1. Zadar’s streets are alive with history
Zadar’s story begins off Kalelarga, at the ancient Roman Forum in the Old Town. The 2000 year old brainchild of Roman Emperor Augustus, this has always been the city’s main meeting place. Today coffee-obsessed Croats converge in cafes under the bell tower of St. Anastasia's Cathedral. And families sit on the steps of 9th century St. Donatus Church.
In summer St. Donatus hosts classical concerts as its domed ceiling acts as a natural amplifier.
Head to the waterfront to see ruins from the 6th century earthquake which dismantled the city. You’ll find Roman columns, colonnades, pediments and sarcophagi laid out on a lawn, like an impossible jigsaw puzzle.
2. You can learn to blow glass with Croatian artisans
Almost all Croatia’s glassblowers have gone out of business. But the
Museum of Ancient Glass in Zadar is home to the very last one.
Visit to explore the collection of historic artefacts. Then climb to the second floor and watch glassblower Marko Štefanac at work in front of a furnace primed to over 1,300°C. Gawp as he transforms white hot glass into vases, jugs and souvenirs. Brave souls can try glass blowing themselves. But be aware the end results may not look like Marko’s.
3. Adriatic sunsets wowed a Hollywood legend
Alfred Hitchcock knew a thing or two about creating suspense. And the same can be said of
Zadar. Particularly at dusk, when the sun drops below the horizon and skies blaze pink, red and orange.
Hitchcock holidayed in Zadar in 1964. He stayed in the building which now houses chic holiday apartment Bristol Lux 3BR. And he described the city’s sunset as the world’s best.
Hard to argue. Especially when sunset’s accompanied by the soft music of Zadar’s extraordinary Sea Organ. Created by architect Nikola Bašić, the organ’s subterranean pipes give voice to the tide, and mesh whale-song with musical sighs as the water ebbs and flows.
