The most important cities in Croatia

Croatia's capital is at the same time the city of the country that may most readily be called a metropolis. It does seem relatively easy to take in, but the few streets of the centre have plenty to them: a good many well-equipped and lovingly labelled museums are to be found in the immediate vicinity of the shopping street and the bar district. In between, again and again: parks, green spaces, churches and now and then a government building. Because of its on average rather young population, however, Zagreb has none of the self-important gravity of other capitals; alongside its political mission it sees itself as a place for tourists and recreation as well.

Osijek, the capital of Slavonia, lies a day's march from the borders with Hungary and Serbia. Making out the centre of Osijek is difficult, since the city actually has two: first the naturally grown centre with the cathedral in neo-Gothic style, a generous square in front of it and streets running towards it - and second, Tvrđa, two kilometres away. This fortress was built in the time of the Austrian occupation and survived the bombardments of the 1990s pleasingly unscathed. A picturesque waterfront promenade and a prestige avenue lined with strips of greenery lead here. And as if to cause even more confusion, the inhabitants of Osijek went and named the finest beach on the bank of the river Drava - quite modestly - Copacabana.

In the interior of the country, between the Dilj hill range and the river Sava, lies the town of Slavonski Brod. Its lively flair is due, among other things, to the town's good transport connections: the country's main motorway and a particularly popular railway line meet in this town on the border with Bosnia. It is no wonder, then, that both the economy and the population are developing splendidly. Hardly any other town has recorded such growth in the last 50 years, and it is only a matter of time until Slavonski Brod becomes Croatia's next metropolis.

Even though Karlovac, the administrative city of the county of the same name, does not lie by the sea, you can spend a bathing holiday here too. No fewer than four rivers flow through the city of 60,000 inhabitants, and the water is so clean that it positively invites you to swim. Formerly Karlstadt, the city looks back on an imposing history that is reflected in its townscape and cultural offering as well - by no means only in the rather rustic beer festival staged every August by a local brewery.

Ever since Emperor Augustus built the amphitheatre in Pula some 3,000 years ago, visitors from all over the world have flocked to the north of Croatia to discover precisely this, ancient temples and theatres and, not least, the enchanting bays of this Adriatic metropolis. Just under 60,000 people live here permanently, about a quarter of them Serbs and Italians, which lends the city a cosmopolitan flair. And anyone longing for a little more quiet simply crosses over to one of the fourteen islands of the Brijuni National Park lying off the city.

Rijeka is not only Croatia's largest and most important port city but also, because of the goods loaded and unloaded here daily, an exemplary industrial town. The economy is perceived far more positively here than in large parts of the rest of the country, and the population's income depends less on tourism than in the other coastal towns. But that is not to say that a visit is not worthwhile here - on the contrary: the townscape is shaped by the façade ornaments of the Habsburg era; on the Korzo, the city's shopping street, you will find every possible and impossible souvenir, and the pilgrimage church of Trsat was visited before you by Pope John Paul II as well. Whether angels really brought the house of Saint Mary here in the year 1291 may of course be doubted - but it is perhaps finer and more demanding to try to believe it.

Whether through the land gate or across the pedestrian bridge: as soon as you set foot in Zadar's old town, disappointment at the exposed-aggregate-concrete suburbs turns into enthusiasm for the opulently decorated house façades of the Austrian and Venetian eras: bulls' heads and lions of St Mark, saints and monsters stare down from every corner at the visitors who come here for a little shopping stroll, to taste the Croatian specialities or to visit one of the numerous museums. Almost every building of the former sea power Zadar has a story to tell: legend has it, for instance, that in the 9th century the bishop of Zadar did not merely finance the building of St Donatus's church in order to raise a monument to himself, but created it with his own hands - out of the stones of the Roman forum that still forms the city centre today.

Anyone who strolls for pleasure through the steep lanes of the terraced old town of Sibenik on the Krka river will understand why Sibenik counts for many tourists as the most beautiful of all Croatian towns. And that it is also dear and precious to the Croats, quite apart from the aesthetic, is due among other things to the fact that this place was founded not by occupiers and conquerors but by the local population itself. Beyond that, however, the individual epochs too left their traces: Venetians built fortifications, Austrians town palaces; the harbour and the churches were renewed, extended and beautified almost continuously. So UNESCO did not hesitate either to name the place a World Cultural Heritage Site. And anyone overwhelmed by the multitude and splendour of the historic buildings, who would rather withdraw into nature, will find here a flora and fauna worthy of the status of a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site.

Again and again visitors in Split ask themselves, once they have arrived at the harbour or the bus station, taken a seat for a first coffee in one of the likeable cafes on the shore promenade and then set off on a little exploratory walk, where this famous, huge Palace of Diocletian actually is - and do not notice that they are standing in the middle of it. What today has the effect of a set for a sword-and-sandal film and lacks all museum-like distance is the former palace of the Croatian Caesar, and one of the many reasons to visit Split. Others may be the seven hours of sunshine per day, the good ferry connection for a day trip to Italy, the well-kept beaches within walking distance, the zoo in the recreation area above the town, the fresh vegetables and the handmade cheese at the market, the numerous art galleries or the football club Hajduk... Impossible to name them all - a fine holiday project to find as many as possible.

During his visit to Dubrovnik, George Bernard Shaw had a simple and good idea for being quoted as often as possible: he need only write something that as many people as possible feel exactly the same way about. No sooner said than done - ever since, Shaw has always been called as a witness whenever someone wants to stress that Dubrovnik really is "paradise on earth". In paradise it is not only pleasantly warm and sunny all year round (even the coldest month still has an average temperature of 5 degrees Celsius), but the city is also protected from all evil by its patron Blaise. Evidently he does his job well, for apart from the bombardments at the beginning of the 1990s the city was granted a history that was indeed exciting and varied, but for the most part peaceful and safe. This too probably contributes to the warm-hearted atmosphere that enthused not only Shaw.