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What makes a city great? Some would say it’s all about buzzing neighbourhoods, affordable food and drink and a mighty selection of things to do, from art galleries and museums to live music and theatre. Others might highlight things like the happiness of its locals, access to green space and strong community vibes. We factor in all that and more in our annual survey, which asks city-dwellers around the world to tell us what it’s like to live, work and play in their hometowns right now. Thanks to the opinions and insights of locals on the ground and our global network of city experts, we’re able to create a global ranking of the world’s best cities – and the 2024 results are in. As in previous years, the basis of the ranking remains our global survey of the people who know their city best: the locals. Working with research company Potentia Insight, we surveyed thousands of city-dwellers about the quality and affordability of food, culture and nightlife in their city. We also asked locals how their city makes them feel: are they happy there? Is it a beautiful place? Is it easy to make social connections? Their thousands of responses gave us a unique insight into the reality of living in the world’s greatest cities right now. Now that international travel is forecast to bounce back to the highest levels since 2019, many travellers will be planning a city break this year – so in 2024, we added a little extra weight to a city’s global appeal. Each survey respondent was asked which

Does anything conjure up an image of beach bliss quite like the Med? Surrounded by 22 countries and bordered by three continents, the Mediterranean Sea boasts miles and miles of coastline – not to mention hundreds of islands. And while there are certain seaside spots where you’ll need to fight for space on the sand (we’re looking at you, Barceloneta), there are plenty of other secluded stretches of coastline across the Med. Our selection of alternative beach spots, chosen by Mediterranean-based travel writers, takes you beyond Europe to North Africa and the Middle East. From wild, flamingo-frequented beaches in Spain to a culture-packed port city in France, this is where to find the Mediterranean’s best alternative (and affordable) beach breaks. There’s plenty of room to lay out your towel here. Grace Beard is Time Out’s deputy travel editor, based in London. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines and check out our latest travel guides written by local experts. RECOMMENDED:🗺 Europe’s most underrated destinations🌆 The best European city breaks🚫 The travel destinations that want tourists to stay away

This May, the Icelandic low-cost carrier PLAY will be introducing flights from its base at Keflavik Airport, near Reykjavík, to Split. Launched in 2021, the budget airline serves several destinations in Spain and Italy. This will be its first venture in Croatia. “Split is a dream destination for us at PLAY,” said PLAY CEO Birgir Jónsson. “It has beautiful landscapes and a vibrant culture. I have no doubt this will be one of our most popular destinations this year. Everywhere we go, we give the competition a run for their money. We want to make travel more affordable and I am sure our Split services will be well received by people who want to visit our beautiful country of Iceland.” Services will run between Iceland and Split every Tuesday from May 28 to August 13.

Festival organisers Verknipt, known for their hard techno raves across Europe, have just announced a new event coming to Zrće beach on June 30. The Verknipt Croatia Holiday Festival will run for five days until July 4, taking over the famous site near Novalja on Pag island, where major raves take place all summer. Pre-sale tickets and packages will be available from January 24, regular ones from the day after. The line-up is yet to be announced. Verknipt has only recently moved into the global market but is already staging techno events in Rome, Budapest and Istanbul, along with selling out the main football stadium in Amsterdam where the company is based.

A new maritime passenger terminal has just been unveiled at Vela Luka on Korčula. Costing nearly €15 million to build, the port comprises four ferry berths, one 150 metres in size, meaning large vessels will be able to dock. Vela Luka (‘Large Harbour’) is set at the end of a deep, wide bay at the western end of Korčula island, and has long been a key transport hub. Currently ferries and catamarans call in at Vela Luka between Split and Lastovo three times a day, the fast boats also stopping at Hvar, though this traffic is bound to increase in high season. The new terminal, more than two-thirds funded by the EU, will also relieve congestion around the old port area in the historic centre of Vela Luka. The facility should also benefit tourism in Lastovo, once considered a remote outpost, an island getaway south of Korčula.

Seoul-based low-cost carrier T’way Air has just announced a new service between the South Korean capital and Zagreb from June this year. This will be the first European venture for the company, the third-biggest budget airline in the country, whose roster otherwise includes a dozen destinations in China, ten in Japan, Sydney and Vietnam. Passengers flying from Seoul will make a short stopover in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, before heading on to Croatia. From Zagreb, flights will be direct to South Korea. The new route should be yet another boost for tourism in Croatia, with Ryanair, Volotea and Croatia Airlines already announcing expanded services for 2024.

The Croatian energy giant INA has announced it will be investing €40 million to convert a former petroleum refinery in Sisak, 60km south-east of Zagreb, into a plant creating biogas and biomethane from industrial waste. The move is the latest in a line of recent initiatives in the field of green energy in Croatia. In October, the Slavonian town of Vinkovci presented its plans to power public transport and heat homes with clean energy. INA is already installing solar power plants in Sisak and Virje. The latest announcement is the most ambitious yet, and construction of the bio-energy facility is expected to take two or three years.

