Korcula

A red side and a black side strike real blades together in a dance 500 years old. The swords take damage, so several are replaced with new ones every year.

Narrow and tall, it carries a lion together with Adam and Eve above the door. Climbing the bell tower lets the pattern of the lanes be checked from above.

A narrow tower stands on the plot named in the story of the traveller's birth. The board on site states plainly that the evidence is not settled.

A wide stone stair spreads before the gate that leads into the walled town. From the top of it the whole narrow peninsula is taken in at a glance.

The round tower closing the wall on its western side became a roofless cafe. Water sits right below it and the sea opens wide toward the sunset.

Out on the eastern shore of the island lies one of the few sand beaches on this coast. The bottom slopes gently, so the feet still reach after a long wade out.

On a western hill of the island, this cave held people for more than ten thousand years. Two openings in the roof let light in, so the inside stays bright.

Getting to this southern bay means winding down a hill road, which makes it awkward. Fewer people make the trip, and the water reads jade green.

A yard where wooden boats are still built by hand survives inside the harbour. When sawing and planing are under way the door is left open to look in.

These plots hold a white grape that grows only on the sandy soil in the island's eastern corner. The vine bears female flowers alone, so another variety has to be planted among it to set fruit.

The largest of the islets facing Korcula town, now uninhabited. Franciscans took it over in 1398, and their friary and cloister still stand in the pine woods. A boat taxi runs over from the town harbour, and people swim off the rocks around its shore.

A 15-minute ferry from Korcula town lands you in this Peljesac village of old sea captains' houses. Mount St Elijah behind it rises to 961m, a half-day climb with Korcula laid out below. The captains rest in the Franciscan friary graveyard on the slope.

A small island off Vela Luka at Korcula's western tip, with several white-rock beaches scattered around it. Small boats run from Vela Luka harbour in summer. Trees are few and the sun is fierce, so pack a parasol and plenty of water.