The historic town of Sibenik, connected with the expansion and development of the early Croatian state, is rich in cultural and historical monuments. The most representative among them is the famous Cathedral of Sibenik, one of the most original architectural projects of the late Middle Ages, primarily linked to the local master Juraj Matejev Dalmatinac (George of Dalmatia).

Sibenik is today a tourist centre situated in the area where the best-indented archipelago in Europe (Islands of Kornati) and karst hydrographical phenomena (Skradinski Buk, Visovac, Roski Waterfall) merge into the ecologically and aesthetically most attractive tourist and recreational zone on the Croatian Adriatic.

Sibenik is the birthplace of one of the greatest world basketball players Drazen Petrovic. There are many recreational sports grounds, and Jadrija has beach-volleyball facilities. Water sports offer includes yachting and rowing. There are several diving clubs organizing diving courses and underwater photo-safari.

Restaurants offer domestic specialities (lamb, grilled dishes, baked dishes - especially turkey). In the quarter called Dolac, in the town centre, there are about a hundred cafés with music.

The most popular cultural events include the International Child's Festival (last week in June and first week in July), the Summer Organ School (in the second half of August) and the ibenik Summer. The Day of St. James (25th of July), the patron saint of the city, is festively commemorated.

Sibenik was first mentioned in 1066, in a document issued by King Petar Kresimir IV who stayed in the fortified citadel of St. Michael, today St. Anne's Fortress. From 1116 to 1124 and between 1125 and 1133 Sibenik was under Venetian rule. The Hungarian-Croatian king Stephen IV chartered Sibenik in 1167. After a short-lived rule of the Byzantine empire (until 1180), the town was fought over by Hungarian-Croatian kings, Venice, the Bosnian king Tvrtko and Duke Hrvoje Vukcic Hrvatinic. From 1412 to 1797 again under the power of Venice. From 1797 to 1918 (except for a short period of the French occupation) Sibenik was, together with the rest of Dalmatia, absorbed by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. At the end of the First World War it was occupied by Italy but was returned to the parent country under the Treaty of Rapallo (1920).

Sibenik is the birthplace of three humanists: Juraj Sizgoric (around 1420- 1509), Antun Vrancic (1504-1573) and Faust Vrancic (1551-1617), of the writer Nikola Tommaseo (1802-1874) and many others.