Poreč (Italian: Parenzo) is a town and municipality on the western coast of the Istrian peninsula, in Istria County, west Croatia. Its major landmark is the 6th-century Euphrasian Basilica, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.
The town is almost 2,000 years old, and is set around a harbour protected from the sea by the small island of Sveti Nikola/San Nicola. Its population of approximately 12,000 resides mostly on the outskirts, while the wider Poreč area has a population of approximately 16,600 inhabitants. Ever since the 1970s, the coast of Poreč and neighboring Rovinj (Rovigno) has been the most visited tourist destination in Croatia.
During the reign of Emperor Augustus in the 1st century BC, it officially became a city and was part of the Roman colony of Colonia Iulia Parentium.
In 1267 Parenzo became the first Istrian city that chose to become part of the Republic of Venice, whose rule lasted for more than five centuries.
After the fall of the Venetian Republic, Parenzo came under the sovereignty of the Habsburg monarchy. After 1918, it became part of the Kingdom of Italy. In 1944, the city was bombed by the Allies 34 times, damaging 75% of the city. In 1947, two years after World War II, it was occupied by Yugoslavia and the city name was changed into Poreč. The Italian population left the city and was replaced by Slavic people from different regions of Yugoslavia.
The Euphrasian Basilica, rebuilt in the 6th century under the Byzantine Empire and bishop Euphrasius, is the most important historical site in Parenzo. It is a protected World Heritage Site, so designated by UNESCO in 1997.
The oldest hotel is the Riviera, constructed in 1910.
Today, tourist infrastructure is intentionally dispersed along the 37 km long coastline, between the Mirna River and the deep Lim valley. The south hosts self-contained centres like Plava Laguna ("Blue Lagoon"), Zelena Laguna ("Green Lagoon"), Bijela Uvala ("White Cove") and Brulo. To the north, mirroring centres are Materada, Červar Porat, Ulika and Lanterna. In the high season, the area's temporary population can exceed 120,000.

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