.jpg?width=1600)
Cities & Culture
Rab Old Town & the Four Bell Towers
Rab · Kvarner & Islands
QUICK INFORMATION
- CATEGORY
- Cities & Culture
- COUNTRY
- Croatia
- REGION
- Rab · Kvarner & Islands
- DURATION
- 1 day
ABOUT THIS ATTRACTION
Rab town occupies a narrow spit between two bays, its stone lanes closed to cars, its skyline defined by four bell towers raised between the 11th and 13th centuries. The cathedral campanile — open to climb — gives the postcard view of all four at once, over red rooftops to the sailing water of the channel. The Roman-era walls still wrap the town; the main street’s cafés and konobas fill it at dusk.
HISTORY & BACKGROUND
The story behind it
Arba was a Roman municipality whose walls still stand; medieval Rab was a Christian centre by the 11th century, when its bishops raised the Romanesque churches whose towers now crown the town. Venice took the island in 1409 and added palaces along the main street. In 1936 Edward VIII — not yet abdicated — swam bare at Kandarola cove and Rab opened one of Europe’s first naturist beaches, a tradition that still shapes the island’s easy-going coast.
WHAT TO SEE
What to see here
GOOD TO KNOW
Facts & Curiosities
The four bell towers — cathedral, St Andrew, St John and St Justina — have crowned the skyline since the Middle Ages.
The cathedral campanile is climbable for a small fee — the classic view of all four towers at once.
Edward VIII swam at Kandarola cove in 1936, launching Rab as one of Europe’s first naturist destinations.
The town walls date to Roman times — among the best-preserved early urban defences on the Adriatic.
MAP & LOCATION
Rab Old Town & the Four Bell Towers
Rab Old Town & the Four Bell Towers, Rab, Kvarner & Islands, Croatia
44.7583, 14.7606
.jpg?width=400)
FOOD & DRINK
Where to eat nearby
Konoba Riva — harbour dining in Rab town
Lopar’s beachside restaurants
HOTELS & STAYS
Where to stay nearby
Hotel Arbiana — grand hotel in Rab town
Resort apartments around Lopar
NEARBY DESTINATIONS
Continue the journey
INTERESTS
Explore by what you love
PART OF
Keep exploring
The atlas goes on — more attractions, destinations and stories from every corner of the world.