Pristine landscapes and sparkling seas and fortified towns furnished with outdoor cafés. Most of Europe's greatest empires including the Romans, Venetians, Ottoman Turks and Habsburgs, have all left their mark in the form of architecture, language, art, and food. The ancient walled city of Dubrovnik with its medieval bastions rising vertically from the sea, is known as the ‘Pearl of the Adriatic’.
Dubrovnik is one of the best-preserved medieval walled cities in the world, and its Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is home to beautiful Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque churches, monasteries, palaces and fountains. A visit to the Rector’s Palace, Onofrio’s fountain and the Franciscan and Dominican monasteriesis a must be seen. Away from the coast you’ll find primeval national parks like the Plitvice Lakes, which hosts striking azure waterways, cascading falls and thick woodland sheltering abundant wildlife. There is much exploring to be done in the fascinating capital city of Zagreb. Be sure to explore the mazes of the upper and lower town, majestic cathedral, Archbishop’s Palace, St. Marks Church and the Opera House. Zagreb, Croatia’s northwestern capital, is distinguished by its 18th- and 19th-century Austro-Hungarian architecture. A good place to start your Zagreb adventure is in Trg Bana Jelacica, the city's main square where the Upper and Lower Towns meet. Bundek was renovated during 2005 to turn a badly maintained lake into a tourism and events center of Novi Zagreb. The Croatian coast with clear and clean sea offers a variety of beaches. There are numerous beaches in Croatia, and its numerous islands and hidden coves still hide undiscovered beaches, away from civilization and tourist crowds. Every region of Croatia has its own distinct culinary tradition. Its roots date back to ancient times. The differences in the selection of foodstuffs and forms of cooking are most notable between those in mainland and those in coastal regions. Mainland cuisine is more characterized by the earlier Slavic and the more recent contacts with neighboring cultures - Hungarian, Austrian and Turkish, using lard for cooking, and spices such as black pepper, paprika, and garlic. The coastal region bears the influences of the Greek, Roman and Illyrian, as well as of the later Mediterranean cuisine - Italian (especially Venetian) and French, using olive oil, and herbs and spices such as rosemary, sage, bay leaf, oregano, marjoram, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, lemon and orange rind. Since the conclusion of the Croatian War of Independence, the tourist industry has grown rapidly, recording a fourfold rise in tourist numbers, with more than 10 million tourists each year. Croatia has unpolluted marine areas reflected through numerous nature reserves and 116 Blue Flag beaches. Croatia is ranked as the 18th most popular tourist destination in the world
