From our guide to Croatia
Picture an island with empty beaches and ruins strewn across its hills. Imagine a 19th-century Renaissance-styled mansion, surrounded by ornamental gardens, where you step out of the front door and onto the sand...
Zaton, the summer retreat of Dubrovnik nobles, has long been a green escape from the city. The hamlet of Zaton Mali is the smaller cousin of Zaton Veliki: a cluster of stone houses on the hillside...
Imagine a country of valleys, rivers, medieval villages and gothic palazzos. Conjure up a day exploring Roman excavations, karst gorges and red coral underworlds deep in the sea. Picture a breakfast whose ingredients were grown by your host. Its topographical diversity is astounding. If it had a desert, Croatia would hold a full house of the earth's landscapes. Instead you'll have to settle for rocks, islands, mountains and valleys. ski resorts and beaches, bustling cities and tiny villages.
All Special Places from our Croatia selection »