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There are numerous cultural and historical monuments of great significance in Croatia, such as the ancient amphitheatre in Pula, the palace of the Emperor Diocletian in Split (a UNESCO world heritage site), the Romanesque cities of Krk, Rab, Pag, Korcula and Trogir, elegant Dubrovnik, (a 13th century city with excellently preserved Renaissance towers and walls, which is also under UNESCO protection), one of Europe's first public theatres in Hvar, the basilica of Euphrasy's' in Porec, the pre Romanesque church of St. Donat in Zadar, Sibenik cathedral, and many others.

Important museums:

Dubrovnik: Archaeological Museum, Ethnographic Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, Maritime Museum, The Cathedral Vault, Marin Drzic House
Cakovec: Museum of Medimurje
Gospic: Museum of Lika
Hlebine: Gallery and Collection of naive artist Ivan Generalic
Krapina: Museum of Evolution, Museum Ljudevit Gaj
Makarska: Malacological museum, City museum
Pula: Archaeological museum, Historical museum of Istria
Split: Museum of Croatian archaeological monuments, Archaeological Museum Split, Gallery of Ivan Mestrovic
Trakoscan: Castle-Museum Trakoscan (old weapons)
Zadar: Archaeological museum, Museum of Zadar, Maritime Museum
Zagreb: Archaeological museum, Etnographic museum, Citymuseum, Museum Mimara, Natural History Museum, Museum for modern art, Artgallery Strossmayer, Technical museum

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Things to Do

Health tourism: There are a large number of health spas sited on thermal and mineral springs. Around Zagreb are Tuheljske Toplice, Krapinske Toplice, Stubicke Toplice, Varazdinske Toplice, Ivanic Grad (Naftalan) and Topusko.

In Slavonia there is Daruvar, Lipik and Bizovac. On the coast you will find Vela Luka, Sibenik, Duga Uvala and the Istrian spas.

There is also thalassotherapy in Opatija, Crikvenica, Veli Losinj, Hvar and Makarska.

Naturism: There are numerous well-established naturist camps all along the Adriatic coast. There are also naturist beaches near some hotels and camps. To locate: http://www.cronatur.com

Conference tourism: Croatia has 75 fully equipped conference halls. The largest conference centres in Croatia include Zagreb, Opatija, Dubrovnik, Pula, Rovinj, Cavtat, Porec, Brijuni, Crikvenica and the Plitvice Lakes.

Hunting tourism: There is a long tradition of hunting tourism in Croatia, and there are a large number of hunting resorts. In central Croatia and Slavonia one can hunt deer, wild boar, martens, foxes, hares, pheasants, wild geese and wild ducks. In Gorski Kotar and Lika there are also opportunities for bear hunting and, in Dalmatia, chamois and Mouflon.

Winter tourism: There are three major ski resorts with many ski lifts and ski runs: Medvednica near Zagreb, Platak near Rijeka and Bjelolasica near Ogulin.

Sports tourism...

Most hotels and camps have tennis courts (ATP tournament in Umag, WTA tournament in Bol), as well as facilities for basketball and beach volleyball. It is possible to rent boats for fishing. One can go rafting on the Dobra and Cetina rivers, and white water rafting is organised on the Kupa, Korana, Mreznica, Cetina and Una rivers. There are many sea-kayaking opportunities in the Elafiti and Kornati islands and Omis.

Yachting: There are more than 40 marinas and many businesses that support the yachting fraternity. You could consider offering yacht charter as part of your holiday let.

Diving: There are over 120 diving centres throughout the Croatian Adriatic.
(http://www.diving.hr/)

Best Beaches: Bol - probably Croatia's most famous beach, Orebic - The Lonely Planets vote for best beach in southern Dalmatia, Kolocep - One of the Elafiti islands which lie along the Adriatic coastline, opposite Dubrovnik at the southern end of the country. It has some of the loveliest, secluded beaches in Europe

Windsurfing: in Viganj and Bol

Hiking: Paklenica National Park and Risnjak National Park. For a great view of the coastal mountains and Korcula climb Mt Ilija (961m) above Orebic or Sveti Jure (1762m) from Makarska.