Mariusz Milka is part of the team behind Seamagination, which creates a digital documentation of Croatia’s cultural heritage underwater and on land. This allows them to produce photogrammetry of landmarks such as Maslovnik, an Ancient Greek watchtower on Hvar, and Kupinovik, an Ancient Roman villa rustica near Stari Grad on the same island. But it’s their work underwater that most captures the imagination, exploring Ancient Roman shipwrecks and discovering Ancient Greek pottery, not to mention coming face to face with sea turtles. Mariusz, 42, a UK national originally from Poland, also teaches underwater, terrestrial and aerial photogrammetry online. Here he speaks with Time Out Croatia about his unique work: Time Out Croatia: When did you first become involved in photogrammetry?  Mariusz Milka: It was around 2015. Back then I was an enthusiast of these technologies, which were not yet so popular. There were no tutorials, there were only some blog posts, forums and often low-quality information. So, it was all experimentation and trying to get the best results. I started on land, but since I was already a diver, I quite quickly begun experiments with photogrammetry under water. It is also important to note that back then there was plenty of discouraging information online that photogrammetry was very difficult under water and most certainly impossible with a GoPro camera… And all I had was a GoPro camera. Quite quickly I realised that the only reason all those people wrote it

“Scientists have discovered a young group of endangered giant clams off the coast of Croatia in the Adriatic Sea,” posted Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio to his 60 million-plus followers on his Instagram page. “The noble pen shell clam, which can grow to be up to four feet wide, has been declining since a deadly pathogen struck the species in 2016,” continued the eco-conscious actor. “Researchers hope to bring back the clams that play an important role in maintaining healthy underwater ecosystems.” DiCaprio, who stars in the film Killers of the Flower Moon, currently nominated for seven awards at the upcoming Golden Globes, has long been a promoter of nature conservation. Also known by its Latin name of pinna nobilis, the noble pen shell clam started dying out as a deadly pathogen spread across the Mediterranean around 2016. Then, in 2022, a diver spotted a cluster of 20 clams off the north Istrian coast, while marine biologists found another five dozen or so near Poreč. They collected several young specimens for analysis in an aquarium in Pula. Noble pen shell clams can grow as wide as 120cm across and help to filter sea water, allowing other organisms to thrive.

In a tradition that now attracts fellow swimmers all the way from Austria, the New Year’s Day plunge on the Opatija waterfront took place in surprisingly (but relatively!) mild conditions. With water temperatures around 15 degrees, a few higher than most years, the brave menfolk in retro bathing costumes and Santa hats took a few slugs of Dutch courage in the form of sparkling wine, and then dove into the Adriatic. The group, known as the Opatijski kukali, flock to the spot near the Maiden with the Seagull statue, a beach known as Slatina. As well as swimming around for as long as their bodies would let them, once back on shore, bathers sent best wishes to all for 2024.

We would like to wish all our readers, partners and sponsors a Happy New Year from the team at Time Out Croatia! So many thanks for all your support over the last 12 months and here’s to every success in 2024! Alfresco celebrations welcomed in the New Year across Croatia, with live music and partying along a packed Stradun in Dubrovnik and around the main square in Zagreb. There, entertainment ranged from the sublime (the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra) to the comedic (controversial band Let3), higher than average temperatures bringing out the crowds to the country’s major cities. Here’s to a fabulous 2024 – stick with Time Out Croatia for all news, features and profiles to add detail and colour to your appreciation of this beautiful country.

Following a boom year for tourism in 2023, a number of airlines has announced the introduction of new routes in 2024. Barcelona-based low-cost carrier Volotea will be offering 77 flights every week to Croatia in high season, including new ones from Lille to Dubrovnik, and to Split from Naples, Athens and Strasbourg. Having already confirmed Dubrovnik as a new base for 2024, Ryanair will be flying from Vienna to Rijeka and Split. The Irish budget carrier will also head to Pula from Memmingen near Munich. In terms of the region, Croatia Airlines is considering the prospect of adding more flights to Mostar, having decided to continue its service from Zagreb in 2024, while in long-haul, United Airlines will be flying larger Boeing aircraft from Newark to Dubrovnik, increasing capacity by ten per cent.

Whether you’re in Croatia, the UK, US or anywhere else in the world, we would like to wish you, our reader, partner or sponsor, a very Merry Christmas and thank you for all your support in 2023! It’s been a wonderful year, one in which Croatia introduced the euro, joined Schengen and welcomed visitors flooding back to the country’s brilliant beaches, historic cities and many music festivals. Here’s to much, much more happening in 2024! Remember, Advent attractions are open in Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Istria and around Croatia until early January, so you can still feel the Christmas spirit for a good couple of weeks to come. Happy Christmas and Sretan Božić one and all!

The Polar Dream, a magical installation transforming the Grič tunnel in downtown Zagreb, is welcoming visitors all over Christmas, including December 25 and New Year’s Day. Entering from Mesnička ulica and heading towards Radićeva, this ambient walk-through textile sculpture inspired by the Northern Lights and Polar expanses has been created by designer and visual artist Stella Leboš. It runs for 80 metres, the entire length of this tunnel close to Zagreb’s main square, once used by DJs for parties in the earliest days of techno. A collaboration between the Zagreb Tourist Board and the association Art for the City, Polar Dream also features lighting by Andrija Santro and sound effects by Hrvoje Nikšić, and the whole installation has been developed by Ana Mikin, also from the association. This free attraction forms part of the huge, city-wide Advent Zagreb celebrations and remains open until January 7. Polar Dream Mesnička ulica. Admission free. Open daily until Jan 7 9am-10pm. Dec 24 & 31 9am-4pm, Dec 25 & 26, Jan 1 & 6 noon-8pm.