Nin is small in every sense but one: its age. This low town sits on a tiny island joined to the shore by a pair of stone bridges, in shallow lagoons north-west of Zadar, and it was once a seat of Croatian rulers and a bishopric. A walk around the old centre takes a quarter of an hour, yet it is crowded with churches, including the little pre-Romanesque church of the Holy Cross, which is often described as the smallest cathedral in the world. A statue of Bishop Grgur of Nin, the medieval champion of the Croatian language in church services, stands outside the walls, and rubbing the toe is said to bring luck.
The approach by bike is flat and easy. From Zadar the road heads north-west across a plain of salt pans, reeds and coastal fields, with the long ridge of Velebit standing to the east and the islands of the Zadar archipelago floating off to the west. The corners are few. What you get instead is wide open sky, the smell of salt and sun-warmed marsh, and a steady coastal breeze. Crosswinds can be irritating, particularly when the bura rushes down from Velebit, so check the forecast before choosing a day with tall loads on the bike.
Nin's salt pans have been worked for a very long time, and the town is also known for its lagoon mud, used locally for therapeutic purposes, and for a long sandy beach called Queen's Beach that is unusual on this rocky coast. Shallow water and sand also mean that kite and windsurfers are common in summer.
Best hours are early morning, when the lagoon is still and the old stone is pink, or late evening, when the crowds from the beach have gone home. Coffee on the main street, a plate of grilled fish if you have the time, and then back out across the bridge. It is a gentle stop in a day otherwise built around bigger mountains and tighter bends.