Zadar
Zadar, historically known as Zara, is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia.
Zadar, historically known as Zara, is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serves as the seat of Zadar County and of the wider northern Dalmatian region. The city proper covers 25 km2 (9.7 sq mi) with a population of 75,082 in 2011, making it the second-largest city in Dalmatia and the fifth-largest in the country.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around Zadar
10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.
- 01Church of St. Donatus
The Church of St. Donatus (Croatian: Crkva sv.
300 m · church in Zadar, Croatia · Wikipedia - 02University of Zadar
The University of Zadar is a public university located in Zadar, Croatia. The university in its present form was founded in 2002, but can trace its lineage to 1396, thus making it the oldest higher education institution in Croatia, and one of the oldest in Europe.
300 m · Croatian university · Wikipedia - 03Monument to the Sun
Monument to the Sun or The Greeting to the Sun is a monument in Zadar, Croatia dedicated to the Sun. It consists of a 22-meter diameter circle representing the Sun, with three hundred, multi-layered glass plates placed on the same level as the stone-paved waterfront, with photovoltaic solar modules underneath.
700 m · monument in Zadar, Croatia · Wikipedia - 04
- 05Krešimir Ćosić Hall
The Krešimir Ćosić Hall is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Zadar, Croatia. The arena is home to the KK Zadar basketball club, and also hosts concerts, conventions, and other sporting, business and entertainment events.
1.6 km · sports arena in Zadar, Croatia · Wikipedia - 06Church of St. Chrysogonus
The Church of St. Chrysogonus (Croatian: Crkva sv.
200 m · Roman Catholic Church church building in Zadar, Croatia · Wikipedia - 07Chest of Saint Simeon
The Chest of Saint Simeon or Saint Simeon's Casket is a rectangular cedarwood sarcophagus in the shape of a chasse, overlaid with silver and silver-gilt plaques, said to hold the relics of St Simon the God-receiver; it is located over the main altar in the Church of Saint Simeon in Zadar, Croatia.
100 m · sarcophagus at the Church of Saint Simeon in Croatia · Wikipedia - 08Stadion Stanovi
Stadion Stanovi is a football stadium in Zadar, Croatia. It serves as the home ground for football club HNK Zadar.
1.6 km · football stadium in Zadar, Croatia · Wikipedia - 09
- 10Jazine Basketball Hall
Jazine Basketball Hall is an indoor sports arena located in Jazine, Zadar, Croatia. The official seating capacity of the arena is 3,500 people.
600 m · arena · Wikipedia
Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What Wikivoyage says to see
Walk around the atmospheric streets of the old town, located on the peninsula. There are 34 old churches on the peninsula, and all of them with a very rich history. The oldest is St. Simeon (Sv. Šime).
- 01Crkva svetog Donata
The church is one of the best preserved pre-Romanesque buildings in the world.
- 02Katedrala
Stošije (Zadar Cathedral or Cathedral of St.
- 03Sveučilište u Zadru
The university in its current modern form was refounded in 2002, but it was founded 1396, which makes it the oldest university in Croatia, and one of the oldest universities in Europe.
- 04Forum Romanum
Remains of the Roman forum - One of the best preserves Roman forums in existence.
- 05Kopnena Vrata
Historic entrance gate to the city, built to a design by the Venetian architect Michele Sanmicheli in 1543.
From Wikivoyage: Zadar, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Things to do
Chill in one of the cafes and enjoy the city, the sun, and the people. Walk: take a stroll along the paved seafront on a summer evening for one of the best sunsets in Europe and listen to the relaxing sounds of the rather original 'sea organ' set into the harbour wall.
From Wikivoyage: Zadar, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Getting to Zadar
- Airports
- Zadar (ZAD), 10 km · Split Saint Jerome (SPU), 107 km · Rijeka (RJK), 133 km
- Stations
- Zadar Airport, 9.5 km
- Split → Zadar119 km · quickest by road, 2h 4m · €16–22
- Rijeka(Omišalj) → Zadar133 km · quickest by road, 3h 38m · €23–32
- Pula → Zadar138 km · quickest by road, 5h 7m · €40–55
- Plan a tripFrom anywhereThe planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.
No local-transport research exists yet for Zadar
Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Zadar. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- Get aroundThe main taxi ranks in Zadar are at the following locations: Autobusni kolodvor (Bus station) Ferry quay at the Liburnska obala in the old town (near the bus stop), tel.
- Go nextDugi Otok – for its beautiful landscape, salt lake and donkeys at the Telašćica Nature Park Šibenik for the UNESCO World Heritage lists its prominent Cathedral of St.
From Wikivoyage: Zadar, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-09.
- 01147 km
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If you know how people move in Zadar – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.