Pages From The Rough Guide To Croatia-Roug - Jonathan Bousfield
Pages From The Rough Guide To Croatia-Roug - Jonathan Bousfield
Pages From The Rough Guide To Croatia-Roug - Jonathan Bousfield
Croatia
CROATIA
0 50 km
SLOVENIA HUNGARY
Varaždin
ITALY Pécs
LJUBLJANA
1
Trieste Bjelovar
ZAGREB 2 Dr
av
Slatina a
Rijeka Karlovac Sava Kutina
3 Našice Osijek
Slunj
Vinkovci Danube
Cres Krk
Pula 4
N Rab Banja
Luka
Pag Sav
Tuzla a
BOSNIA -
HERCEGOVINA SERBIA
Zadar
Ancona
5 SARAJEVO
Vodice
Split Imotski
ADRIATIC SEA
Hvar
ITALY Mostar
1 Zagreb Vis
2 Inland Croatia Korcula
ˇ
3 Istria Ston MONTENEGRO
4 The Kvarner Gulf 6
5 Dalmatia Dubrovnik Podgorica
6 Dubrovnik and around
The publishers and authors have done their best to ensure the accuracy and currency of all the
information in The Rough Guide to Croatia, however, they can accept no responsibility for any loss,
injury, or inconvenience sustained by any traveller as a result of information or advice contained in
the guide.
The Rough Guide to
Croatia
Jonathan Bousfield
www.roughguides.com
Contents
| C ONTE NTS |
Colour section 1 Contexts 429
Introduction ............................... 6 History ................................... 431
Where to go ............................... 9 Croatian folk music ................ 452
When to go .............................. 13 A history of Croatia in
Things not to miss ................... 15 ten albums ............................. 456
Books .................................... 459
Basics 25
Language 463
Getting there ............................ 27 Grammar and pronunciation ... 465
Getting around ......................... 35 Useful words and phrases ..... 466
Accommodation....................... 39 Food and drink ...................... 469
Food and drink ........................ 44 General terms ........................ 474
The media ................................ 48 Political and historical terms... 475
Festivals................................... 49
Sports and the outdoors .......... 53 Travel store 477
Travel essentials ...................... 56
1 Zagreb ................................ 65
Croatian cuisine
2 Inland Croatia.................... 105 colour section
3 Istria .................................. 159 following p.152
4 The Kvarner Gulf ............... 201
5 Dalmatia ............................ 261
6 Dubvronik and around ....... 389 Croatia’s islands
colour section
following p.376
Čako
| INTRODUCTION | WHE RE TO GO | W HE N TO GO
S L O V E N I A Varaždin
I T A L Y Krapina
LJUBLJANA Lepoglava Ko
Sava
Venice
ZAGORJE
E71
ZAGREB
Trieste Samobor
ŽUMBERAK Velika
Gorica
Umag TUROPOLJE
GO
RS
Novigrad Opatija KI Sisak
ISTRIA Karlovac
E65
KOT
Poreč AR
Rijeka A
S
Pazin Crikvenica Ogulin
Korana
E71
Rovinj Krk Novi Vinodolski
Slunj
BRIJUNI Senj
Krk
NATIONAL PARK Cres Town Town PLITVICE LAKES
Pula
Kvarne
Bihać
r Gu
Rab LIKA
lf
Town
Lošinj Karlobag
N Mali Lošinj Pag PAKLENICA
Gospić NATIONAL
(MA E PARK
Pag Town GIS 65
TR
DA
AL
A)
LM
Nin
AT
Zadar IA
Ugljan
Dugi Otok
Pašman Biograd- Knin
na-moru
E71
Murter E6
5
Ancona KORNATI Vodice KRKA
NATIONAL PARK NATIONAL
Šibenik PARK Sin
Trogir Solin
Ce
Split
Supetar Omiš
Šolta
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Vela
Luka
Las
Pescara
4 0 50 km
Budapest Budapest
Metres
Čakovec
| INTRODUCTION | WHE RE TO GO | W HE N TO GO
1500
ždin
Danube
1000
poglava Koprivnica
H U N G A R Y 500
Dr
a
av
PODRAVINA 200
E71
Pécs 100
B Bjelovar
0
Virovitica
elika
orica LONJSKO POLJE Slatina Dr
LJE NATURE PARK SLA ava KOPAČKI RIT
VON NATURE PARK
IA
sak Kutina Daruvar
Našice Osijek
AV
S
A Novska
Đakovo Vukovar
Požega Bačka Palanka
Slavonski Vinkovci
E70
Brod Danube
E70
Belgrade
Banja Luka
Sav
a
BOSNIA - Tuzla
HERCEGOVINA
Travnik SERBIA
Zenica
Bugojno
E71
KA SARAJEVO
ONAL
RK Sinj
olin
Ce
na
ti
t Imotski
upetar Omiš Brela
BIOKOVO
Bol Makarska NATURE
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ALBANIA
| INTRODUCTION | WHE RE TO GO | W HE N TO GO
Introduction to
Croatia
Despite being one of Europe’s hit holiday destinations,
Croatia doesn’t feel like a place that has been thoroughly
worked over by the tourist industry. Though development
continues apace along the more commercialized stretches
of the coast, Croatian tourism has spun off in a number
of positive directions. The infrastructure for hikers and
cyclists is blossoming and rural tourism is on the rise.
