A walk in Zadar: a loop through history

An almost two-mile walk around Zadar’s Old Town is a journey through a timeline that encompasses almost every phase of Croatian history. And it’s a long history, dating back to the 9th century BC, when the Liburnians first settled on this peninsular headland on Croatia’s spectacular Dalmatian coast.

Start your walk in the northwest corner of the peninsula at the Morske Orgulje, or Sea Organ: a set of 35 pipes scattered under a 70-meter section of the city’s boulevard, known as the Riva. Awarded the 2006 European Award for Urban Public Space, the Morske Orgulje plays beautifully dissonant melodies as the Adriatic Sea sloshes the stone and pushes air through the pipes below – transforming the walkway into an invisible, ethereal orchestra.

After the tidal concert, continue past the ‘Greeting to the Sun’ installation (you can linger there at the end of your walk) and around the northeast corner of the old town.

Continue southeast and walk along the port of Zadar wallsbuilt and fortified between the 12th and 17th centuries as part of the Adriatic defense network of the Venetian Republic.

Before you go any further, stop by the garden loungeatop the fortifications overlooking ferries taking passengers to nearby islands, for a local Garden IPA (3.50 euros, or about $3.75), then walk along the walls until you reach the City Bridge on your left. Turn right through the Nova Vrataor New Gate – an archway built during the pre-World War II Italian occupation – and to the car-free Old Town.

Make your way to People’s Square. The town’s cafe-dotted central square is the site of the town hall and is defined on its western edge by the street known locally as Kalelargathe main thoroughfare of Zadar since the Romans laid the grid in the first century BC

Hang left on the southern extension of the old avenue, Elizabete Kotromanić Streetwhich changes its name three times as you pass the coral baroque Church of St Simeonwalk under a lone pillar from Zadar’s Roman Forumand cross the vast Petar Zoranić Squarewhere you can view layers of history – Roman and medieval – frozen in time behind glass.

Turn right into Trg Pet Bunara Street, which leads to Five Wells Square. Guarded by the 25-meter high Kapetanova Kula (Captain’s Tower), the wells supplied the city with water during a siege by the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. Climb the stairs to rest Queen Jelena Madijevka Park, established in the early 19th century as one of the region’s first public parks. From this elevated vantage point, look south over tiny the port of Fosa and your next two stops.

The first is the monumental one Country portthe most graceful of the wall entrances, built in 1543 with carvings of the winged lion of Venice and the patron saint of Zadar, Chrysogonus. Then walk halfway down the harbour, where it opens onto the sea, and grab a table by the water Restaurant Fosa. The grilled sea bass with sunchoke puree and vegetables (€34.51) and a glass of local pošip white wine (€7) will fuel you for the last stretch of your journey.

At the end of the harbor, head north to walk the length of the 19th century Riva, the city’s seaside promenade. “The Riva is where friends and family meet,” says Iva Bencun, the general manager of Zadar open air festival, where activities take place both here and on the island of Ugljan, is a 25-minute ferry ride across the channel. “Here we also find peace and we realize that our problems are not so big after all.”

As the daylight fades, find your own peace near the Riva pier to witness the city’s famous sunset, which Alfred Hitchcock once called “the most beautiful in the world.” With the scattered ruins of the Roman forumdating from the first century BC, and the cylindrical, ninth century Church of St Donat behind you, follow the last flash of the sun in the sea. Then end your loop, appropriately, at “Salute to the sun”, a circle of nearly 4100 square meters of solar panels embedded in the boardwalk that absorb energy all day long and provide a pulsating light show all night long.

Distance: 1.75 miles

Difficulty level: Simple

Time to walk: About two hours, time to linger.

Good for kids: Yes. The largely car-free walk mixes history, the sea and science into a fun, varied outing.