---
title: "Top 10 Things To Do in Zadar, Croatia | Wimup"
description: "Zadar's 10 best experiences: the Sea Organ, the Roman forum, St Donatus, the Venetian walls and the Kornati islands, plus where to eat and how to arrive."
url: https://wimup.com/city/zadar
type: City guide
updated: 2026-10-29
publisher: Wimup (https://wimup.com)
---

# Top 10 Things To Do in Zadar

Zadar, Croatia · Europe · By Wimup Editorial, 14 min read

Zadar is the Dalmatian coast without the Dubrovnik markup. A Roman forum lies open in the middle of the old town, the walls around it are UNESCO listed, and at the western tip the sea plays an organ built into the steps. The islands begin twenty minutes offshore.

## Quick answer

Give the first morning to the peninsula on foot: the Roman forum, St Donatus, the cathedral bell tower and the Venetian Land Gate sit within ten minutes of each other. Keep the western tip for late afternoon, when the Sea Organ and the Greeting to the Sun take the sunset. Day two belongs to the water, either the Kornati archipelago by boat or Dugi Otok by ferry.

## Quick facts

- **Best months:** May · Jun · Sep
- **Ideal length:** 3–4 days
- **Budget per day:** $90–150
- **Language:** Croatian
- **Getting around:** On foot on the peninsula, Liburnija buses beyond it
- **Tourism board:** [↗ Website](https://zadar.travel/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## The 10 best things to do in Zadar

### 1. The Sea Organ

Landmark · Obala kralja Petra Krešimira IV, 23000 Zadar

Nikola Bašić finished it in 2005: thirty-five pipes under a flight of marble steps, tuned so that swell and wind push chords up through slots in the pavement. It never repeats a phrase, and it is loudest when a ferry wake arrives. Sit low, where the sound is under you rather than beside you.

- **Time:** 20–30 min
- **Cost:** Free
- **Best at:** Sunset
- **Tip:** Take the lowest dry step; ferry wakes make the loudest chords

### 2. The Roman Forum

Ruins · Poljana Pape Ivana Pavla II, 23000 Zadar

The largest Roman forum on the eastern Adriatic, laid out under Augustus and running roughly 90 metres by 45. It is neither fenced nor ticketed: paving, column bases and one standing pillar sit open in the middle of the old town, with St Donatus built straight onto the stone.

- **Time:** 30 min
- **Cost:** Free
- **Best at:** Early morning
- **Tip:** The standing pillar was later used as a pillar of shame

### 3. Church of St Donatus

Church · Trg Rimskog foruma, 23000 Zadar

A ninth-century rotunda, 27 metres across and 27 high, raised on Roman blocks lifted from the forum it stands on. It stopped being a working church two centuries ago and is now a concert hall, because the cylinder holds a note. Go in for the acoustics and the sightlines, not for an altar.

- **Time:** 20–30 min
- **Cost:** Ticketed
- **Best at:** Morning
- **Tip:** Check the Musical Evenings programme if you are here in July

### 4. Greeting to the Sun

Landmark · Istarska obala, 23000 Zadar

Bašić's companion piece to the Sea Organ, fifty metres along the quay: a 22-metre disc of 300 glass panels that charges all day and runs a light sequence once it is dark. Come back for it after the sunset crowd has thinned, then walk the riva back into town.

- **Time:** 20 min
- **Cost:** Free
- **Best at:** After dark
- **Tip:** The sequence starts with dusk, not at a fixed hour

### 5. St Anastasia's Cathedral and its bell tower

Church · Trg Svete Stošije, 23000 Zadar

The largest cathedral in Dalmatia, Romanesque and twelfth-century, with a campanile finished in 1892 to a design by the English architect Thomas Graham Jackson. The climb is the reason to come: a narrow stair to the whole peninsula, the channel and the islands behind it.

- **Time:** 40 min
- **Cost:** Ticketed climb
- **Best at:** Late afternoon
- **Tip:** The tower is the sunset viewpoint when the riva is full

### 6. The Land Gate and the Venetian walls

Landmark · Kopnena vrata, above Foša harbour, 23000 Zadar

Michele Sanmicheli cut this triumphal arch in 1543, the Lion of St Mark over the main opening and St Chrysogonus above it. The walls behind made Zadar the strongest fortress on the Adriatic, and UNESCO listed them in 2017. Foša harbour below is the angle worth walking to.

