rearrange” familiar streets and squares into an understandable historical mosaic. Precisely that element — showing the familiar as new — is usually the reason why guided tours are also attended by residents who know Poreč well, but rarely observe it through historical layers.
Poreč as an open history book: from Roman Parentium to a modern city
In its materials, the Poreč Tourist Board highlights that the historical heritage is preserved in the core on the peninsula and that the foundations of the urban layout were set during the Roman Empire, with a recognisable geometric street grid. Even today, in the old town core, the main axes of the ancient city are legible, including the longitudinal Decumanus and the transverse Cardo, which makes Poreč particularly interesting for interpretive walks: the story is literally “read” from the city plan.
The tour organisers do not list every stop on the route in advance, but the advantage of expert guidance lies precisely in the fact that the guide can explain on site how periods, authorities, and styles alternated in the same space, from antiquity, through early Christianity and the Middle Ages, to the modern era. Visitors most often also receive a broader framework: why certain squares emerged, how defensive belts moved, where economic lifelines were, and how Poreč, as a coastal city, has always been in dialogue with the sea.
For guests who want to experience Poreč beyond a few hours of walking, a practical addition to planning can be
accommodation for visitors to Poreč, especially in winter periods when programmes and tours often concentrate into shorter daytime blocks.
The Euphrasian Basilica as a globally recognised value
When speaking about the cultural identity of Poreč, the Euphrasian Basilica, i.e. the episcopal complex in the historic city centre, is indispensable. The official tourist portal of the Poreč Tourist Board states that it is the most valuable cultural asset of Poreč, which was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997. UNESCO, on its pages about the inscribed property, points out that the complex is among the best-preserved early Christian cathedral ensembles, with key parts preserved with exceptional integrity.
It is important to emphasise that the free guided tour on 18 January is not conceived as a museum visit with a narrow focus, but as a broader interpretation of the city. Yet precisely such programmes, which include historical context and an understandable narrative, are often the first “entry point” for visitors to later explore sights, exhibitions, museum collections, or sacred heritage on their own.
What participants can expect from expert guidance
According to information from the Poreč Tourist Board, participants will have the opportunity, through expert guidance, to learn about the rich history of Poreč and its cultural heritage, with an emphasis on the historical layers of the city from ancient times to the modern era. In practice, this usually means that the tour is not a mere listing of dates, but an explanation of “why”: why some streets have been preserved in their original direction, why certain parts of the core are experienced as the heart of the city, how public spaces were formed, and where traces of different periods can be recognised.
Expert guides thus have a special role in turning information into an experience. In its statements about the project, the Croatian National Tourist Board emphasises the importance of tour guides in interpreting and presenting heritage, and such events show that this role relates not only to the summer season, but also to the civic, educational segment outside the peak tourist months.
Why such an initiative matters beyond tourism
Although at first glance it is tourist content, “Get to Know Your Country” also has a broader social meaning. A guided walk through the city, especially when it is free and accessible to a wide circle of people, can be a form of public education and an encouragement of cultural literacy. In cities like Poreč, where identity is built on layering and a long continuity of life, heritage interpretation also helps in understanding contemporary decisions about space: what is preserved, what is renovated, how balance is struck between everyday life, community needs, and visitors’ interests.
For some participants, the tour will also be a reminder that history is present in the details — in street names, the layout of squares, views towards the sea, and the ways in which the core has adapted to time. For others, especially visitors who are coming for the first time, such guidance can be the best way to obtain a meaningful framework in a short time and to experience Poreč not only as a “beautiful coastal town”, but as a place with a clear historical continuity.
To make a weekend in Poreč more enjoyable, especially for guests who want to stay after the tour, it is informative to check
accommodation offers in Poreč and plan moving around the old core, where the experience is most complete on foot.
Sources:- Croatian National Tourist Board – statement about the project “Get to Know Your Country” and the timing of free tours (18 January 2026 at 12:00) (link)
- Croatian Parliament – overview and historical context of the International Recognition Day of the Republic of Croatia (15 January 1992) (link)
- Poreč Tourist Board (official portal) – historical heritage and Roman street grid (Decumanus and Cardo) (link)
- Poreč Tourist Board (official portal) – Euphrasian Basilica and UNESCO inscription (1997) (link)
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre – inscription “Episcopal Complex of the Euphrasian Basilica in the Historic Centre of Poreč” (property information) (link)
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