isembarking at Hvar’s palm–lined
seafront promenade, first
impressions of the town are just
like the pictures in the glossy
travel magazines. There’s a vast,
paved piazza backed by a baroque
cathedral with an elegant bell
tower; fishing boats and sleek yachts bob in the pretty
harbour; and, overlooking it all, a proud, 16th-century
hilltop castle built by the Venetians to protect the island.
Billed as Croatia’s St Tropez, in recent years Hvar has
become Dalmatia’s hippest island destination. But what
the hordes of visiting pleasure seekers probably don’t
realise is that organised tourism actually began here in
the late 1800s, when Hvar Town was first promoted as a
seaside and health resort for wealthy Austro-
Hungarians. Its selling points were fresh sea air and a
mild climate, with more hours of sunshine per year than
any other place on the Adriatic.
Nowadays, of course, people come for more than that.
Alongside the romantic medieval stone buildings of the
Old Town, including traditional wine cellars serving
homemade vintages by the carafe, you’ll find slick
contemporary design hotels, such as the Adriana
(
suncanihvar.com
),
with its purple Perspex reception
desk, rooms in minimalist white and luxurious Sensori
Spa; while sophisticated restaurants, including diVino
(
divino.com.hr
),
serve up creative Mediterranean cuisine
at waterside tables to thronging, cosmopolitan crowds.
During peak season, you might even spot the likes of
Roman Abramovich, Beyoncé and Prince Harry.
It’s all a far cry from the town I first experienced
when I arrived here from England in 1998. Back then,
we’d jump on an afternoon ferry from Split on a whim
and turn up without any idea of where to sleep, but
always found people who'd welcome us with a glass of
their own
rakija
(
a spirit made from distilled fruit) and
offer their spare room for a night or two.
Over the past decade, however, this town has become
a playground for the jet set, mirroring the dramatic rise
of all of Croatia as a 21st-century tourism hotspot. Like
Dubrovnik, Hvar has seen its former state-owned 1970s
hotels – which housed refugees during the war in the
1990
s – renovated and upgraded. Once word got out that
Croatia was safe, beautiful and even stylish, everyone
wanted to come. Last year, 10 million people visited.
OVER THE PAST DECADE,
THIS TOWN
HAS BECOME A
PLAYGROUND
FOR THE JET SET
01
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