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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial | |
ARTICLE VIEW: | |
The beautiful Croatia coastline with fewer tourists | |
Mary Novakovich, CNN | |
Updated: | |
9:49 AM EDT, Mon May 6, 2024 | |
Source: CNN | |
Mention Dalmatia, and Split and Dubrovnik usually spring to mind. But | |
head to the northern stretch of this coastal Croatian region and | |
you’ll find a road a little less traveled. | |
Croatia’s coast from Zadar to Trogir manages to pack in an | |
astonishing amount of history and culture, as well as mesmerizing | |
landscapes, in under 90 miles (around 144 kilometers). | |
And that’s just the mainland – there are also dozens of islands | |
scattered along the coast. Many are uninhabited; others are the sort of | |
place to go when you need to get away from it all. | |
There’s even Kornati National Park, one of Croatia’s most | |
compelling natural spaces, spread over 89 islands. You’ll soon see | |
why getting around by boat is such an appealing option. | |
The great cities of Zadar and Šibenik take you back in time: Zadar to | |
the Roman period, Šibenik to the time of Croatia’s medieval rulers. | |
Meanwhile, Trogir – whose old town occupies its own little island – | |
is a magical place protected by UNESCO World Heritage status. In | |
between are alluring coastal villages, secluded beaches and an interior | |
wine region. | |
Zadar and around | |
Step into the historic center of Croatia’s oldest city – founded by | |
the ancient Liburnian tribe and colonized by the Romans in the first | |
century BCE – and you’ll get an insight into what makes the | |
country’s history such a fascinating one. In just one square within | |
the walled old town you’ll be immersed in centuries of history. | |
Trg Opatice Čike is centered on the remains of the ancient Roman | |
forum, many of whose stones were used to build the ninth-century St. | |
Donat’s Church beside it. Next to the church is the romanesque | |
cathedral of St. Anastasia. | |
Opposite, don’t miss the 11th-century bell tower beside St. Mary’s | |
church – a renaissance Benedictine monastery (but with bits of Roman | |
and medieval within). Both St. Mary’s and the baptistery of St. | |
Anastasia were destroyed during Allied bombing in 1943 and had to be | |
rebuilt. | |
Wander along Zadar’s waterfront and you’re firmly back in the 21st | |
century when you come across two art installations by Nikola Bašić | |
that have become major attractions. | |
Sit on the gleaming marble steps by the water’s edge and listen to | |
the haunting sounds of the Sea Organ, an underwater set of pipes | |
powered by waves. Just beside it, embedded into the waterfront is its | |
companion piece, “Greeting to the Sun,” lit by blue glass panels | |
that glow at night. | |
Once you’ve had a leisurely browse of Zadar’s excellent food market | |
a five-minute walk away on ulica Hrvoja Vukčića Hrvatinića, it’s | |
time to hit the beach. | |
Follow the coast just north of the center and you’ll come to | |
family-friendly Borik and Diklo beaches, while just below the old town | |
are city beaches – Kolovare gets our vote for its lively beach bars. | |
If you’re after a full beach experience, head about four miles south | |
of Kolovare and you’ll reach the village of Bibinje, whose nearly | |
three miles of beaches ends at Croatia’s largest marina. | |
Before you leave the mainland, make a quick detour about 10 miles (16 | |
kilometers) north of Zadar to the attractive small town of Nin. Its | |
setting is an unusual one: two protective spits of sandy beach curve | |
around the old town, which sits on its own tiny island connected by two | |
bridges. | |
The surrounding salt flats give a clue to Nin’s importance during the | |
Middle Ages, which you can see for yourself with a visit to the . | |
Take a tour of the museum and discover that little has changed over the | |
past 1,000 years – the salt is still being harvested by hand. Once | |
you’ve explored the old town’s narrow lanes, head to the sandy | |
Queen’s Beach just outside it, and join the locals smearing | |
themselves in the “therapeutic” mud you’ll find in the reeds | |
behind the beach. | |
Zadar archipelago | |
The numerous islands scattered off Zadar’s coast are some of | |
Croatia’s most laid back, and many of them are reachable by ferry. | |
The two closest and easiest to reach – Ugljan and Pašman – are | |
only 25 minutes away by boat and are almost like suburbs of Zadar, | |
albeit suburbs smothered with olive groves, indented with pebbly coves | |
and crisscrossed with hiking and biking trails. | |
Silba, around three hours or so by ferry from Zadar, is one of the | |
furthest flung, a chilled-out place where cars aren’t allowed and | |
even bikes are banned during the summer months. Its smaller neighbor, | |
Olib, is on the same ferry route and feels even more remote. | |
Head about two hours west from Zadar by fast ferry and you’ll reach | |
sinuous Dugi Otok, which translates as “long island.” Drive along | |