Rock Climbing: The karstic stone of Croatia's coast provides excellent climbing opportunities. Paklenica National Park has over 400 routes. The rocks surrounding Baska on Krk Island can be climbed year round and can be combined with a beach holiday, as can Brela on the mainland.

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The People

If you ask a Croat what distinguishes them from Serbian or Bosnian culture the answer is likely to be a variant of "We are Western, not Eastern"

Croatia has a strong, historically based identification with Western Europe. The idea that Croatia is the last stop before the Ottoman East is very much alive in all segments of the population.

The tidy streets, stylish clothes and carefully tended historical monuments throughout the country are rooted in the Croat's image of themselves as western Europeans who take pride in keeping up appearances. Despite a fragile economy, money can usually be found to brighten up the town centre with a fresh coat of paint or to repair a crumbling facade. Even as their own bank accounts diminish, most people will cut out restaurants and films in order to afford a shopping trip to Italy for some new clothes. (Extracted from Lonely Planet 2002)

Traditionally, Croatians lived in large families headed by the oldest male. The family extended to include relatives on sides, the parents' best man and bridesmaid, and godparents. Godparenting (kumstvo), an ancient practice, entailed lifelong responsibility and is, to a lesser extent, still practised. Today, most households consist of a nuclear family, and women generally have an equal status to men in both the household and Croatian society. Still, aspects of older ways remain. For example, elderly parents, especially if widowed, will usually live with their adult children or grandchildren. In rural areas, large families are still the norm and considered an asset to family farms, which usually pass down from father to son.

Croatians treat the life cycle rites of birth, marriage and death with great importance and mark them with religious rituals. Weddings are the most lavish celebration. In the countryside, guests may include most of a village population. In towns, weddings are a chance for distant relatives to come together. Most couples have church weddings, followed by a feast.

Croatian children are raised under strict discipline and expected to respect their elders. In cities, many families now have only one or two children, though overall family size is higher in Croatia than other European nations. Like elsewhere in Europe, divorce has also become more common.

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Wine

Croatia is experiencing a revival of viticulture, which has been present since ancient times. In the continental regions it was spread by the Romans; for example, the name of the Moslavina region originates from Mons Claudius, or Claudius' hills, because it was planted with grapevines on the emperor's orders. Some indigenous grape varieties on the islands of Hvar and Vis have retained Greek names.

Croatia is officially divided into two viticulture regions, according to climatic features and variety of grape; these regions are further divided into sub regions and wine–growing areas.

Continental Croatia covers the sub regions and wine-growing areas of Zagorje, Meðimurje, Prigorje, Plesivica, Pokuplje, Moslavina, Bilogora, Podravina, Slavonija and Podunavlje,

The coastal region includes Istria and the northern Adriatic, northern Dalmatia, the Dalmatian hinterland known as Zagora, and central and southern Dalmatia.

Wine is not only a product, its significance is deeper; cultivating grapes for wine production and drinking wine is a tradition deeply embedded in the roots of Croatian culture. Numerous Croatian holidays, feasts, traditions and a vast folklore have developed around the appreciation of wine. One of the best-known tradition is the feast of Martinje, during which peasants celebrate "the baptism of grape juice into young wine," a comical mimicking of a church baptism. This feast is celebrated on Saint Martin's day in rural parts of the Slavonia region. Other local customs, also associated with various saints' days, have developed in different regions. Although there are special regional variations, the common ground of these celebrations is the superstitious belief that if the grapevines were blessed during the resting winter months, they would bear better fruit in the spring.

