Ancient City Walls Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik is one of the most visited cities in the Adriatic and the congestion in summer is genuinely severe. The city walls, which run 1,940 metres around the entire Old Town and are the reason most people come, are packed shoulder-to-shoulder by 10am from May through September. The walk that takes 90 minutes at a reasonable pace in April takes two and a half hours in August and involves queuing on the narrow walkway while boats dock with another 3,000 cruise passengers below. Go in the first hour after opening or in the final hour before closing. The walls at 7am in September, with the light on the sea and nobody else on the walkway, are worth the early alarm.

The Walls

The walls were first built in the 8th century and fortified continuously until the 17th. Entry costs around EUR 35 for adults; tickets purchased online may skip part of the queue. The walls encircle the entire Old Town with towers, bastions, and gun emplacements at intervals; from the top you look down into the orange-roofed interior of the city on one side and out to the Adriatic on the other.

The most dramatic section is the southern walls above the sea, where the walkway runs directly above the rocky shoreline and the clarity of the Adriatic below is visible. The Minčeta Tower at the northern highest point is the standard photography spot looking back over the city.

The Old Town

The Stradun (Placa), the main limestone-paved street from the Pile Gate to the Old Port, is the obvious promenade. The side streets running uphill from it are narrower, steeper, and less trafficked. The Dominican Monastery at the eastern end of the Stradun has a pharmacy museum that has been operating since 1317 and is one of the oldest continuously operating pharmacies in the world.

Oysters from the Pelješac peninsula (an hour west) are sold by the dozen in the Old Port area and are excellent; eating them sitting on the harbour steps with a glass of local white wine is the most straightforward good thing you can do in Dubrovnik.

Getting There

Dubrovnik airport is 20 kilometres south of the city. Buses connect to the city centre; the journey takes about 30 minutes. Dubrovnik is more enjoyable in May, June, September, and October; July and August are functional but crowded.