After telling of exotic destinations in the far American continent, in this post I will describe a cultural and natural jewel not far from my hometown, located on the opposite bank of the Adriatic Sea. I’m talking about Dubrovnik, one of the most elegant and exclusive cities of Croatia.

Dubrovnik is located in a fairytale position, in the middle of a bay of calm, crystal clear waters that is home to a myriad of inhabited and uninhabited islands.

This is, in short, the itinerary of my trip:

• Period: August 2018
• Duration: five days
• Stops of the journey: four days in Dubrovnik, Croatia, and one day in Montenegro

• Schedule:

  • First day: Mount Srd

  • Second day: old town and city walls of Dubrovnik

  • Third day: Lokrum

  • Fourth day: Montenegro

  • Fifth day: relax at the seaside in Lapad

As usual, what I write is based on my personal judgment and on what I was able to verify first-hand during my stay.

Costs

Dubrovnik is in general a quite expensive city according to European standards, at least in the high season when the city is teeming with tourists. Based on the experience of the days I spent there, I would say that the cost of a day as a tourist is more or less the same as in other European capitals such as Paris and Brussels.

A possible way to save some money if you plan to visit more than one museum and travel frequently by public transport is to buy the Dubrovnik Card for one, three or seven days, depending on the length of your stay in the city. The Dubrovnik Card gives you the opportunity to tour the city walls, visit the Rector’s Palace and other museums, take advantage of some free public transport rides, profit from a discount on a list of selected restaurants and get a deduction from the price of the ferry ticket to Lokrum.

Tip #1

Whether you’re staying in the old town or in Lapad, be prepared for an incredible number of stairs to climb and descend to reach any destination.

Gastronomic specialities

The typical cuisine in Dubrovnik is Mediterranean, where olive oil and garlic abound. Do not miss the fish specialities and, in particular, the excellent squid, and, for meat lovers, the famous cevapcici (small spicy meatballs of minced meat) and the prosciutto of Dalmatia. There are also excellent varieties of white and red wine.

The restaurants I personally tried during my stay were the Taj Mahal and the LAJK Restaurant Dubrovnik, in the old town, the Dubravka 1836 Restaurant, just outside the city walls near the Pile Gate, and the Atlantic Kitchen and the Eden, both in Lapad.

The dinner at the Taj Mahal was up to the good reputation of the restaurant, although we had to wait a long time before we could take a seat at the table and we were told to wait our turn standing in a street corner away from the other tables. If you plan to dine there, I strongly recommend booking a table in advance. In any case, don’t be fooled by the name: this restaurant does not serve Indian but Bosnian cuisine. If you go to the Taj Mahal and want to complete your meal with a 100% Bosnian experience, order a Bosnian coffee (be aware that the more popular espresso coffee is not available here).

The dinner at the Dubravka 1836 Restaurant was very good too and the service there was much faster than at the Taj Mahal. The pizza was on average, while the fish was great. The strong point of the restaurant, however, is undoubtedly its excellent location, with beautiful outdoor tables that offer an unparalleled view of the sea and the city walls.

If you are not looking for a complete meal but rather for a snack or a light lunch that will give you the strength to face the hundreds of stairs of the old city without weighing yourself down, you can stop at the LAJK Restaurant Dubrovnik, not far from one of the access points of the city walls. I personally tried the Dalmatian Antipasti and the Salad with Feta, both delicious. In addition, the staff is extremely friendly and helpful.

Eventually, if you love ice cream, a stop at Peppino’s is more than a must: this small ice cream parlour in the old town offers excellent traditional flavours and, for the most demanding of you, the more exotic premium flavours. Don’t miss them! The cost of an ice cream is not among the lowest, but given the location of this small ice cream shop this does not come as a surprise. My personal choice? Kinder Pingui and Vanilla Nutella, a real treat!

Mount Srd

The summit of Mount Srd can be reached in just under four minutes with the convenient cable car.

Apart from the viewpoint, the restaurant and the souvenir shop, the summit of Mount Srd is home to the Dubrovnik during the Homeland War, a museum that displays photos and testimonies of the siege of the city during the wars that affected Croatia in the 90s. The museum is housed in an imperial fort built in honour of Napoleon and completed in 1812.

Tip #1

If you plan to watch the sunset from the top of Mount Srd, line up at the cable car entrance in good time, because waiting times could be quite long (half an hour in my case). The view from above, however, will totally repay the wait!

Tip #2

A little tip if you climb Mount Srd to appreciate the sunset: do not stop on the viewpoint near the exit of the cable car but choose the terrace on the left or the passage on the right, from where you can take pictures without the cables of the cable car. Even better than that, if you are willing to pay the ticket price of the Dubrovnik during the Homeland War (which is not so expensive after all), you can enjoy a great view of the city and the surrounding bay from the terrace of the fort, which is much better than the view you could admire from the viewpoint where everyone else is. If you can, come here for a perfect shot just before sunset.

Old town

The old town is a maze of narrow streets that rise and fall like one of Escher’s famous paintings.

Boutiques and restaurants with their elegant outdoor tables peep out from every corner of the street and offer good shopping and dining opportunities to the thousands of tourists who walk incessantly along the streets of the city centre at any time of day or night.

