On the morning of day 9, we drove to Dubrovnik from Budva, which included a 15 min ferry ride in the town of Lepetani on the Bay of Kotor. We reached Dubrovnik by lunchtime and checked into our hotel which had an amazing view of the Adriatic. We freshened up, returned our car and took an uber to the old city.
You start your sightseeing at Pile Gate (City Gate) which is the main entrance to the old city. Passing through the Pile Gate, the western entrance to the Old Town, you will reach the historical core of Dubrovnik. Walking through its streets and alleys, you may recognize many of Game of Thrones film locations/scenes.
Stradun (or Placa) of Dubrovnik is a place where locals and visitors gather day and night to watch the world drift by. Stradun boasts many cafés and restaurants and is a good spot to get in some shopping. It is one of Europe’s most picturesque pedestrian way. The Stradun’s unique homes are designed to enable residential living upstairs and business activities on the main level, and are notable for having their main doors and windows under the same arch.
Fountain of Onoftio – It is located as soon as you enter through the Pile Gate. Built between 1438 and 1444, Dubrovnik’s famous Large Fountain of Onofrio, is somewhat smaller today than the original due to damage caused by the earthquake of 1667. The fountain was an important part of the city’s original water supply system that carried water from the Dubrovacka River.
Dubrovnik Cathedral – Standing on the site of an older cathedral dating from the 6th century that was destroyed by earthquakes, beautiful Dubrovnik Cathedral–also referred to as the Assumption Cathedral (its full name is the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, or Katedrala Velike Gospe in Croatian)–was designed in Baroque style by Andrea Buffalini of Rome.
Loggia Square in Dubrovnik has long been a central gathering point for citizens and visitors alike. Featuring some of Dubrovnik’s most famous buildings and public monuments, this former market square is found in the northeast section of the old city center. It’s here you’ll also find the Church of St. Blaise, of interest for its Baroque façade and priceless collection of works of art.
Walls of Dubrovnik – A part of this exclusive experience is a walk along the city walls. The city walls of Dubrovnik are a series of defensive stone walls surrounding the Old Town. Built from the 13th to the 17th century and almost 2 km (1,24 mi) long, these walls represent one of the most beautiful fortification systems in Europe. At some points, their height reaches 25m (82 ft), so a walk along the walls is a must if you want to see those red rooftops of King’s Landing or simply look out over Blackwater Bay. Minčeta Tower on the city wall is the the huge fort dominating the north-western section of the city and is a symbol of ‘the unconquerable city of Dubrovnik’. This tower was also a major setting in Game of Thrones.
Dubrovnic Cable Car – Another fun thing to do when visiting Dubrovnik is to head to the hills–via cable car. It whisks visitors high above the Old Town, up Srd Hill, with the views only getting better and better as you climb (on clear days, it’s said you can see for some 50 kilometers). The journey lasts less than 10 minutes, and once deposited at the top, you’re free to explore the area. We rode up after 5pm and watched the entire sunset from up there.
Fort Lovrijenac – Dubbed “Dubrovnik’s Gibraltar” for its location on a rocky promontory just outside the city’s western wall, Fort Lovrijenac, also known as St. Lawrence Fortress, has long been one of Croatia’s most important fortresses. Rising an impressive 37 meters above the Adriatic, this stunning fortification proved impregnable during the many sieges undertaken by the Venetians from its completion in the 11th century onwards.
One travel tip for you: In Dubrovnik, avoid taxis and use Uber to go around the city; the taxi rides are 2-3 times more expensive than the Uber rides. We had an interesting conversation with the Uber driver who was commenting that the taxi drivers would rather wait for rides at their rate than work at lower prices. And the weird part is that many of Uber rides we took were in the taxis!!
On day 11, we flew back to the US which turned out to be an ordeal with delays starting from Dubrovnik itself, but that is a story for another time.