- **Time:** 20 min
- **Cost:** Free
- **Best at:** Golden hour
- **Tip:** Follow the moat path from Foša to Five Wells Square

### 7. Museum of Ancient Glass

Museum · Poljana Zemaljskog odbora 1, 23000 Zadar

More than five thousand Roman glass objects, most of them lifted from Dalmatian graves, held in the Cosmacendi palace above the harbour. The pieces are small and the labelling is patient. Time it for the glassblowing bench, which is the part children remember.

- **Time:** 1–1.5 hrs
- **Cost:** Ticketed
- **Best at:** Morning
- **Tip:** Check the demonstration times on the museum site first

Links: [Website](https://www.mas-zadar.hr/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 8. Gold and Silver of Zadar

Museum · Trg Opatice Čike 1, 23000 Zadar

The Benedictine convent of St Mary keeps the city's reliquaries, processional crosses and painted panels in two quiet rooms beside the forum. It is the best goldsmiths' work in Dalmatia gathered in one place, and it is usually almost empty. Half an hour is enough.

- **Time:** 30–45 min
- **Cost:** Ticketed
- **Best at:** Midday
- **Tip:** Pair it with St Donatus, which is across the square

### 9. Kornati National Park by boat

Islands · Boats leave Zadar harbour; park office at Butina 2, Murter

Eighty-nine islands with almost no soil and no fresh water, and on the seaward side cliffs that drop straight into the Adriatic. Day boats from Zadar take about two hours each way and usually pair the archipelago with Telašćica bay on Dugi Otok. Park entry is charged separately.

- **Time:** Full day
- **Cost:** Tour plus park entry
- **Best at:** June to September
- **Tip:** Confirm the park ticket is inside the tour price before booking

Links: [Website](https://www.np-kornati.hr/index.php?lang=en&utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 10. Zadar's green market and fish market

Market · Ul. pod bedemom 1/A, 23000 Zadar

The market sits against the inside of the city walls and is the one stretch of the peninsula that is not about visitors. Produce outside, fish under cover, Pag cheese and salted anchovies at the back. It winds down early in the afternoon, so go before lunch.

- **Time:** 30–45 min
- **Cost:** Free to browse
- **Best at:** Before 11am
- **Tip:** Saturday is the busiest morning and the best one

Links: [Website](https://www.trznicazadar.hr/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## Best restaurants in Zadar

Eight kitchens worth planning an evening around, from the harbour to Puntamika.

1. **Foša** (Seafood · Fine dining · Foša harbour): Fine dining in the small harbour under the walls, on the Michelin guide's Croatian list. Book the terrace. [Website](https://www.fosa.hr/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
2. **Kaštel** (Mediterranean · Hotel dining · Old town): Dalmatian ingredients cooked modern, inside Hotel Bastion and the old walls. The special-occasion room. [Website](https://www.hotel-bastion.hr/restaurant-kastel?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
3. **Pet Bunara** (Dalmatian · Since 1981 · Five Wells Square): Named for the square outside, trading since 1981, and the most consistent seasonal cooking on the peninsula. [Website](https://petbunara.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
4. **Bruschetta** (Mediterranean · Old town): Mediterranean plates beside the Stomorica ruins, strong on carpaccio and pasta, with a lunch deal locals use. [Website](https://www.bruschetta.hr/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
5. **Konoba Skoblar** (Konoba · Peka · Five Wells Square): An old-town konoba built around peka, the iron bell buried in embers. Order it several hours ahead.
6. **Konoba Malo Misto** (Konoba · Seafood · Old town): A courtyard that reads like a village square, heavy on grilled fish and unhurried service. [Website](https://restoran-konoba-malo-misto.hr/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
7. **Restaurant Niko** (Seafood · Since 1963 · Puntamika): A Puntamika fish house on the water since 1963, and still where the city goes for a long lunch.
8. **Groppo** (Mediterranean · Old town): Mediterranean cooking in the centre, roomy enough to take a group without booking days ahead.

## Best bars & cafes in Zadar

Where the peninsula drinks, from a park icehouse to the square that stays open latest.

