Krk. Things to do, map and hidden gems

The cathedral of the Assumption of Mary is the heart of Krk's millennial story: a three-nave Romanesque basilica of the 12th century, raised on the site of an early Christian church and Roman baths whose traces still read in the foundations. Grown onto it is the older church of St Quirinus, the town's protector, so two churches share a wall and a belfry in a complex the Adriatic has nowhere else; the belfry with the angel on its top became Krk's trademark. The interior carries the layers of every century: ancient columns with early Christian capitals, the Gothic chapel of the Frankopan counts, Baroque altars and a pulpit, with the odd Roman tombstone built into the walls. The cathedral is the seat of the diocese of Krk, one of the oldest on the Croatian coast, and a living parish church: masses keep their order and sightseeing adapts. Come through the door from the waterfront an hour before evening mass, when the sun gilds the stone through the windows; half an hour suffices for the whole, and the belfry with the angel photographs best from the pier in the harbour.

Vela beach in Baška is the reason many first came to Krk: an arc of almost two kilometres of fine pebble at the island's southern end, laid between sea the colour of glass and the bare, lunar slopes of the Velebit channel. The beach is a natural phenomenon: the pebble is fine and pleasant, the sea entry gentle for dozens of metres, so bathing suits children and swimmers equally; the Blue Flag flies regularly. The facilities follow the fame: sunbeds and parasols, showers, lifeguards, schools of water sports, cafés and restaurants along the promenade tracing the whole arc. The August crowd ranks among the Adriatic's biggest, but the beach is large enough to swallow thousands; most peace is at the eastern end toward the arc's close. Baška is some twenty minutes' drive from Krk town across the pass, and itself worth half a day: an old village of narrow lanes, the promenade, the Glagolitic path. Come in the morning, park in time and let the beach keep you until sunset: Vela plaža is not a station but a destination.

Krk's waterfront is where the town breathes: a promenade along the harbour beneath the walls, with boats at their moorings, sailboat masts and a line of cafés whose terraces look straight into the sunset. The riva was always the town's entrance, Roman traders moored here, Venetian galleys and the steamers of Austrian lines, and today the small coastal ferries, excursion boats for Plavnik and Cres and yachts in transit. A day on the riva keeps its order: morning belongs to the fishermen shaking out nets and to the first coffees, noon to bathers passing toward Dražica, afternoon to ice cream, and evening to the stroll, an institution the whole town obeys. From the pier at the riva's end opens Krk's best frame: walls, the belfry with the angel and the castle in one line above the sea. Everything you need in town is three minutes from the riva; but the best the riva offers is free: to sit on the edge, let your legs over the stone and watch the light change the harbour's colour. If the Placa is the town's living room, the riva is its balcony.