As well, a renewed respect for natural ingredients has
become the watchword of Croatian cuisine, with locally
sourced foodstuffs, wines and olive oils standing up
increasingly well to globalization. On the cultural front,
a spate of summer festivals has placed Croatia firmly on
the European rock and pop circuit, while a raft of new
galleries and art attractions has given the country a cool
and contemporary sheen.
Croatia is blessed with a wealth of natural riches,
boasting almost 2000km of rocky, indented
shore and more than a thousand islands, many
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| INTRODUCTION | WHE RE TO GO | W HE N TO GO
• Croatia (Hrvatska in
Croatian) is a crescent-shaped
country of 4.5 million people.
Roughly 85 percent of the
population are Croats, who
speak a Slavic language
akin to Serbian and Bosnian,
and practise the Catholic
Christian faith. There is also
a sizeable Serbian popula-
tion (about thirteen percent
of the total), who belong
to the Orthodox Church
and are concentrated along
Croatia’s borders with Bosnia-
Hercegovina and Serbia.
• Croatia is a parliamentary
democracy with a directly
elected – though nowadays
largely ceremonial – president
Most budget and mid-range accom- as head of state. The Croatian
modation is still in the form of private parliament, the Sabor, is
rooms and apartments, and there has made up of two houses – the
151-member Zastupnički
been an explosion in the number
dom (House of Representa-
of backpacker-friendly hostel-type tives), from which the prime
establishments in the major cities. minister and most of his
The country has certainly come a cabinet are usually chosen;
long way since the early 1990s, when and the 68-member Županijski
within the space of half a decade – dom (House of Regional
Representatives).
almost uniquely in contemporary
• Tourism is Croatia’s most
Europe – it experienced the collapse of
important industry and is
communism, a war of national survival increasingly seen as the cash
and the securing of independence. cow that will support all other
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hard work and order collide with the spontaneity, vivacity and taste for
the good things in life that characterizes the countries of southern Europe
– a cultural blend of Mitteleuropa and Mediterranean that gives Croatia
its particular flavour. Not only that,
but the country also stands on one
of the great faultlines of European
civilization, the point at which the
Catholicism of Central Europe meets
the Islam and Orthodox Christianity
of the East. Though Croats tradi-
tionally see themselves as a Western
people, distinct from the other South
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| INTRODUCTION | WHE RE TO GO | W HE N TO GO
roatia’s underrated capital Zagreb is a typical Central European
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9
peninsula of Istria contains many of
Club culture the country’s most developed resorts,
| INTRODUCTION | WHE RE TO GO | W HE N TO GO
northern Adriatic.
Beyond the Kvarner Gulf lies Dalmatia, a dramatic, mountain-fringed
stretch of coastline studded with islands. It’s a stark, arid region where
fishing villages and historic towns cling to a narrow coastal strip rich in figs,
olives and subtropical vegetation. Northern Dalmatia’s main city is Zadar,
whose busy central alleys are crammed with medieval churches. From here,
ferries serve a chain of laid-back islands such as Silba, Ugljan, Pašman
and the ruggedly beautiful Dugi otok – none of them sees many package
10 tourists, and they’re enticingly relaxing as a result. Despite being the site
of an unmissable Renaissance cathedral, middle Dalmatia’s main town,
Šibenik, is the least compelling
of the region’s urban centres, but
| INTRODUCTION | WHE RE TO GO | W HE N TO GO
makes a good staging-post en route
to the waterfalls of the River Krka
just inland, and the awesome, bare
islands of the Kornati archipelago.
Croatia’s second city, Split, is
southern Dalmatia’s main town, a
vibrant and chaotic port with an
ancient centre moulded around
the palace of the Roman emperor,
Diocletian. It’s also the obvious
jumping-off point for some of the
most enchanting of Croatia’s islands.
The closest of these to the city is
Brač, where you’ll find lively fishing
villages and some excellent beaches,
while nearby Hvar and Korčula
Dominican monastery, Dubrovnik
feature smallish towns brimming
with Venetian architecture and numerous beaches. Slightly further afield, the
islands of Vis and Lastovo, which were closed to tourists until the late 1980s,
remain particularly pristine.
South of Split lies the walled medieval city of Dubrovnik, site of an impor-
tant arts festival in the summer and a magical place to be whatever the season.
Much of the damage inflicted on the town during the 1991–95 war has been
Cafés in Rovinj
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11
National parks
| INTRODUCTION | WHE RE TO GO | W HE N TO GO
If an unending display
of natural riches is what
you’re after, then Croatia
certainly offers variety,
with stark mountains,
forest-cloaked islands, and
wildfowl-infested wetlands
all vying for your attention.
Several unique locations
enjoy national park
protection: most celebrated
of these is Plitvice, a
descending sequence of
clear blue lakes punctuated
by a stunning series of
terraced waterfalls and
foaming cataracts.