1. **Ledana** (Cocktails · Park · Perivoj Kraljice Jelene): A lounge bar in Queen Jelena Madije park, built into the city's old icehouse. Shade by day, club music late. [Website](https://ledana.hr/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
2. **The Garden** (Cocktails · Terrace · City walls): Above the walls facing the harbour, cushions on the grass and its own beer on the list.
3. **Svarog** (Club · Open air · Five Wells Square): The old town's late club, open air on Five Wells Square, themed nights from Latin to house.
4. **Kult Caffe** (Bar · Terrace · Old town): The student bar by the university, a big terrace and the cheapest round on the peninsula.
5. **Rio Bar** (Bar · Kovačka): A small Kovačka street bar that fills first in the evening and empties last.
6. **Zlatni Kutić** (Bar · Courtyard · Old town): A courtyard off Kalelarga, the sort of place locals stop at before deciding on anywhere else.

## Best museums in Zadar

Five collections, all of them inside the old town walls.

1. **Museum of Ancient Glass** (Roman glass · Poljana Zemaljskog odbora): Five thousand Roman glass pieces from Dalmatian graves, plus a working glassblowing bench. [Website](https://www.mas-zadar.hr/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
2. **Archaeological Museum Zadar** (Since 1832 · Opposite the forum): Founded in 1832, one of the oldest museums in this part of Europe, and the clearest account of Roman Zadar. [Website](https://www.amzd.hr/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
3. **Gold and Silver of Zadar** (Church treasury · Trg Opatice Čike): The Benedictine convent's treasury: reliquaries, processional crosses and panel paintings, two rooms deep.
4. **Museum of Illusions** (Optical illusions · Old town): Seventy-odd optical tricks in the old town, and the reliable answer to a wet afternoon with children.
5. **National Museum Zadar** (City collections · Old town): The city's own collections: ethnography, cultural history and the art gallery, in the arsenal quarter.

## Best beaches in Zadar

Two city beaches, a wooded cape west of them, and two worth a ferry or a drive.

1. **Kolovare** (City beach · Kolovare): The city beach, 1.5 km from the old town: fine pebble, concrete terraces and pine shade at the north end.
2. **Borik** (Family · Resort · Borik): Four kilometres north, resort infrastructure and a shallow entry, which is why families base themselves here.
3. **Punta Bajlo** (Rocks · Shade · Diklo): A wooded cape west of the centre, rock ledges instead of pebble and room to spread out.
4. **Sakarun** (Dugi Otok · Dugi Otok): White sand and shallow turquoise water on Dugi Otok, pines to the edge. About an hour and forty by ferry.
5. **Queen's Beach, Nin** (Sand · Nin · Nin): A long sand spit north of the city, medicinal peloid mud at one end and the Velebit range in view.

## Best day trips in Zadar

Two national parks, an archipelago, two islands and two towns, all inside two hours.

1. **Plitvice Lakes** (National park · 2 hrs · Inland): Sixteen terraced lakes and Croatia's oldest national park, about two hours inland. Timed tickets, booked online. [Website](https://np-plitvicka-jezera.hr/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
2. **Krka** (National park · 1 hr · South): Waterfalls an hour south, with a boat leg inside the entry ticket. Quieter than Plitvice outside high summer. [Website](https://npkrka.hr/en_us/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
3. **Kornati and Telašćica** (Boat · Full day · Offshore): The bare archipelago and the cliff bay beside it, sold as one full-day boat trip from the harbour. [Website](https://www.np-kornati.hr/index.php?lang=en&utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
4. **Nin** (Town · 30 min · North): A ninth-century church the size of a room, a salt works still in production, and sand beaches past both.
5. **Pag** (Island · 1 hr · North): Over the bridge north: sheep cheese, lace, and a bare karst landscape that looks like nowhere else on the coast.
6. **Ugljan** (Island · Ferry · Offshore): About twenty-five minutes by ferry from Gaženica to Preko, then a climb to the fort above the channel.
7. **Šibenik** (Town · 1 hr · South): An hour south, with a UNESCO cathedral built entirely of stone, no timber and no mortar in the vault.

## Best neighborhoods in Zadar

Four parts of the city, and what each one costs you in walking.

