A week on Hvar Island: heres how you can experience it

It’s not a secret that American travelers have been flocking to Europe every summer and, as the demand for European travel has increased, so have expectations.The reason behind it could be that the most popular destinations advertised to US travelers, through social media and mainstream pop culture, are the ones where everyone goes.

The same ones that cannot stand the number of tourists visiting them anymore.And there are others, the ones that not everyone hears about, the hidden gems and new perspectives, and one place that often gets mentioned is the Island of Hvar.Getting here is much easier than it might seem.

Newark flies nonstop to both Split and Dubrovnik this summer, and from either one, you take a catamaran to Hvar.From Split, it’s about an hour on the water.

From Dubrovnik, closer to three and a half, with some of the most amazing views of the Croatian coast. What you realize first, stepping off the boat, is the pace of the city.Hvar Town moves characteristically slowly, a way of life built over centuries.

A way that puts relaxed living front and center, and that, for some visitors, becomes an early highlight of their stay.It’s not unusual to see locals sit on the terraces for hours.

Dinner does not start before eight.The passeggiata (evening walk) along the harbor is, by now, almost a tradition, not a tourist performance.

By the end of day one, if you feel like you don’t have to hurry anymore, you can consider your day successful. Hvar has somewhat of a party reputation, mostly earned during the 2000s when beach clubs and yacht crowds made it a popular spot on the European summer circuit.That version of the island still exists if you want it.

But the old town that predates all of that by several centuries is the more interesting place, and it takes a day of unhurried walking to start understanding it.Start at St.Stephen’s Cathedral on the main square, a three-nave basilica built between the 16th and 18th centuries and funded entirely b...