Primosten Waterfront

Why it is worth your time

Primosten's riva works as the old town's forecourt: a promenade along the harbour in the causeway's lee, where fishing boats and excursion boats rock at the stone piers, and a row of tavern and café terraces follows the sea line all the way to the town gate. Here the place breathes its real rhythm: fishermen and coffee in the morning, fruit and souvenir stalls before noon, the return from the beaches in the afternoon, and in the evening the corso in which locals and guests mingle while behind them the old town lights up. From the riva the excursion boats leave for the Krknjasi lagoon, Sibenik and hidden coves, so this is also the holiday's logistics centre; tickets are bought directly on the pier, best a day ahead.

The gastronomy runs from ice cream to taverns with fish and Primosten Babic, poured here with a view of the vineyards it came from. The riva's loveliest hour is the blue one, between sunset and night, when the stone cools, the boats settle and the bell tower of St George shines above the roofs: then one sees why the same guests return to Primosten for decades.