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Hvar Island

Western Balkans Travel Guide

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Hvar Town and tourists at Hvar Spanish Fort (Fortica) at sunset, Hvar Island, Dalmatian Coast, Adriatic, Croatia, Europe

Getty Images/Robert Harding World Imagery

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Overview

Long, lean Hvar is vaguely shaped like the profile of a holidaymaker reclining on a sunlounger, which is altogether appropriate for the sunniest spot in the country (2724 sunny hours each year) and its most luxurious beach destination.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Trg Sveti Stjepana (St Stephan's Square), with Arsenal (right foreground) and the Cathedral of Sveti Stjepana at (back of square).

    Arsenal

    Hvar Town

    Mentioned in Venetian documents as ‘the most beautiful and the most useful building in the whole of Dalmatia’, the Arsenal once served as a repair and…

  • Hvar Town and tourists at Hvar Spanish Fort (Fortica) at sunset, Hvar Island, Dalmatian Coast, Adriatic, Croatia, Europe

    Fortica

    Hvar Town

    Looming high above the town and lit with a golden glow at night, this medieval castle occupies the site of an ancient Illyrian settlement dating from…

  • Fishing boats and Franciscan monastery.

    Franciscan Monastery

    Hvar Town

    Overlooking a pretty cove, this 15th-century monastery has an elegant bell tower, built in the 16th century by a well-known family of stonemasons from…

  • St. Stephens Cathedral in St. Stephens Square at night, Hvar Town, Hvar Island, Dalmatian Coast, Croatia, Europe

    Trg Sv Stjepana

    Hvar Town

    Stretching from the harbour to the cathedral, this impressive rectangular square was formed by filling in an inlet that once reached out from the bay. At…

  • Tvrdalj

    Tvrdalj

    Stari Grad

    This fortified house was built by aristocrat and writer Petar Hektorović (1487–1572) in the 16th century. At its heart is a lovely, lush Renaissance…

  • St Stephen's Cathedral

    St Stephen's Cathedral

    Hvar Town

    Providing a grand backdrop to the main square, this baroque cathedral was built in the 16th and 17th centuries at the height of the Dalmatian Renaissance…

  • Benedictine Convent

    Benedictine Convent

    Hvar Town

    Playwright and poet Hanibal Lucić was born here in 1485, but this town house has been home to a community of Benedictine nuns since 1664. Over the…

  • Dominican Monastery of St Peter the Martyr

    Dominican Monastery of St Peter the Martyr

    Stari Grad

    Founded in 1482, this monastery was damaged by the Turks in 1571 and later fortified with a tower. Palms, orange trees, hydrangeas and lavender bloom in…

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