Novigrad — Cittanova to its Italian-speaking minority — is a small walled coastal town in northern Istria, built on a low peninsula about halfway between Umag and Poreč. The old centre is a cluster of Venetian-era stone houses around a small harbour, with stretches of the medieval town wall still standing along the seaward edge.
The town is much quieter than Poreč and slightly less polished than Rovinj. The defining sights are the Lapidarium Museum, an unusual collection of medieval stone carvings displayed in a purpose-built modern building, and the Cathedral of St Pelagius with its early Christian crypt. The waterfront is a working fishing port — the morning catch comes in to the small market — and several of Istria's best fish restaurants are in town.
The beach options are mostly rocky stretches with concrete platforms, typical of this part of the coast. Better swimming is at the small pebble coves at Karpinjan just north of the centre, or at the Mareda beach a couple of kilometres up the coast. Novigrad makes a sensible base if you want easy access to both the coastal towns and the Mirna valley wine country inland.