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KVARNER & HIGHLANDS is an area that, due to its heterogeneity of climate and vegetation; its combination of shores, islands and highlands, architecture and culture; and its proximity to several European tourist-generating regions, has been developing tourism for aruond 160 years. The longest tourist tradition in Croatia, the year-round range of varied programmmes and the development of unique forms of tourism, constitute a variety of tourist attractions which meet the needs of present day tourists, with all their different requirements, throughout the four seasons.
Along with quality accommodation, a rich gastronomic range and many sports programmes, numerous events enriching the tourists' sojourn are also held in the region. The Kvarner & Highlands is also one of the leading conference destinations in Croatia, with excellent conditions for the organization of congresses, meetings andconferences. To sojourn in the Kvarner & Highlands region means to enjoy nature on the coast, the islands and in the mountains.
The Kvarner Coastline
Wellness in Kvarner & Highlands
Owing to its exceptionally favourable climatic features, it was precisely with the construction of climatic resorts that Kvarner & Highlands made its first tourist steps (at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century). We speak of course of the resorts in Opatija and Crikvenica, but also in Veli and Mali Lošinj, in Rab and in Gorski Kotar (Skrad and Delnice). Today, building on this tradition, Kvarner & Highlands is - by Croatian standards - an area with significant health tourism resources. Highly skilled medical services and various recreational programmes, aiming at both recovery and illness prevention - are combined with (diet) gastronomic programmes and present the rangeof the entire Kvarner & Highlands area, throughout the year, particularly on the Opatija and Crikvenica Rivieras, and on the Kvarner & Highlands islands, too. There are antistress programmes, vital programmes, massages, natural aromatherapies, picking medicinal herbs and walks in nature which are healthy for each guest’s body and soul. Even the Croatian Olympic and world champions, the skiers Janica and Ivica Kostelić, recuperated after their sports strains here in Kvarner & Highlands, in the polyclinic "Terme Selce" in Selce, known for its programmes for preventing sports injuries’ and for treating them, and for numerous other "health and wellness" programmes.
Update: Wellness – Obesity Treatment Centre – opened in fully reconstructed and modernized hotel "Villa Dubrava" in Opatija – first health hotel in Croatia (three stars), first obesity treatment centre under the auspices of Thallassotherapia, a specialized hospital for the medical rehabilitation of cardiac, pulmonary diseases and rheumatism.
Cultural Heritage
Croats made their home in the Kvarner & Highlands region as far back as the 7th century, and it is precisely due to its geographical position that this area has been an important meeting point of various peoples and cultures since ancient times, from the Liburnians and Greek seafarers to Romans, Venetians, and the Austro-Hungarian nobility, who all left indelible imprints of their civilisations here. A special atmosphere has thus been created in which history can be read from the open pages displayed by monuments and works of art.
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Opatija - Opatija, often called the Nice of the Adriatic, is one of the most popular tourist resorts in Croatia and a place with the longest tourist tradition on the eastern coast of the Adriatic. Situated below the mountain and Nature Park Ucka, Opatija (old name: Abbazia) is a fantastic choice for a great vacation during the summer and winter season. Beautiful nature, parks, old Austrian villas, seaside promenade and lovely beaches have attracted tourists from all over the world for more then 160 years. When it comes to congress organization, Opatija is the leading tourist destination in the Republic of Croatia. Admiral Marina has 200 berths in the sea and 40 places on the land, and it is open all year round. Along with festivals, concerts, exhibits and other cultural and sport events Opatija offers attractions worthwhile visiting!
Lovran villas - The series of villas on the seaside and along the famous promenade "Lungo mare" (especially in the street currently named Viktor Car Emin) are an example of Austro-Hungarian architectural heritage, and some are today accommodation facilities providing predominantly high level services. For example, there is the fully reconstructed villa "Astra" here, with an outdoor swimming pool, restaurant and wellness programmes, categorized with 5 *, and several villas with apartments managed by the Company "Lovranske vile" (www.lovranske-vile.com), as well as the villas "Magnolija", "Eugenija", "Liana", "Santa Maria" and others. The revitalization of these facilities represents a contribution to the pursuit of Kvarner and Croatian business objectives, namely the upgrading of the quality of tourist services, thereby creating a new product that significantly changes the image of this destination. The intention is to combine Croatia's natural and civil heritage with its cordial personal approach, friendly environment and high living standards in order to help increase creativity, strength, health and life balance in the course of holidays. Near the old Austro-Hungarian villas and hotels high-grade facilities the famous "Lungo mare", winding from Volosko to Lovran, has been built in front of the oldest promenade of the area, in the midst of Mediterranean vegetation that provides natural aromatherapy and pleasure for the body and soul.
