With high-profile neighbours, you might not of heard of Zadar. It might even surprise you that there is a direct flight from Luton to the city, with easyJet during the summer, and there are a number of good resorts in the area. However, it’s a lovely stop for an afternoon on a cruise – or as an entry point for exploring the area further.
Given we were docked out of town, we had to get a transfer bus into the city which took about fifteen minutes, and dropped us off outside the main dock in the centre of town, which at the time a Viking ship was moored up.
Located extremely close to here is Zadar’s biggest claim to fame – the Sea Organ and Greeting to the Sun. Right on the waterfront, the Sea Organ’s acoustic design allows waves to push through underwater pipes producing gentle, if slightly ghostly music which appears to come from the Adriatic Sea.
Just around the corner, the Greeting to the Sun is a large circular installation of solar-powered glass panels, absorbing light during the day and releasing it in patterns after dark. In July, and leaving the city about 5pm, I unfortunately didn’t get to see it.
The Old Town is lovely, set on a peninsular and quite similar to other coastal cities in the region. The Roman forum still sits at the heart of the city, complete with pillars and the ruins scattered around. The nearby St Donatus’ Church, dating back from the 9th century is one of the finest examples of Byzantine architecture in the region, and is distinguishable due to its circular shape.
There are a lot of narrow cobbled streets, with interesting shops, cafes and ice cream shops – but its not crowded like Dubrovnik or Split can be, even with two medium-sized cruise ships in town. I decided to take a walk along the city wall, and then cross the bridge to the new town, where there were a number of very nice yachts moored up – clearly this is somewhere people want to come!
If you’re looking for somewhere to go that’s a little bit different, and don’t want the crowds of the bigger Croatian cities, this is certainly worth a look – especially during the summer. I thought it was really lovely. However, if you want really, really lovely – just wait until next week!
