Hvar

Hvar is a long narrow island in central Dalmatia, described as **the sunniest of Croatia's islands** — around 2,700 hours of sun a year, a figure local hotels advertise with a money-back guarantee if it snows. **Hvar Town** at its western end is the best-known destination: a harbour open to the sea, the widest marble square in Dalmatia, the **Fortica** fortress on the hill above, and a sixteenth-century **Arsenal** containing one of the oldest municipal theatres in Europe. But the island is more than its town. The **Stari Grad Plain** to the east is UNESCO-listed because it is still divided by the same stone walls the **Greek** settlers laid out 2,400 years ago, and still farmed as it was. Off the town lie the small **Pakleni Islands** and their clear water.