The tradition of ensuring the reputation and quality of Croatian wines is today continued by the enactment of the Law on Wine in 1995. This Law regulates various types of wines-table, quality, high-quality, archive, specialty (dessert, liquor, aromatised), sparkling-and it classifies wines as dry, semi-dry, semi-sweet or sweet. According to the Croatian Wine Guide, there are nearly 700 various kinds of wine produced from 54 sorts of grapes in Croatia. Often, there will be no indication of grape variety on a Croatian label, just as most other European wines are named not for the grape but for the area of production. For example the name "Dingac", is geographical, referring to the area on the Peljesac Peninsula where the vines catch a double dose of sunlight reflected off the sea.

With small vintners gaining prominence, wine–related events are being organized, such as Martinmas and Vincekovo; wine cellars (the oldest and most interesting are in Zagreb, e.g.Vinium, Bornstein and Le Gout); and wine routes, of which those in Moslavina (Kutina), Prigorje (Zelina) and Zagorje (Plemenscina) have a certain amount of success. Wine routes in Plesivica, Istria (Buje) and Meðimurje have recently been set up while the establishment of those in Peljesac and Slavonia (Pozega valley) is under way.

Of Croatia's 700 registered wines there are a dozen premium varietals, such as Malvazija and Hrvatica rose from Buje; Muscatel Ottonel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from Porec; Teran from Buzet, Zlahtina from Vrbnik, Babic from Primosten, Bugava from Vis, Plavac from Bol, Faros, Plavac Ivan Dolac (Sviree), Golden Plavac (Vitis, Jelsa), Bogdanjusa (Planeia), Postup Donja Banda, Dingac and Posip (Smokvica) (all from Korcula), and Grk from Lumbar.

Other well-known wines are Portugizac (Rezek), Rhine Riesling (Jambrovic), Chardonnay (Tomac) and Green Silvanac (Bolta) from Jastrebarsko; Rhine Riesling, Sauvignon and Predikanta, Sauvignon (Lebara), Yellow Muscatel (Zidov) from Strigovo;Chardonnay (Lovrec) and Muscatel Ottonel (Matanovic) from Urban, Champagne (Turk), Rhine Riesling and Grey Pinot from Bozjakovina; White Pinot (Jarec) from Sveti Ivan Zelina; Rhine Riesling (Kos) from Hrnjci;White Pinot and Skrlet from Moslavina; Grasevina, Chardonnay, Rhine Riesling and established wines from Kutjevo;Rhine Riesling and Grasevina (Enjingija), Grasevina (Krauthaker), aromatic Traminac (Milièeviæ), green Silvanac and Frankovka from Orahovica; Rhine Riesling, Ilok Traminac and Chardonnay from Vukovar;Grasevina Pajzos from Ilok; Tranava Traminac from Ðakovo; Mandiæevac Grasevina and Mandiceva White Pinot from Dakovo

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Food

Croatian cuisine reflects the influence of various cultures, yet it has distinctive, regional qualities. Along the Dalmatian coast, cuisine tends to be Mediterranean. The largest meal of the day, eaten either at noon or in the evening, often begins with an appetizer of prsuto, a Dalmatian double-smoked ham. The main course is usually a seafood dish, such as fish grilled with olive oil and herbs, pasta topped with seafood, or brodet, a fish stew. Pizza and spaghetti are also popular. Rice dishes such as risotto commonly accompany main courses and typically, meals are served with a full-bodied wine.

Northern and eastern Croatian fare tends to be heartier, showing the influences of Hungary, Austria and Turkey. Meals consist mainly of meat and potatoes, and are accompanied by light wine. Dinners often begin with soup or pickled cabbage rolls. A second course may be gulas (or goulash), a vegetable and meat stew that is a staple in Hungary. The main meat dish, which may be pork, lamb or duck, is often roasted on a spit in the traditional manner. Another favourite dish is veal steaks stuffed with ham and cheese and grilled with breadcrumbs. Regional specialties include visovacka begavica, lamb cooked in sheep's milk, mlinci, a flat, sour dumpling served with turkey, and wild truffles with pasta. Because of the prevalence of forests and the common practice of hunting, Croatians also enjoy cooking fresh game.