its coastline to find tiny fishing villages, old Yugoslav military | |
U-boat bunkers, and Veli Rat – the Adriatic’s highest lighthouse at | |
135 feet. | |
Climb to the top for views of Dugi Otok’s northern coast and | |
neighboring islands. While you’ll see that most of the island’s | |
beaches are pebbly coves, there’s sand at Sakarun on the west coast, | |
while at the southern tip is the enchanting , whose 25 coves and six | |
islets are wedged into a claw-shaped landscape of oak forests and olive | |
groves lined with footpaths. | |
Follow the trail to the inland saltwater Lake Mir, or “peace.” When | |
it’s not high season, it lives up to its name. | |
Kornati National Park | |
Sailors have long known about the joys of weaving through the , an | |
archipelago of 89 eerily barren but starkly beautiful islands just | |
south of Dugi Otok. | |
If you want to go off grid, this is the place to do it – there’s no | |
mains water or electricity anywhere on the islands, just rainwater, gas | |
and solar energy. In fact, there’s not even a permanent population, | |
apart from the odd flock of sheep. | |
Once the season kicks in, some of the islands, including Kornati, | |
Priškera and Levrnaka, come to life. Restaurants and rental cottages | |
open up for the boating crowd, and there’s also a well-equipped | |
marina on Priškera. | |
There’s little to do but swim, eat, drink, maybe do a little hiking | |
– and repeat. If you don’t have your own boat, join a boat tour | |
from Murter, an island close to the mainland that’s connected by a | |
bridge. | |
Šibenik | |
One of Croatia’s greatest cities is curiously overlooked by most | |
tourists, but Šibenik is a must-visit. | |
Founded in the 11th century CE by Croatians – not Romans or Greeks, | |
like other Dalmatian cities – it’s home to the magnificent | |
UNESCO-listed Cathedral of St. Jakov, a gothic-renaissance marvel, with | |
a frieze of 71 sculpted portraits around the outside. | |
The Venetians ruled here from 1412 to 1797, and it’s easy to get | |
pleasantly lost in the labyrinth of marble lanes they left in the | |
historic center, but save time to visit three of the city fortresses | |
they built. | |
The quickest one to reach, St. Michael’s, is less than a 10-minute | |
walk from the waterfront and doubles as an open-air venue for | |
summertime pop concerts with superb views of the Adriatic beyond. | |
Look out, too, for signs leading you about five minutes south of the | |
fortress to the fragrant Medieval Mediterranean Garden of St. | |
Lawrence’s Monastery. Breathe in the scents of lavender, rosemary and | |
wild herbs as you relax on the garden’s benches. | |
Šibenik is often used as the jumping-off point for visits inland to , | |
whose waterfalls are at least as impressive as those in the more famous | |
Plitvice Lakes National Park. | |
Buses leave Šibenik for the riverside town of Skradin 12 miles north, | |
from where you take a boat east along the Krka River past seven | |
stupendous waterfalls. The most famous is Skradinski Buk, with 17 | |
cascades tumbling into each other. | |
At this point you can disembark and follow the footpath to get a closer | |
look before going deeper into the lush greenery flanking the river. The | |
boat stops at various points, including the thundering Roški Slap | |
waterfall and the Visovac island monastery. | |
Late spring, early summer and fall are good times to visit, as water | |
levels can drop during the summer months. | |
Primošten | |
Wine lovers can base themselves in the charming town of Primošten, | |
about 18 miles (28 kilometers) south of Šibenik. You’ll be in a | |
prime spot to visit the nearby wineries specializing in the indigenous | |
Babić grape which produces a soft, fruity red wine in a landscape of | |
rolling hills and olive groves – try or . | |
Primošten’s old town is on its own little island connected to the | |
newer town by a causeway. Its stepped alleyways lead up to the | |
15th-century church St. George and lovely views of the Adriatic. Look | |
out for a little promontory just to the north of the old town, where | |
you’ll see pebbly beaches backed by pine trees. | |
Trogir | |
Tiny Trogir’s walled old town also sits on its own small island, | |
sandwiched between the mainland – where the newer part of the city is | |
– and the sprawling island of Čiovo, whose northern and western | |
coasts are lined with beach resorts. Bridges connecting all three. | |
Stand in its central square beside the romanesque St. Lawrence’s | |
Cathedral and you’ll instantly see why the old town is on the UNESCO | |
World Heritage Site list. | |
It’s a delightful jumble of medieval palaces and cobblestone lanes, | |
with squares where restaurants and bars squeeze into small courtyard | |
gardens. | |
Wander along the Riva waterfront to reach the 15th-century Kamerlengo | |
Fortress, an atmospheric venue for summertime performances of classical | |
and pop concerts. | |
Mary Novakovich is the author of “” | |
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