1. **Poluotok** (Old town · Peninsula): The old town peninsula. Almost everything ranked above is on it, and none of it needs a bus.
2. **Kolovare** (Beach · Central · Kolovare): Immediately south of the walls, with the city beach at the end of the street and a ten-minute walk back in.
3. **Borik** (Resorts · Borik): The hotel strip four kilometres north: the best family beach, and buses that run late in season.
4. **Arbanasi** (Quiet · Value · Arbanasi): An eighteenth-century settlement of Albanian refugees across the harbour, now the quiet and cheaper side.

## Best shopping in Zadar

One street, one market, one bottle, and a mall for everything else.

1. **Kalelarga** (Main street · Old town): Široka ulica, the old town's spine, and the street everyone means when they say they are going into town.
2. **Zadar market** (Mornings only · Pod bedemom): Produce against the walls and fish under cover, mornings only. Pag cheese is the souvenir worth carrying. [Website](https://www.trznicazadar.hr/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
3. **Maraschino** (Liqueur · Old town): Zadar's clear cherry liqueur, distilled in the city since the eighteenth century and sold in a straw-wrapped bottle.
4. **Supernova Zadar** (Mall · Gaženica road): The mall east of the centre, for the practical shop rather than the browse.

## Festivals & annual events in Zadar (2026)

- **Zadar Outdoor Festival** (April): Four days of trail running, rafting and open-water racing across the Zadar hinterland.
- **FIBA 3x3 World Tour Zadar** (May): The three-a-side basketball tour plays a two-day stop on a court set up in the city.
- **Musical Evenings at St Donatus** (July to early August): One of Croatia's oldest festivals, staged inside the ninth-century rotunda for its acoustics.
- **Zadar Summer Theatre Festival** (July and August): The national theatre moves outdoors and plays squares and courtyards across the peninsula.
- **Night of the Full Moon** (August (full moon)): The riva's street lights go out and boats sell fish, wine and fruit off the quay by candlelight.
- **Feast of St Simeon** (8 October): A patron saint's procession, with the fourteenth-century silver chest of St Simeon opened.
- **Feast of St Chrysogonus** (24 November): The city's day and its other patron, marked with a procession and a concert programme.
- **Advent Zadar** (Late November to early January): Lights, stalls and concerts on the forum and along the riva, running through to Epiphany.

## Must-try dishes in Zadar, Croatia

- **Pašticada**: Beef marinated, then braised for hours in a sweet and sour sauce and served with gnocchi.
- **Brudet**: Mixed fish stew cooked slowly with wine, eaten from the pot with polenta.
- **Peka**: Meat or octopus baked under an iron bell buried in embers. Order it hours ahead.
- **Paški sir**: Hard sheep's cheese from Pag, salty from pasture the sea blows over.
- **Ninski šokol**: Cured pork neck from Nin, packed in sea salt and sliced thin.
- **Crni rižot**: Squid ink risotto, black to the teeth, on every konoba menu on this coast.
- **Maraschino**: Zadar's clear cherry liqueur, distilled in the city since the eighteenth century.
- **Fritule**: Small fried dough balls with rum and citrus zest, sold hot at markets and festivals.

## Zadar transport & airports

- **Zadar Airport** (ZAD): At Zemunik, about 10 km east of the city. The shuttle bus meets arrivals and reaches the old town in roughly twenty minutes for €5, cash on board. [Website](https://zadar-airport.hr/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- **Ferries and catamarans** (Jadrolinija): Island and Ancona sailings leave from Gaženica, 4 km south of the peninsula. Book car places well ahead in August. [Website](https://www.jadrolinija.hr/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- **City buses** (Liburnija): One operator covers the city and the suburbs. A single ride is €1.59 bought on board and a two-ride karnet is €2.65. [Website](https://liburnija-zadar.hr/en/city-transport/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- **Coaches and taxis** (Long distance): Buses to Split, Zagreb and Plitvice leave the station on Ante Starčevića, a fifteen-minute walk from the walls. Taxis and ride apps work citywide. [Website](https://liburnija-zadar.hr/en/zadar-bus-station/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## Zadar at a glance

