Zadar – gift of the sea
A very cool place to go on the Dalmatian coast of Croatia, is the city of Zadar. Although its walled city is less than 10 square miles in size, it packs a historical and cultural punch well above its weight. Meaning ‘gift of the sea,’ Zadar Old Town has quite a few surprises for the first time visitor.
The Old Town is known for its Roman and Venetian ruins including the ancient walls which feature a number of carved Venetian archway entrances. Croatia isn’t actually very far from Italy and you can sail here on a day trip across from Venice.
The Romans were here
Remnants of the original Roman forum are visible in the middle of the town. Commissioned by the first Roman Emperor Augustus, its original marble paving is still intact along with many stone ruins and artefacts. The 9th century circular Church of St Donat is built directly on top of the old Roman Forum and is now used for musical concerts due to its excellent acoustics.
The Roman Forum was the centre of public life and so the area remains today, situated right on the sea front. Zadar is also host to many music festivals and events throughout the summer. A kind of mini Ibiza.
The Zadar Sea Organ
I considered Zadar as a destination primarily because there was a new cheap Ryanair flight direct from my local airport. My second reason for going to to Zadar is because of the awesome Sea Organ!
Opened in 2005 (I’m only 17 years late,) the world’s only Sea Organ was designed by artist Nikola Bašić. It is a 230 foot long series of musical marble stairs which lead down to the sea. Underneath the stairs are 35 polyethylene tubes of different diameters. At the end of each pipe is a whistle tuned to play seven chords of five different tones. As the waves push through the pipes, they create strange sighing musical sounds. The sounds come out through perforations along the stairs. The effect is quite haunting and ethereal. It almost sounds like some sort of sea monster calling. The choppier the water, the louder the sea organ moans.
This architectural art installation won the 2006 European prize for Urban Public Space and was described as ‘the perfect grandstand for watching the sunset over the sea.’ Alfred Hitchcock counted Zadar’s sunset as the best in the world. It was cloudy when I was there so I cannot currently corroborate this claim.
Greeting to the sun
Another remarkable, and free, attraction in Zadar is the Greeting to the Sun. An incredible solar powered dance floor at the tip of the Southern Quay, it is a remarkable installation made out of 300 photo-sensitive glass plates. These plates absorb daylight and transform into a wonderful light show after dark. This 22m circular plate is also the work of Nikola Basic. It is a magnet for people after the sun goes down and the 10,000 bulb light show is co ordinated by computer, echoing the colours of the sky and the sounds of the sea organ. The solar plate also generates enough power to light up the entire waterfront.
The steel frame surrounding the shimmering blue glass is inscribed with the 36 saints worshipped in Zadar’s churches. Marks show the latitude and longitude of the sun, moon and planets on each feast day.
Museum of Ancient Glass Zadar
Zadar also has a surprisingly high number of interesting museums worth visiting. My favourite was Zadar’s newest one, the Museum of Ancient Glass. The Museum is in the beautiful Cosmacendi Palace overlooking the Jazine harbour. It contains one of the premium collections of Roman glassware outside Italy, with an incredible array of goblets bottles jars and vials. They are in extraordinarily good condition, mainly because they are often found in graves protected by stone containers.
They are beautifully displayed, and glow magically in their well lit cases. On the top floor of the museum Marco, one of the two resident glass blowers, makes a small replica bottle of one of the museum exhibits. He makes the delicate procedure look astonishingly easy, a very skilled artisan.
On the ground floor is a special exhibit of some gorgeous modern glass sculptures and the gift shop is also full of incredible glass jewellery.
The Museum of Archaeology
This museum is opposite the actual Roman Forum and has a really interesting collection of Roman artefacts. Many exhibits are not behind glass and are cast from the original stone pieces. This means you can touch and interact with them which I liked. The Romans were definitely big in Zadar.
The Museum of Illusions
This museum sounds like lots of fun but it was not my cup of tea. It has a sickly purple theme and looks like the shabby building has seen better days. Supposedly full of ‘illusions,’ the small space includes ‘magic eye’ pictures, and optical illusion sets. It also had a moving ‘vortex’ which consisted of a lurid rolling purple tunnel which made me feel extremely sick.
The main drawback for me is that it is also full of screaming children and is quite expensive. Unless it is pouring with rain and you have a bunch of children to entertain I wouldn’t recommend it.
Zadar Nightlife, Food and drink
Zadar is packed with chic bars and restaurants. There are some delicious dining options available, especially sea food, but it’s not particularly cheap. Be aware that Croatia has not yet had the official go ahead to transfer to the Euro. You will still need to use the local currency which is Kuna, or your credit card, to buy most things.
There is even an open air nightclub in the botanical gardens – they were obviously gearing up for a busy season. Check out the Hide Out Music Festival coming this summer! I do like an Aperol Spritz, but if you’re on a budget, you can purchase a very acceptable litre of Croatian wine from the supermarket, for less than the price of a stylish cocktail. It lasts a lot longer too.
Zadar Airport
Zadar airport is a boutique affair. For boutique read ‘small.’ Now, I like small airports in general. Security is usually a lot quicker and there is a lot less waiting around. However there aren’t a huge amount of facilities and the Duty Free is customarily very expensive. So make sure you have a few supplies in case of delays and be prepared to be gathered outside the airport if things get a bit too crowded in the departure lounge!
Zadar – gateway to the Dalmation coast
I was only in Zadar for three days but I thoroughly enjoyed my flying visit. Zadar weather is generally temperate and although it was hazy when I was there it was still very warm. The summers are pretty hot. It is also quite close to two beautiful national parks. Plitvice and Krka which have spectacular lakes and waterfalls.
The Dalmatian coast is studded with many smaller islands which you can visit by ferry, join a tour group or you can even hire a private charter boat. These activities I have left until my next visit, whenever it may be..
Other gorgeous European destinations –