Hvar Island

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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

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

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…
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…
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…
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

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

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

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

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…