- **Country:** Croatia (Republika Hrvatska), in the European Union and the Schengen area
- **Region:** Northern Dalmatia, on the Adriatic coast, and the seat of Zadar County
- **Population:** 70,779 in the city (2021 census, Croatian Bureau of Statistics)
- **Founded:** A Liburnian settlement by the ninth century BC, a Roman colony under Augustus
- **Name:** Iadera to the Romans, Zara under Venetian and Italian rule, Zadar in Croatian
- **Language:** Croatian. Italian survives among an older minority, English is standard in tourism
- **Currency:** Euro (EUR) since 1 January 2023, when it replaced the kuna
- **Time zone:** Central European Time (UTC+1), summer time UTC+2
- **Calling code:** +385, with 23 for Zadar
- **Airport:** Zadar (ZAD) at Zemunik, about 10 km east of the centre
- **Power:** 230V, 50Hz, type C and F sockets
- **Emergency:** 112 for everything, or 192 for police and 194 for an ambulance

## Interesting facts

- Zadar's walls were UNESCO listed in 2017, within the Venetian Works of Defence between the 16th and 17th Centuries.
- Alfred Hitchcock watched the sunset from room 204 of the Hotel Zagreb in May 1964 and called it the world's best.
- The Sea Organ has thirty-five pipes beneath the steps, and the swell decides which of them sound.
- Croatia's first university was founded here in 1396, as a Dominican studium generale.
- The Greeting to the Sun runs on 300 glass panels that charge through the day and light the quay after dark.

## Watch

[Zadar Travel Guide](https://wimup.com/watch/zadar.md), 11:13

## Zadar travel FAQ

### How many days do you need in Zadar?

Three: one for the peninsula on foot, one on the water, one inland at Plitvice or Krka. Two works if you skip the national parks. A single day covers the forum, St Donatus and the sunset at the Sea Organ, and little else.

### When is the best time to visit Zadar?

May, June and September. The sea is warm from June, the ferries run full timetables, and the old town is not queueing. July and August bring the festivals and the crowds together, and everything on the coast costs more.

### Is Zadar cheaper than Split or Dubrovnik?

Noticeably. Meals, rooms and museum tickets all sit below southern Dalmatia, and the ferries to the near islands are short. Budget roughly $90 to $150 a day per person in season, and less outside it.

### Do you need a car in Zadar?

Not for the city. The peninsula is pedestrian and Liburnija buses reach the beaches for €1.59 a ride. A car helps for Pag, the Zrmanja canyon and an early start at Plitvice, but buses and boats cover most day trips.

### How do you get from Zadar Airport to the old town?

The airport shuttle meets arrivals and reaches the old town in about twenty minutes for €5, cash on board, and the ticket stays valid on city buses for ninety minutes. Taxis and transfers cover the flights it does not meet.

## Nearby guides

- [Hvar](https://wimup.com/city/hvar.md): Croatia · 10 picks
- [Rovinj](https://wimup.com/city/rovinj.md): Croatia · 10 picks
- [Banja Luka](https://wimup.com/city/banja-luka.md): Bosnia and Herzegovina · 10 picks
- [All of Europe →](https://wimup.com/europe): 152 cities

Part of the [Croatia guide](https://wimup.com/country/croatia.md) · [Europe](https://wimup.com/europe.md)

## Sources

- [Zadar tourism board](https://zadar.travel/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Museum of Ancient Glass (official site)](https://www.mas-zadar.hr/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Kornati National Park by boat (official site)](https://www.np-kornati.hr/index.php?lang=en&utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Zadar's green market and fish market (official site)](https://www.trznicazadar.hr/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Foša (official site)](https://www.fosa.hr/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Kaštel (official site)](https://www.hotel-bastion.hr/restaurant-kastel?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Pet Bunara (official site)](https://petbunara.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Bruschetta (official site)](https://www.bruschetta.hr/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Konoba Malo Misto (official site)](https://restoran-konoba-malo-misto.hr/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Ledana (official site)](https://ledana.hr/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Archaeological Museum Zadar (official site)](https://www.amzd.hr/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Plitvice Lakes (official site)](https://np-plitvicka-jezera.hr/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Krka (official site)](https://npkrka.hr/en_us/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Zadar Airport (official site)](https://zadar-airport.hr/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Ferries and catamarans (official site)](https://www.jadrolinija.hr/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [City buses (official site)](https://liburnija-zadar.hr/en/city-transport/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Coaches and taxis (official site)](https://liburnija-zadar.hr/en/zadar-bus-station/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- Rankings are Wimup editorial picks. Prices, durations and budgets are editorial estimates, not live quotes; check the official site before you go.