One must-visit offshore
attraction is the Kornati
archipelago, an
extraordinarily beautiful
group of largely uninhabited
islands whose sparse
covering of shrubs and
sage produces an unearthly
palette of grey, green and purple shades. A major target for yachting folk,
the Kornati can also be reached on day-excursions from the mainland.
Sweeping views of the coastal islands can be enjoyed from the
desolate grey slopes of the Velebit mountains, where the Paklenica
National Park offers everything from cliff-enclosed gorge trails to scenic
ridge-top hikes.
Those who make it to the far east of the country will be rewarded with
a glimpse of the mysterious sunken forests of Kopački rit, a renowned
haven for wading birds.
repaired, and tourists have been quick to return. Just offshore lie the sparsely
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populated islands of Koločep, Lopud and Šipan – oases of rural calm only
a short ferry ride away from Dubrovnik’s tourist bustle. Also reachable from
Dubrovnik is one of the Adriatic’s most beautiful islands, the densely forested
and relaxingly serene Mljet.
Most Adriatic beaches are pebbly or rocky affairs, and on some parts of the
coast man-made concrete bathing platforms make up for the lack of a proper
strand. The most attractive sweeps of pebble beach are at Bol, on the island
of Brač, and at the towns lining the Makarska Riviera south of Split. Sandy
12
beaches are rare, though glorious examples can be found at Baška on the island
of Krk, the Lopar peninsula on Rab, or Lumbarda on Korčula.
When to go
| INTRODUCTION | WHE RE TO GO | W HE N TO GO
roatia’s climate follows two patterns: Mediterranean on the
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13
Basilica of Euphrasius, Poreč
| INTRODUCTION | WHE RE TO GO | W HE N TO GO
to fifty percent cheaper in winter than they are in peak season. Winters in
inland Croatia are a different kettle of fish entirely: snow is common here
over this period, and can be a picturesque backdrop to sightseeing, although
transport in highland areas is frequently disrupted as a result. Spring is well
into its stride by mid-March, and in southern Dalmatia the sea might be
warm enough to swim in by mid- to late May.
Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
Dubrovnik
8.3 9.1 11.2 13.9 17.8 22.2 25.6 25.0 22.3 17.8 12.9 10.2
Split
7.5 8.5 11.5 12.8 18.9 23.9 26.7 26.1 22.8 16.7 12.5 9.5
Zagreb
0 1.2 5.5 11 16 18.7 22.3 21.8 15.6 12.3 5.4 2.3
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14
| AC TIVITIE S | CONSUM E | E V E NTS | NATURE | S I GHTS |
things not to miss
It’s not possible to see everything Croatia has to offer in one trip – and
we don’t suggest you try. What follows is a selective and subjective
taste of the country’s highlights, from Baroque palaces to perfectly
grilled fresh seafood. They’re arranged in five colour-coded categories
to help you find the very best things to see, do and experience. All
entries have a page reference to take you straight into the Guide,
where you can find out more.
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15
6NUDGLQVNLEXN Page 298 • Head for Krka National Park to admire this stunning
01 series of waterfalls.
| AC TIVITIE S | CONSUM E | E V E NTS | NATURE | S I GHTS |
'LRFOHWLDQpV3DODFH
16
03 6SOLW Page 315 • Taken over by
the townsfolk centuries ago, the Roman
emperor’s pied-à-terre now forms the chaotic
heart of the modern city.
+YDU
05 Page 352
• The swankiest
17
=DGDU Page 268 • Vibrant peninsula town packed with Roman ruins, Romanesque
07 churches and café-crowded alleyways.
| AC TIVITIE S | CONSUM E | E V E NTS | NATURE | S I GHTS |
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/RxLQMLVODQG Page 220 • Unhurried atmosphere, unspoilt fishing ports and lush
13 Mediterranean vegetation make this one of the most charming spots in the northern
Adriatic.
20
14 becoming the number-one activity on
the coast, offering the perfect opportunity to
get up close to Croatia’s colourful undersea
world.
| AC TIVITIE S | CONSUM E | E V E NTS | NATURE | S I GHTS |
&DIÆVRFLHW\ Page 46 • Pavement cafés play a key social role in this nation of
16 gregarious coffee-gluttons.
3DNOHQLFD1DWLRQDO3DUN
17 Page 244 • A hiker’s paradise,
combining craggy limestone gorges, dense
pine forests and meadow-carpeted alpine
uplands.
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:DONLQJ'XEURYQLNpV
22 ZDOOV Page 400 • The briefest of
trots round the battlements will serve as a
breathtaking introduction to this ancient city.
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23
6HDND\DNLQJ Page 55 • The Dalmatian coast is often best enjoyed from the
24 water, and what better way to see it than by taking a leisurely paddle.
| AC TIVITIE S | CONSUM E | E V E NTS | NATURE | S I GHTS |
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24
26 PRQDVWHU\'XEURYQLN
Page 407 • The quiet cloister provides
a perfect home for a small but superb
collection of Renaissance paintings.