Lying off the south coast of the Pelješac peninsula, Korčula is a predominantly green island, draped in a lush carpet of vineyards, olive groves and Aleppo pine. Main settlement Korčula Town retains medieval walls and has a reputation for holiday chic similar to that of Dubrovnik; nearby beaches at Lumbarda are famously sandy, although it is the rocky island of Proizd, near Vela Luka, that provides the best of the bathing locations. The island is particularly famous for its archaic sword dances (such as the Moreška in Korčula Town and Kumpanija in Vela Luka), enacted weekly for visitors in season.

Korčula Town

Occupying a beetle-shaped hump of land on the island’s northeastern shore, Korčula Town is another of those perfectly-preserved medieval-to-Renaissance settlements, a pleasing tangle of alleys, stepped passages and piazzas bound by stout walls and crenellated towers. Rising above its centre is St Mark’s Cathedral, a late Gothic building rich in sculptural detail, with a statuette of St Mark flanked by lions above the main portal. The interior boasts not one but two Tintorettos; a St Mark (here accompanied by saints Bartholomew and Jerome) adorning the canopied main altar, and an Annunciation in the adjacent aisle. The next-door Bishops Treasury has collection of Gothic and Renaissance paintings. On the opposite side of the square, the Town Museum offers archeological finds and local ethnography.