Rock shapes Croatia. Houses are made of rock, fences of dry stone and streets of cobblestones. Ancient stone spires scratch the sky from rocky hills, and along nearly 2000km of coast rock tumbles to the sea in enthusiastic geological extravagance. Making this hard soil hospitable has occupied people here since the stone age. Poised on the border of the Balkans and Western Europe, Croatia has had centuries of different names, peoples, languages, governments, customs and allegiances. The Romans and Venetians have left graceful marks; the Communists less so.

Since the end of the war 10 years ago and voter's subsequent rejection of a nationalistic and anti-western government in 2000, Croatia has been moving steadily through the catalogue of problems typical of post-communist countries. Though corruption, unemployment, stupefying bureaucracy and low wages are still a problem, Croatia's entry into the 21st century has been marked by a practical determination to cast its lot with Western Europe. The country is now in a frenzy of house cleaning to prepare for entry into the European Union, and perhaps a little irked that neighbouring Slovenia is already at the party.

Croatia has been a holiday destination since Roman times, and has generally managed the pressures of modern tourism well. Large swathes of the country are national parks and the Government has worked hard to construct an overall plan to prevent rampant unregulated development. With a surfeit of neglected ancient towns and high unemployment, the economic importance of tourism is paramount. In keeping with EU guidelines, most development now preserves and restores structures from the past while improving basic infrastructure for the future. Achieving these goals is helped by the fact that in the centre of many medieval towns the roads are too narrow for cars, let alone coaches.

The temperate climate and placid waters of the Mediterranean have long attracted foreigners; Italians, Germans, Austrians, Slavs, Russians - and now the English. Croats, justifiably proud of the beauty of the country, seem quite ready to share it. With a population of less than 5 million, there are still plenty of empty islands, quiet coves and inland wilds to afford such generosity. Residents also realise that their economic future is in tourism, and are often eager to sell some of their property to foreigners as a fast track to prosperity.

Croatia can be viewed as three overlapping areas. Dalmatia, in the south, occupies a long strip between the steeply rising Dinaric Alps and the coast. It is hotter and drier than the north.

The north east of the country is dramatically different from the coastal areas. It is flatter, wetter, with much colder winters. The culture is more clearly central European. This is the most densely populated region, with nearly a quarter of the population in Zagreb alone.

Istria and Kvarner, in the north west corner of Croatia, have had the most sustained interaction with Western Europe (Italian is a second official language in Istria). Though not as warm as Dalmatia, easy access from Western Europe has made this area very cosmopolitan.

The Croatian language is Slavic in origin and shares little with Latin. Having said that, tourism past and present has equipped many Croats with reasonable skills in Italian, German and English.

The currency of Croatia is the Kuna (roughly 10p).