2 stops in walking order

Nature Park

Rab town is best known for its four Romanesque bell towers, but its most underrated pleasure is the wooded park of Komrčar just outside the medieval walls — a 32-hectare Aleppo-pine and holm-oak forest planted in 1883 by the far-sighted forester Pravdoje Belia to reforest what was then a bare limestone spur. Its shaded gravel paths, ornate stone benches and 19th-century pavilions curve gently down to a series of small pebble coves — the perfect after-lunch stroll or a shady refuge in a July heatwave. Come out onto the seaward terrace for a picture-postcard view of the four bell towers rising above the medieval town, and if you continue north the path connects to the famous naturist beaches of Frkanj peninsula (Rab was where the British King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson made international headlines in 1936 by swimming naked, giving the island its enduring status as Europe's original naturist destination). Back inside the walls, don't miss the tiny Kaldanac quarter at the town's eastern tip — a small knot of stone houses partly ruined during the 15th-century plague and never fully rebuilt, giving it a haunting quality unique on the Adriatic. Combined visit takes half a day and is entirely free.

~20 min at this stop

Old Town

The silhouette of Rab is unmistakable — four Romanesque bell towers piercing the sky above a narrow peninsula. The medieval core is entirely car-free, with the highest tower (Great Bell) climbable for a rooftop panorama. Rab is also famous for a papal indulgence: in 1936 King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson swam naked here on a royal yacht, and the island has enthusiastically embraced clothing-optional beaches ever since. The Rabska Fjera medieval festival in late July fills the streets with crossbow tournaments.

~20 min at this stop