Snack foods readily available everywhere include Turkish-style dishes such as kebab and burek, a pastry stuffed with cheese or meat. Croatians usually drink wine with their main meal, but the country also produces many popular varieties of brandy and beer; strong coffee and herbal teas are common non-alcoholic drinks. For dessert, Croatian pastries are light, and include sweet bread with walnuts or poppy seeds, known as orehnjaca and makovnjaca. Palacinke are crepes with jam and chocolate.

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National Parks

http://www.hr/hrvatska/maps/parks.en.html

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Sport and Leisure

Croatians enjoy many sporting activities and Croatia's athletes have gained international recognition. Various sporting institutions, including the Gymnastics Club, Marksman's Society and Mountaineering Society, originated in the 19th century in Zagreb, which is still the home of much organized sport in Croatia.

The most popular spectator sport is soccer. Croatia's national team, created in 1907, was placed third in the 1998 World Cup. In tennis, Goran Ivanisevic's spectacular five-set victory over Pat Rafter in the 2001 Wimbledon final was the best witnessed on the famous grass court in 20 years and Mirjana Lucic won the 1998 Australian Open women's doubles at age 15.

Other popular sports include basketball, handball, tennis, sailing, water polo, swimming and mountaineering. Croatian athletes have also won Olympic medals in swimming, skiing and kayaking.

Hiking and climbing are two of the most popular activities in Croatia. The country offers more than 20 mountains with peaks higher than 1,000 metres. Anika Kuk rock (700 metres) is a favourite training place for mountaineers, as are the mostly bare Velebit Mountains.

Almost 40% of Croatia is forested, and hundreds of areas have been set-aside as preserves for hunting, a tradition practiced for both food and sport. The most common game are wild boar, bear, pheasant, partridge and hare. When families visit a forest, men may go off to hunt while women gather truffles and other foods.

Along the Adriatic, going to the beach is a very popular pastime. Another relaxing activity is the Croatian game of balote, a type of bowling played on a sandy rectangle, often by village men on warm evenings.

Croatians also enjoy attending cultural events, especially ones showcasing Croatian folklore. Almost every city, island or village has an annual fair, festival or artistic exhibit; Zagreb has hosted fairs since the 13th century. Its International Folklore Festival in July features songs and dances from all over the country.

Many Croatians young and old regularly take advantage of the country's numerous spas and medicinal mud baths, which are used to treat both sore muscles and medical ailments. Benefits come from both drinking and bathing in the mineral water. The traditions of bathing at thermal springs and applying mud to the body go back to ancient times, when Romans built thermae (hot baths) in Croatia. The country has 14 mineral and thermal springs, one medicinal oil and 15 medicinal mud centres. Most spas are located in Hrvatsko Zagorje in northern Croatia, where there are many Baroque castles and mansions, and along the Adriatic coast. Some are sport or entertainment centres. The spas of Topusko, Stubicke Toplice, Tuheljske and Varazdinske Toplice, are renowned for their effectiveness in the treatment of various ailments, such as rheumatism, chronic inflammation, arthritis and respiratory problems.

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What the Press Say

Annual Lonely Planet Travellers' Pulse Survey
Lonely Planet staff in its Melbourne, London and Oakland (USA) offices voted on their 'hot' destination predictions for 2005. Croatia came out on top, followed by China, Argentina and USA.

Adriatic pearl recovers its lustre
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4223859.stm

Tuscan-style farm tourism takes root in Croatia
http://www.leadingthecharge.com/stories/news-0083278.html

Croatia has the taste of old Tuscany
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2090-1814484,00.html

Croatian Tourism booming
http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=25124

Walking holidays in Croatia
http://tinyurl.com/d6opy

Balmy days along Croatian Riviera
Adriatic isles have flavor of Greece, Italy
http://tinyurl.com/arbxl

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Picture Galleries