Things To Do in Pag Island

Besides hauntingly beautiful landscapes, clean waters, and deserted beaches in isolated coves, Pag has a nice collection of Roman ruins, medieval walls, churches, and cultural icons. Most of the attractions worth seeing are concentrated in Pag Town and Novalja, which are separated by about 19km (12 miles). Pag Town has a partial 15th-century wall and an Old Town complete with the last of four standing watch towers that once rose from the town fortifications. The town center is home to two original buildings designed by Juraj Dalmatinac, the prominent Renaissance architect also responsible for Šibenik Cathedral. The Rector's Palace (Knežev dvor) is now a café; the Parish Church of St. Mary stands opposite Trg Kralja Krešimira IV,Pag Town’s center of social activity. Pag Town is nearly a mile south of the original 14th-century settlement that preceded it, and a few crumbling remnants of the ancient town are still visible and can be visited. There is also a small Pag Lace Gallery on the square where you can see what genuine Pag lace looks like before you consider a purchase. You can also see the town’s "wall" of windmills on the hills above Pag, an energy-generating project that takes advantage of bura wind power.

Pag Town is where most of the island’s locals live and where its salt fields are situated, but it is not as populous as Novalja. If Pag Town is the island's historic center, then Novalja is its New World colony. Novalja is about 19km (12 miles) north of Pag Town and far livelier in summer. The main draw is Zrće, a long, curving pebble beach, a little over a mile south of Novalja, and the epicenter of Pag’s swinging nightlife. Almost every bar in town (and some from Zagreb, like Papaya and Aquarius) has set up shop on this stretch of coast, which in summer vibrates with nonstop music and tanned bodies during the day, but doesn’t really get going until 10pm. Zrće draws hordes of the 18- to 29-year-old demographic from as far afield as the UK, the U.S., and Australia, who come here to attend a succession of commercial dance music festivals from June through August. In a nod to Croatia’s strict drinking and driving laws, minivans run partygoers from Zrće to Novalja’s harbor throughout the night, although action on the beach usually continues until dawn.

Midway between Pag Town and Novalja, you’ll pass through the inland village of Kolan, the main center of cheese-making on the island. At Figurica 20, Sirana Gligora (www.gligora.com; tel. 023/698-052) offers cheese tasting and tours of its dairy. There’s also a store where you can buy Paśki sir (Pag cheese) to bring home.

Pag Patterns

Pag is best known for its forbidding naked terrain, its salty sheep’s-milk cheese (Paški sir), its herb-infused lamb, and its wild party beaches. But Pag also has a reputation as the source of intricately patterned lace, produced by local women, who can spend days creating a single 6-in. round. It’s used as trim on clothing and tablecloths, as home decorating accents, and sometimes as framed art. Look for elderly ladies dressed in black sitting in Pag Town’s center square or near Novalja’s market for the best examples of this art. Usually these are the lace makers themselves, who will bargain with you on the price of their wares. Pag lace is quite expensive (a single round can sell for 750kn or more). Each piece of Pag lace is as complex and unique as a snowflake, and makes a wonderful souvenir from this diverse island. Once you’ve seen the genuine item you won’t have trouble recognizing inferior imitations.