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Getty Images/Robert Harding World Imagery

Hvar Island

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.

Hvar Town offers swanky hotels, elegant restaurants and a general sense that, if you care about seeing and being seen, this is the place to be. Rubbing shoulders with the posh yachties are hundreds of young partygoers, dancing on tables at the town's legendary beach bars. The northern coastal towns of Stari Grad and Jelsa are far more subdued and low-key.

Hvar's interior hides abandoned ancient hamlets, craggy peaks, vineyards and the lavender fields that the island is famous for. This region is worth exploring on a day trip, as is the island's southern coast, which has some of Hvar’s most beautiful and isolated coves.

Explore Hvar Island

  • D

    Dubovica

    This gorgeous grin of beach has a tiny cluster of stone houses and a couple of cafe-bars. The juxtaposition of the white pebbles alongside the brilliant…

  • Fortica

    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…

  • Trg Sv Stjepana

    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…

  • Arsenal

    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…

  • Franciscan Monastery

    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…

  • T

    Tvrdalj

    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…

  • S

    St Stephen's Cathedral

    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…

  • B

    Benedictine Convent

    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…

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Hvar Island.

  • See

    Dubovica

    This gorgeous grin of beach has a tiny cluster of stone houses and a couple of cafe-bars. The juxtaposition of the white pebbles alongside the brilliant…

  • See

    Fortica

    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…

  • See

    Trg Sv Stjepana

    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…

  • See

    Arsenal

    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…

  • See

    Franciscan Monastery

    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…

  • See

    Tvrdalj

    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…

  • See

    St Stephen's Cathedral

    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…

  • See

    Benedictine Convent

    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…

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