Makarska

Makarska is the largest town of the Makarska Riviera, the stretch of coast that runs below the sheer wall of the Biokovo mountain, and its setting is its whole story. The town sits on a deep bay between two wooded peninsulas, with a long pebble beach in front and the grey slopes of Biokovo rising directly behind, the highest coastal mountain in Croatia.

The old town is a compact grid of stone houses behind a palm-lined promenade, with a Franciscan monastery that holds a noted malacological museum, a shell collection begun by the friars, and a small square. The harbour sits between the two peninsulas, of which the St Peter peninsula is the one to walk for the view back over the town.

The reason most people come to Makarska is the combination of beach and mountain. The long pebble beach runs the length of the bay, and the Biokovo Nature Park rises behind the town, with the new glass Skywalk viewpoint reachable by a slow mountain road. The town is busy in summer, a genuine resort rather than a quiet harbour.

For photographers, the view of the town between the peninsulas and the Biokovo wall behind are the shots, best from the water or from the St Peter peninsula. Use Makarska as the base for both the Riviera beaches and the Biokovo mountain.

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