Hvar

St Stephen's Square, the 1612 Arsenal theatre and the Pakleni Islands

Hvar town deserves two days. Spend the first morning on St Stephen's Square and in the cathedral, see the Arsenal and its 1612 theatre, and climb to the fortress before the heat for the view over the harbour. Give the second day to a taxi boat to the Pakleni Islands and lunch at Palmižana.

Take the first morning slowly on St Stephen's Square while the light is still soft, with a look inside the cathedral at its top end. Cross to the Arsenal, where Venetian galleys were once repaired, and see the 1612 theatre upstairs. Then climb the stepped lanes and pine paths to the fortress before the heat sets in, for the view over the roofs and out to the Pakleni islands.

In the afternoon, follow the waterfront path west of the harbour and swim from the rocks. In the evening, skip the harbour-front terraces and find a table in the lanes behind the square, then watch the yachts and the crowds along the quay.

Palmižana is the classic choice, with coves for swimming and restaurants under the pines; quieter islets are a short hop further, so agree a pickup time with the skipper before you step ashore. Come back in time to see the sun set from the harbour wall, or climb back up to the fortress for the last light.

Gregada, Plavac Mali and lunch under the Palmižana pines

Order gregada on Hvar, a fish stew cooked with potatoes, olive oil and white wine, plus grilled fish, black risotto and lamb from the interior roasted or under the peka. Drink Plavac Mali, the island's red, and book lunch under the pines at Palmižana on the Pakleni Islands.

The island dish to look for is gregada, a fish stew cooked with potatoes, olive oil and white wine, plain and very good when the fish is fresh. Grilled fish and crni rižot fill most menus, and lamb from the interior turns up roasted or under the peka. The lavender grown in the hills ends up in oils and sachets on the waterfront stalls, not in the kitchen.

Wine is a real reason to eat here. The red Plavac mali grows on the steep southern slopes of the island, and Bogdanjuša is the local white. In town, the restaurants on the harbour front charge for the view; the lanes behind St Stephen's Square hold smaller places where the cooking matters more.

For the classic Hvar lunch, take a taxi boat to Palmižana, where tables sit under the pines a few steps from the water and the meal stretches into the afternoon. Book ahead in July and August, when yacht crews fill both the town and the islands.

Stari Grad's Greek field plain, Jelsa and the lavender villages

Leave Hvar town for the island's calmer north coast. Stari Grad, older than Hvar town, sits at the end of a long inlet, and behind it the Stari Grad Plain keeps field boundaries laid out by Greek settlers in the 4th century BC, a UNESCO site best seen by bike. Jelsa and the lavender villages lie east.

Jelsa, further east along the same coast, is a small harbour town with a slower pace, linked to Hvar town by bus. Inland, the hill villages grow the lavender the island sells; Velo Grablje, above Hvar town, is the best known, and the fields are in flower around late June and early July.

By sea, some catamarans calling at Hvar continue to Korčula or Vis, so a night or two on another island is easy to add. Closer to home, the Pakleni islands give a full day of swimming with no more planning than finding the right taxi boat.