Archive for July, 2008

Tennis in Umag

July 16th 2008

Tennis fans in Istria should make a beeline up to the coastal town of Umag, where the Croatia Open is taking place. Anyone with the remotest interest in tennis has noticed that Croatia churns out top players with awesome regularity. Many of them are now playing on the clay courts of Umag, including Ivan Ljubicic and Ivo Karlic. Other top-ranked players on the courts this year include last year’s winner, Carlos Moya plus clay-courters Guillermo Canas, Fernando Verdaso and Nicolas Massu.

For more information and tickets, see the Croatia Open Umag site.  For accommodation and visitor information, see my Umag Travel Guide.

Posted under Croatia Travel & Events & Istria | No Comments »

Stari Grad, Hvar Island: A new UNESCO world heritage site

July 14th 2008

Go ahead clubbers. Party away in Hvar Town. True culture buffs now zero in on the Stari Grad Plain, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located outside Stari Grad town on Hvar Island, this new site makes seven World Heritage Sites in Croatia. The others are: Plitvice Lakes National Park, the Old Town of Dubrovnik, Trogir, Diocletian’s Palace, the Euphrasian Basilica and the Cathedral of St James.

On 8 July, the UNESCO committee inscribed the Stari Grad plain on this prestigious list, noting that:

Stari Grad Plain on the Adriatic island of Hvar is a cultural landscape that has remained practically intact since it was first colonized by Ionian Greeks from Paros in the 4th century BC. The original agricultural activity of this fertile plain, mainly centring on grapes and olives, has been maintained since Greek times to the present. The site is also a natural reserve. The landscape features ancient stone walls and trims, or small stone shelters, and bears testimony to the ancient geometrical system of land division used by the ancient Greeks, the chora which has remained virtually intact over 24 centuries. (see full text)

What is especially appealing about this decision is that the region is much less well-known than the other WHS in Croatia, giving visitors an extra reason to venture beyond the beaten path that leads to Hvar Town.

Find out more about the history of Hvar Island.

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Zadar

July 7th 2008

Zadar is one of Croatia’s most underrated destinations and I’m glad to see that the travel section of the NYTimes has finally gotten around to highlighting this wonderful city in this article. 

I landed in Zadar just a few weeks ago after taking Jadrolinija’s ferry from Ancona to Zadar which chugged into the harbour at 7am. It was a wonderful time to be in Zadar as the city was just waking up. The seaside promenade known as Riva was quiet, cool and relaxing with the hollow sounds of Zadar’s famous sea organ in the background. Unfortunately I didn’t get to sample Zadar’s nightlife on this trip, although I did stop by to say hello to Nick Colgan of The Garden, Zadar’s main hub for nightcrawlers. And I was gratified to check out the Bastion hotel. Finally, a hotel in Zadar’s Old Town! (read more about my recent trip to Croatia)

This article reminded me of a pet peeve. I do wish journalists would stop declaring that Croatia is a great deal because the “non-euro economy is easier on the dollar”. It ain’t necessarily so. The rate of the Croatian kuna is tied to the euro and always has been. As the euro climbs in value against the dollar, so does the Croatian kuna. In the nineties, I was getting eight kuna to the dollar; now it’s down to about 4.50. If you go to Zadar, you’ll get good deals on private accommodation and meals because it’s not a major tourist destination. Go to Dubrovnik and you’ll find prices only a sliver less (maybe) than eurozone countries like France and Italy.

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