Crikvenica

Crikvenica grew from a village around a Pauline monastery into a resort from the 1890s, when the Austro-Hungarian authorities designated it a climatic health station - the idea being that a mild sheltered coast with clean air was itself a treatment, and hotels and sanatoria were built accordingly, some of which still stand. Its beaches are the practical draw: unusually for the Adriatic, several stretches here are genuine sand rather than shingle or rock, which makes it a long-standing family destination. The town sits under the Vinodol hills with the island of Krk directly across the channel, and the promenade runs several kilometres along the shore.

What you actually see

• A designated health resort from the 1890s - climate treated as the cure.
• Genuine sand beaches - rare on this coast.
• Hotels and sanatoria of the period - some still in use.
• Krk across the channel - the view from the front.

When to go

June to September. Half a day.

Honest expectations

It is a mass family resort in July and August and the sand beaches fill early. Parking on the front is difficult. Much of the building stock is later twentieth century rather than Habsburg. Winter is very quiet.

Nearby

Novi Vinodolski is south; Rijeka and Opatija are north.