With my fifth trip to Croatia just weeks away, I can’t help but think of all of the places I’ve visited and things I’ve seen in my previous trips. Mostly, I’ve been thinking about the places I’d like to see again. As a result, I’ve put together a list of my top 5 favorite places to visit in Croatia.
1. Dubrovnik
This is a place I visited once, 11 years ago, but it has always stuck with me. I have tried to go back here every year since then, but unfortunately, it’s out of the way location has made a return trip…difficult, to say the least. There’s just something magical about the old town that never fails to inspire me. It also doesn’t hurt that it was used as a filming location for the Game of Thrones.
2. Zagreb
Zagreb is Croatia’s capital city and it is a place that I never miss a chance to spend a couple of days in (mostly for shopping but also for its history). The city dates back to sometime in the 13th century and as a result it has a healthy mix of old and new. Like the 13th century St. Mark’s Church and the 21st century smart bench (a solar powered bench that lets you charge your phone while you rest your legs.
3. Plitvice Lakes National Park
The Plitvice Lakes National Park is probably Croatia’s most visited preserve. So much so that in recent years they have started to limit the number of people who enter it. It is a good idea to reserve your tickets in advance if you plan on going, especially if it’s during the peak (summer) season. Make sure you pay attention to times and dates when you do as they are pretty strict about when you enter! The scenery however is well worth the crush of bodies, IMO, just please don’t push and shove.
4. Krka National Park
If you’ve ever wanted to take a swim under a spectacular waterfall, then this is the place for you. Though when I last visited that area around the waterfall was blocked off, too many people diving off the waterfalls I guess, it was still a nice place to swim. Not as crowded as the Plitvice Lakes, but no less beautiful, this park not only offers hikes through nature but bicycle routes, boat excursions, and some ancient forts and religious buildings to explore as well.
5. Zadar
Zadar’s claim to fame is its beautiful sunsets and having seen no less than 5 of them I can happily say that they are some of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. Along with it’s sunsets the city also has a collection of Roman ruins for you to explore, the Sea Organ for you to listen to, and the Monument to the Sun for you to enjoy. (Unfortunately, earlier this year a local resident decided to smash some of the sun’s panels in the Monument to the Sun so you can no longer stand on and take selfies on the sun.)
Bonus: Lego Castle
This one isn’t really a tourist location. Lego Castle, more formally known as Castle Empirej, is a modern-day castle whose construction my grandma and I have been following since we first stumbled upon it 10 years ago. Aside from its fairy tale castle appearance, the story behind this castle is one of my favorite things about it. The man who built it made a small fortune in Germany during the Yugoslav wars doing, I don’t remember what, he then gave his daughters some Legos and told them to build a castle, he then took their creation, and had it built to scale. Today, the castle serves as a wedding venue.
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