Dubrovnik

Two kilometers on the walls

The city walls (Gradske zidine) are a line of defense rebuilt and extended over several centuries. Up top, terracotta roofs stack up on one side and the Adriatic reaches the foot of the walls on the other. The loop is about 2 km, and Dubrovnik's tourist board says to allow at least an hour. Go early in the morning and you'll miss both the crowds and the midday heat. At the old town's highest point, the northwest corner, the round Minčeta Tower (Tvrđava Minčeta) began in 1319 as a small square tower and wasn't finished in its present form until 1464. Outside the walls to the west, Fort Lovrijenac (Tvrđava Lovrijenac) stands alone on a rock rising 37 m from the sea, facing the old town.

Stradun, the street after 1667

Stradun, officially Placa, is the 298 m main street running east to west through the old town. Its even rows of Baroque houses went up after the 1667 earthquake destroyed many Gothic and Renaissance buildings, and each ground floor has a shop door of the kind called a 'knee door' (vrata na koljeno). Just inside Pile Gate (Vrata od Pila) at the western end, Onofrio's Great Fountain (Velika Onofrijeva fontana) commemorates the 1438 water supply that brought spring water from Rijeka dubrovačka, 12 km away. Water pours from 16 carved faces. Its dome, damaged in the 1667 earthquake, never got its original form back. Next door at the Franciscan monastery (Samostan Male braće), a pharmacy founded in 1317 is still open.

Words a small republic carved

The Rector's Palace (Knežev dvor) was the republic's seat of government. The rector who headed the state lived here during his one-month term, and the palace bears the Latin line 'Obliti privatorum publica curate': forget private affairs, attend to public ones. Fort Lovrijenac keeps a line of its own, 'Non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro': freedom isn't sold for all the gold in the world. February 3 is the feast of St Blaise (sv. Vlaho), the city's patron saint. Bishops, ambassadors and townspeople walk together in procession, and the festivity was added to UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list in 2009. In July and August, the Dubrovnik Summer Festival (Dubrovačke ljetne igre) takes place all over the city.

Evening on Srđ

The Srđ cable car was built in 1969. It climbs a 778 m line in about three and a half minutes to a station at 405 m, and on a clear day you can see 60 km out. An adult return is €30. The tourist board suggests going up as the sun gets low. That's when the loop of walls and Stradun you walked by day come into view at once. On the hill, Fort Imperial (Tvrđava Imperijal) dates from Napoleon's time and now holds the exhibition Dubrovnik in the Homeland War 1991–1995. It records what followed the 1991 attack on the area, and stopping in on your way to the sunset changes how the walls below look.

Ten minutes by boat: Lokrum

A boat from the old harbor gets you to Lokrum in about 10 minutes. The island's largest cultural monument is the Benedictine monastery of St Mary. On the south side, the 'Dead Sea' (Mrtvo more) is a small saltwater lake in an old cave whose roof fell in, linked to the open sea only by a channel about 15 m long. The tourist board describes it as suitable for children and non-swimmers. There's also a botanical garden, founded in 1959. Boat times change with the season, so check when the last boat back leaves before you cross. For another day on the water, head to the Elafiti Islands (Elafitski otoci). Of the 13 islands, only three are inhabited, Koločep, Lopud and Šipan, and the closest, Koločep, is 25 minutes by boat from Gruž harbor.

At the table: black risotto to rozata

The tourist board's seafood picks are grilled squid, octopus salad and black risotto (crni rižot), darkened with ink. Also look for peka: meat or seafood cooked with potatoes, herbs and olive oil under a bell-shaped lid. Šporki makaruli and zelena menestra are on its list of things to try in Dubrovnik too, and dessert is rozata, the city's own caramel custard. In your glass: Dingač or Postup, reds from the Pelješac peninsula, or Malvasija dubrovačka, a white from Konavle. On hot days, people here drink bevanda, red wine with a splash of water. The Good Food Festival comes around every October.

Suggested 3-night, 4-day itinerary

Day 1 — Arrive at the airport (22 km from the old town) → Stradun at sunset Day 2 — Walls early in the morning → Rector's Palace and Maritime Museum → Fort Lovrijenac → cable car up Srđ for sunset Day 3 — Boat to Lokrum → swim in the Dead Sea, botanical garden → dinner in the old town (peka, rozata) Day 4 — Gruž market in the morning → half a day on Koločep, or Trsteno Arboretum (about 15 km northwest of Dubrovnik) → airport City buses run out to Gruž and Lapad. A ticket is €2.50 from the driver and cheaper at a kiosk.

What to eat

• Rozata (Dubrovnik's caramel custard)
• Black risotto (crni rižot)
• Peka (meat or seafood cooked under a bell lid)
• Octopus salad (on the tourist board's seafood list)

Handy tips

• The Srđ cable car doesn't run from December through March. In season it still stops for strong wind or a risk of lightning, and the last car leaves the lower station 30 minutes before closing.
• A Rector's Palace ticket is €15; the pass for 10 city museums is €20. If you'll also see the Maritime Museum (€10), the pass works out cheaper, and it's valid for 7 days from your first visit.
• Each year's cruise arrival schedule goes up on the Port of Dubrovnik site (portdubrovnik.hr) under 'Najave dolazaka'. Check which days the ships pile up, and walk the walls early on those mornings.