To start with this town seems anything but a special place to visit; on a par with Split & Dubrovnik? Parking down in the port area and looking up behind the few trip boats to the facade of the sea-facing walls, pierced by a few small windows & doorways, it seems nothing special. The dome of the town church pierces the sky line, special enough to be noticed but not enough to be admired. Yet clues to the secrets in these streets can be spied with hints of two of the town’s four large fortresses muddled on high outcrops. Narrow cracks beside seafront cafes tease the visitor and tempt them in.

It is only as you take a set of steps into the dark cobbles of the medieval Old Town does Sibenik begin to divulge its treasures and history. A sense of pageantry pervades the labyrinth of the smoothed-cobbled alleys, aided by lines of hanging bunting painted by school children.

Cool squares & courtyards are squeezed into any tight space and tables arranged as a bar or a restaurant for the few visitors to this shadowed maze.

This passage leads through the tables to what appears to be a grand church but is, in fact, a simple chapel the size of a 10 metre cube.

Divining a way through the streets is a challenge if you try to use your mental compass to reach a set point. Much more exciting & satisfying is to give up any previous guidance system (that the duomo will be at the highest spot of the town – here that is not the case as it is down near the water front) and go with the gut to see what is around the next corner or at the top of a range of stone steps; things like the main drag of shopping outlets, unique independent crafty shops and interesting eateries that create a hotspot of culture and arts, a talented busker.

Umbrellered cafes, shaded by canvas or potted trees offer a respite from the tourist path. Deeper into the myriad of passages, the real gems start to appear. The church of Sveti Barbara date’s back to the 15th century.

It is no longer used a a church but is being converted to be used as part of the City Museum. Then the heavy stuff comes out – up wide, winding steps is the monastery of St. Lawrence and its small, preciously green garden, a tranquil oasis in a desert of quarried stone. It is free to enter and spend time here. There’s also a small cafe serving healthy drinks & snacks in tune with the ambience; lots of water & no burgers!

Sibenik Cathedral of St. James is situated in the Republic Square and City Loggia which normally houses a number of small cafes. Today it has been decked out for performances but one can still feel the ambience of the place. The cathedral was built over 100 years between 1431 & 1535.

The Loggia was built over the same period of time but a century later.

The cathedral is equally impressive from many different aspects.

The wide balustrade of steps at the rear lead down through a tidy square & past the pillered man to a wide shaded Promenade where another round of refreshments can be bought from a lovely quirky bar before a gentle stroll along the water back into town.