Kolovare is the beach that Zadar actually uses. Not the one on the postcards, not the one the tour operators mention first — the one where locals go on a Tuesday afternoon in August when the old town is full of tourists and they need to be in the sea within 15 minutes. That kind of beach. That kind of loyalty.

It sits about 15 minutes on foot from the old town, tucked below a residential neighbourhood on the southern side of the city, and the walk there along the seafront is genuinely pleasant — past the city park, along the promenade, with the water visible the whole way. No need for a bus or a taxi. Just walk toward the sea and you'll find it.

The beach is a mix of concrete platforms, pebble, and rock, with the Adriatic dropping away quickly once you're in. The water is clean and clear — this part of the coast doesn't get the boat traffic that can cloud the water closer to the harbour — and on a calm summer morning, with the sun still low and the water cool and the old town visible in the distance, swimming here feels like one of the great simple pleasures of being in Zadar.

There's a café on the waterfront for coffee before or after, a few facilities, and enough pine shade at the edges to make a long afternoon manageable. Nothing fancy. Nothing that needs to be fancy.

A few tips:

• Go early morning or late afternoon — midday in summer the concrete platforms get extremely hot and the sun has nowhere to hide

• Water shoes are useful — the entry points are rocky in places

• The walk from the old town takes about 15 minutes along the seafront promenade — always walk rather than taking transport, the route is half the pleasure

• If Kolovare feels too busy, keep walking south along the coastal path — there are smaller, quieter spots tucked into the rocks that most people walk straight past