The main entrance to the old town is the ornate City Gate (also called the Land Gate), which provides a link to Foša Harbor on the southern side. Adorned with six columns supporting a pediment, the gate features three arched gateways topped by a winged lion symbolizing St. Mark (the patron saint of the Venetian Republic). The other five gates are the St. Rocco and Sea Gates, both Venetian in style; the medieval St. Demetrius Gate, which was walled up for centuries and reopened in 1873; the Chain Gate, built under Austrian rule in 1877; and finally the Bridge Gate, built when Zadar was under Italian rule in the 1930s.
Walking is the primary means of getting around Zadar’s pedestrianized old town and the best way to reach all six of the city gates.
Unlike medieval times, when the gates were carefully sealed to guard against invasion, today they are always open and free to the public. The City/Land Gate really shines in the golden light of the late afternoon and at night, when the old city walls are illuminated from below.
Any of Zadar’s six city gates gets you inside the old walled city—the most charming and traveler-friendly part of town. Soak in the scene over a cup of coffee and a Dalmatian pastry at a cafe in People’s Square (Narodni trg u Zadru), then burn it off with an 180-step climb to the top of the bell tower of St. Anastasia Cathedral, where panoramic views over the old town await. Try to spot ancient Roman ruins scattered around the Forum, and end the day with a solar-powered light show at the waterside “Greeting to the Sun” art installation.