Rijeka - a centre of Central European culture and tradition, the biggest Croatian port and capital of this region, its inhabitants accounting for 51% of the total Kvarner population. Recently attention has increasingly been paid to industrial heritage as having a great tourist potential. This is a town of sumptuous architecture (from Baroque palaces, monumental buildings from Historicism, Secession to modern, urban architecture), art galleries, museums, theatre, restaurants and cafes, and beer halls – an atmosphere of fascinating tradition mixed with city buzz and liveliness. Rijeka is famous for one of the oldest sanctuaries in the world - the famous Franciscan monastery in Trsat, with a precious treasury and arts gallery and a chapel of votive gifts. (The Pilgrimage season starts on 10th May with the celebration of the main church holiday of St. Mary (Majka Milosti) from the Holy House of Nazareth, and lasts until the holiday of Christ the King).
The Always Beautiful Rijeka
Crikvenica - has a hundred-year-old tradition in tourism and is today one of the leading tourist centres of the Kvarner Gulf. Foreigners got interested in Crikvenica as early as 1890, when they started to visit the town on their excursions from Opatija. In 1891 the first hotel was opened, owned by Ivan Skomerza. The owner named the hotel Erzherzogin Clotilde. In the same year, Archduke Joseph bought the Pauline monastery and turned it into a military seaside resort and then into a children's summer resort; today it is a hotel. The rapid tourist development initiated the construction of a public beach and the arrangement of a public park (1891). The magnificent Hotel Therapia, which still ranks among one of the most beautiful hotel buildings on the entire Croatian coast, was built in 1895 and in accordance with the concepts of those times served as a health resort. In 1906 Crikvenica was officially recognized as a sanatorium. The tourist development of Crikvenica is still going on and its nice riviera, which stretches from Jadranovo in the north to Selce in the south, offers exceptional opportunities for rest and recreation. Crikvenica has retained its original character of a health resort until today and the well-organized medical institution Thalassotherapia is a renowned sanatorium (respiratory disorders and diseases, rheumatism). Numerous pavilions (of all categories), apartments, rooms, the coast with long and well arranged public beaches, sports events and entertainment programs follow a century-old tradition of tourism in this town. Particularly interesting are the beaches equipped with various entertainment and recreational opportunities for children, which make Crikvenica one of the most popular seaside resorts for families. Offered are also many sports grounds and facilities (tennis, ball games) and the equipment for water sports (rowing, yachting, windsurfing). Mild climate provides good opportunities for sports training during winter months.
Novi Vinodolski - is a town and harbour in the region of the Croatian Primorje, at the estuary of the river Suha Ricina in the Vinodol Channel. Situated in the south-eastern part of the Vinodol flysh vale stretching from the northwest to the southeast and reaching the sea at Novi Vinodolski. Up to 1953 the town was called Novi. It consists of an older, compact part on the hill and the more recent one along the sea, southeast of the port with a promenade, tourist facilities and many villas. During the last years many of the new villas and weekend houses are being built, the town is expanding to the northwest of the port, below the main road. The port is exposed to the winds blowing from the fourth quadrant. Chief occupations include farming, viniculture, fishing and tourism. There is a resort Zagori not far from Novi Vinodolski.
Island Krk - the landscape is an intriguing contrast of natural beauties - from dense forests, rough barren rocky hills and valleys, to picturesque bays and sandy beaches. With a maximum altitude in excess of 560 m above sea level (Mount Obzova), Krk has one of the highest elevations of all the Adriatic islands. The island with its 410 km2 was always considered the largest in the Adriatic - recent surveys show Cres having a mere 5 km2 land mass less. The annual average temperature is above 15°C, approx. 7°C in February and 24°C in July, with some 2.500 hours of sunshine. Just like on the entire Kvarner, there are three predominant windes: the cool northerly Bura, humid Ygo and warm westerly Maestral. One can reach the island by plane, by sea with boat, by ferries (Senj-Baska), Cres (Valbiska-Merag) and Rab (Lopar-Baska), or of course the most popular way, with a vehicle over the bridge connected to the mainland. |