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Travel review: Sun, sea and shellfish on the shores of Zadar in Croatia
The Turks, Venetians and Austro-Hungarians have all had their say in shaping the beautiful city of Zadar. And with Croatia joining the EU in July, DAN KEEL recommends visiting now, before the masses descend. SIR Alfred Hitchcock knew a thing or two about scene-setting, so when he described Zadar's sunset as "the world’s most beautiful" he was taken very seriously. After a 45-minute afternoon bus journey from Zadar airport to Croatia’s fifth biggest city, you could do a lot worse than head straight to the town’s shore to see if you agree - I think you will.
It’s not just the drama of the golden glows gently settling behind some of Croatia’s 1,246 islands across the Adriatic sea which make this so stunning, but the fact the evening rays create a myriad of colours bouncing off the rock of Ujljan towards the Italian coast. As if this wasn’t enough, the waves play you music thanks to a beautifully crafted staircase leading down to the water’s edge featuring chiselled hollows. As the waves gently caress the pavement these hollows blow a soothing panpipe tone up through holes in the footpath.
However, if you are hungry after your two hour and 20 minute direct flight from London, you could do a lot worse than visit one of the town’s luxury fish eateries before the sunny sensory spectacular begins. Fosa Restaurant, buried neatly in the town’s natural harbour, offers seafood unrivalled in a town which prides itself on sea bream fillets, mussels and calamari. Dalmation prosciutto comes highly recommended as a starter and as for dessert, any ice cream in the Dalmation region will send the tastebuds into ecstasy (businesses have taken a tip or two from their Italian neighbours). Although beautifully peaceful now, Zadar has been invaded numerous times over the last 1,500 years starting with the Barbarians in the middle ages and ending with the Serbs in the 1990s - who never made it to the town centre.
But the bloodshed of the past has left behind a plethora of architecture and ruins attracting historians far and wide. The 13th century cathedral of St Stosija is among the best Romanesque architecture in Croatia while locals are very keen to highlight the spectacular 9th century church of St Donat. Once you have had your fill of sun, seafood and history - a trip to the Dalmatia's Paklenica National Park is a great way to spend a day. Here a short walk at dawn or dusk reaps huge rewards for wildlife lovers. Eurasian brown bears, hoopoes and short-toed eagles make regular appearances in and around the 14km-long canyons. But the main attraction for birdwatchers is the attractive and critically endangered rock partridge. This park, a one-hour car or mini-bus journey from Zadar, even caught the eye of former Yugoslav President Josip Tito. The Marshal admired the area so much he built a labyrinth of emergency bunkers within the rock.
Text: newsshopper.co.uk
Post je objavljen 04.10.2013. u 14:51 sati.