The old town can be visited in half a day, including visits to churches and museums. A recommended walking tour is the one starting from Pile Gate and crossing the main pedestrian street, called Placa or Stradun. Along the Placa you can see the Onofrio Fountain, where dozens of tourists stop to fill their bottles of water (good to know if you do not want to spend a little fortune in the premises of the old town), the Franciscan Monastery and Museum, which hides an old pharmacy and a beautiful cloister with a garden, the War Photo Limited, which I will talk about shortly, the Synagogue and Jewish Museum, and the large square at the end of the street, where most of the attractions of the old town are concentrated. Here, in fact, you will find the Orlando Column, the Sponza Palace, the St Blaise’s Church, the Rector’s Palace, the Gundulić Square, the Cathedral of the Assumption and the Dulčić Masle Pulitika Gallery. Other museums are located near the fort in the southeast (the Maritime Museum) and close to the fort in the northeast (the Archeological Museum and the Dominican Monastery and Museum).

Although the Rector’s Palace is considered an attraction not to be missed by visitors to Dubrovnik, if I had to choose one place to visit throughout the old town it would undoubtedly be the photo gallery of the War Photo Limited.

The War Photo Limited is home to a moving, two-storey photographic exhibition covering the Kosovo War and the conflict that led to the dissolution of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. The photos show glimpses of the daily lives of civilians and soldiers during the conflict, families that were forced to leave their homes and take refuge in the forest, lifetime’s neighbors that found themselves fighting each other because they belong to different ethnic groups, but also children playing in the woods where families had temporarily camped to be safe from reprisals by the enemy. There is also a small room that covers more or less recent conflicts in other parts of the world, from Congo to Libya, from Iraq to Afghanistan.

Observing the frightened faces of children, the mothers in tears, and the houses in flames is a rather strong experience that exposes the atrocities and blindness of war, which affects men and women, military and civilians indiscriminately.

Definitely the best museum I have visited during my short stay in Dubrovnik!

As for the Rector’s Palace, however, you will find (spoiler alert!) a collection of Italian-made sedan chairs on which the rector of Dubrovnik was transported, a collection of coins, vases and cutlery, various medieval safes and some antique furniture.

Tip #1

A Sicilian couple known during the trip told us about a strange tradition that seems to haunt the tourists who cross the old town. Hundreds of tourists try to climb on a protruding stone that represents a gargoyle and take off their t-shirt while standing facing the wall. Legend has it that anyone who is able to complete this balancing test will be rewarded with being very lucky in love. The gargoyle is located near the Franciscan Monastery and Museum, for those of you who want to face this challenge!

City walls

The tour of the city walls takes at least an hour and requires a pair of comfortable shoes and a good supply of water (or coins with which to buy drinks along the way). Stopping in the air conditioned bars along the city walls can be a great way to cool down, especially if, like me, you find yourself walking along the city walls in the early afternoon of one of the hottest weeks in August. A curiosity on the tour of the city walls? You can see the cloister of the Franciscan Monastery and Museum from above, as well as a couple of campfields surrounded by the red roof tiles of the traditional houses.

Lokrum

There are two reasons why you might consider visiting the island of Lokrum: you love nature or you are a fan of Game of Thrones (or both).

Personally, I’m the farthest away from a fan of Game of Thrones, since I never watched an episode. If you are a fan of this TV series, however, the small museum in Lokrum will be a pleasant surprise for you and will make you feel like a real king when you sit on the Iron Throne. In addition, you will have the opportunity to stroll through the deserted Benedictine Monastery or along the avenues where various scenes of this TV series were filmed.

If you’re not interested in Game of Thrones, the island of Lokrum still offers a good way to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city and is a valid option to spend half a day surrounded by nature.

While walking on the island, chances are high that you’ll see peacocks passing by without even paying attention to your presence. You can explore the paths through the pine forest or stop for a refreshing swim close to the rocks along the coast or around the Dead Sea, a small shallow lake ideal for bathing. If you are looking for an easy access point to the sea, you can also stop on the small platform a few meters away from the dock where the boats arrive. Although the boats are quite close, the water is clear and clean. When I was there, I couldn’t stop thinking that the rocky seabed and the emerald green color of the water vaguely resemble Castro and Santa Cesarea Terme in Salento.

Boats sailing between Dubrovnik and Lokrum leave from the Old Harbour of Dubrovnik every 30 minutes and allow you to reach the island in just over 10 minutes.

Lapad

If you don’t want to stay in the old town, the nearby Lapad offers a more than viable alternative. Lapad is a small peninsula to the west of the old town and is well connected to the latter by a network of local buses.

In Lapad you’ll find never ending stairways (what a surprise!) and a promenade full of clubs that takes you from the bus stop near Ul. Kralja Tomislava to Uvala Lapad Beach.

If you are looking for a beach to spend the morning and early afternoon, head for Bellevue Beach, a lovely beach protected from the wind by an imposing rock face. If you want to enjoy the sunset, however, head to the opposite side of the peninsula, to Uvala Lapad Beach, a pebble beach where you can enjoy a great view at sunset while sipping a drink a few steps from the sea.

Day trips from Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik is the ideal base for a variety of day trips in the surrounding regions.

If you still have a few days to spend in Dubrovnik and want to see something nearby, these are some of the most easily accessible destinations:

• Mljet National Park;
• the Elaphite Islands, with a tour that typically includes the three largest islands of the archipelago (Kolocep, Sipan and Lopud);
• Mostar, Pocitelj and Kravice Waterfalls, in Bosnia and Herzegovina;
• Perast, Kotor and Dubva, in Montenegro (see this post for additional information on this tour).

I hope you found this post useful and I wish you a great journey to Croatia!

Published by Federica on 10 August 2018

Category: Travels
Tags: Europe, Croatia, Cities, Beaches, Summer