Murter is the island's administrative centre, sitting on the north-west coast and looking directly out toward the Kornati. It is a working village more than a resort — a small harbour, a parish church, a fish market that opens before dawn, and a handful of seafront restaurants — and most of the boats that take visitors into the national park leave from its long quay.
The town is at its best in early morning when the day's fish is being landed, or in the evening when locals walk the seafront. Slanica beach, on the south side of town, is the island's busiest stretch of sand.