Dubrovnik’s old town.
The best attractions, hotels, restaurants and things to do in Dubrovnik – one of the many Game of Thrones filming locations.
The rooftops are the clue to Dubrovnik’s character. At first glance, they fit the gloss of the Old Town’s gleaming limestone streets. The neatly overlapping red and orange tiles seem so deliberate, an extra layer of professionally-applied make-up on the model city. They’re the perfect coating on the Old Town’s irresistible beauty.
That is until you realise that the lighter coloured tiles are the scars; repairs made after the Balkan War’s shelling blitz in 1991 and 1992.
It is a city that pulls you in on a superficial level – few cities in the world are so blatantly gorgeous – but keeps you there with its complexities and contradictions.
Dubrovnik has a go-it-alone streak, partly born from a 550-year history as an independent republic that finally ended in 1808. Its inhabitants tend to identify with the city far more than they do with Croatia. Yet that history is hardly trumpeted at all in the city’s museums, and the residents are crying out for an umbilical cord. Dubrovnik is separated from most of Croatia by a 15 mile stretch of Bosnian coastline. When Croatia joins the EU in July 2013, customs controls will be tightened and local people face the nightmare of four stringent border crossings to get to the rest of the country.
These are locals that the rest of the country pigeon-hole as being lazy and far too laid-back for their own good. Then again, that’s an image that everyone on the Adriatic coast seems to have of the people living to the south of them. The people of Dubrovnik say it about the Montenegrins, the Montenegrins say it about the Albanians.
The string of islands off Dubrovnik’s coast, and the flotilla of boats that flock to them on a weekend, betray a population of mountain people at heart. Ask them to take you to their favourite restaurants and you’ll probably head up into the dramatic bone-dry mountains that provide the city with its enviable backdrop.
The Old Town may provide the initial siren call, but it’s this setting that provides a longer term lure. Away from the herds of cruise ship passengers slurping ice creams on the picturesque Old Town streets – and the overcrowding is something the city desperately needs to address – Dubrovnik offers a slow-paced bliss. The calm, clear and brilliantly blue waters of the Adriatic are made for leaping off the rocks into, the slumbering villages on the islands evoke long-held fantasies of perfect Mediterranean idylls, and the walking trails unleash the freedom that has been Dubrovnik’s buzzword for centuries.
See and do
Old Town: The hyperbole about Dubrovnik’s Old Town is entirely justified. The gleaming stone buildings, red-tiled roofs and steep, narrow passageways make it staggeringly picturesque. The further away from the main street – Stradun – you go, the more interesting the finds.
City Walls: The Old Town is packaged up by the city walls. A full circuit of the ramparts clocks in at just under two kilometres. It’s all about the views, but it’s the details you notice on the way – such as rooftop basketball courts and nuns unwinding hoses inside the convent – that bring the Old Town to life.
Mount Srđ: The best views of Dubrovnik don’t come from inside the old town – they come from the mountain looming over it. Get the cable car up and walk down the winding rocky path to sample the majesty of the setting at its best.
Sea kayaking: The usually duckpond-esque and blazingly blue waters of the Adriatic Sea are perfect for paddling around. The coast somehow looks even more impressive as you navigate it at close quarters. www.adriatickayaktours.com
The Rector’s Palace: When Dubrovnik was an independent republic, the Rector’s Palace was the seat of power. It’s now a mish-mash of grand rooms, old furniture, temporary exhibitions and former jail cells.
War Photo Limited: Dubrovnik’s museums are pretty underwhelming, but this gallery is the exception. The permanent exhibition focuses on the Balkan wars of the 1990s, capturing striking scenes from mid-battle and the human emotion and suffering that resulted. www.warphotoltd.com.
Lokrum: A 15-minute ferry hop over the water from the Old Town’s harbour, Lokrum is the perfect escape from the crowded madhouse. It’s a chilled-out island, ideally suited to a lazy walk, a touch of monastery spotting and a swim. The latter can be done from the beach, in a picturesque saltwater lake or off the rocks at the far side of the island where the nude bathers hang out.
Elafiti Islands Cruise: Island life is much slower, as becomes abundantly clear on Koločep, Lopud and Šipan. These are the three that the numerous operators offering day cruises tend to stop at, and you only need to walk 100m or so from the jetties to find hillside walking trails, old churches and semi-ruined stoned fortresses. When the sun’s out, they’re as close to the peaceful Mediterranean dream as you’re probably ever going to find. Elite Travel heads to the Elafitis on a replica of a 16th century galleon..
Buy
Old Town: Ask locals for the best place to shop and they’ll probably say “Italy”. Be warned: The Old Town is awash with souvenir tat and outrageously overpriced fashion boutiques. As a general rule, the narrow streets running at 90 degrees to Stradun are less bad than the larger ones running parallel.
Morning Market: Fresh fruit and veg, cutesy trinkets aimed squarely at tourists, various Dalmatian firewaters and inexplicable numbers of lavender pouches can be found in Gundulićeva poljana before noon.
Guliver: For leather goods – especially colourful bags – Guliver (Gundulićeva poljana 4) keeps the prices fair and the quality high.
Dubrovačka kuća: Easily the best option for personality-packed souvenirs, Dubrovačka kuća on Od sv Dominika offers handmade ceramics, paintings by local artists and jewellery with character. It also sells local jams, conserves and a potentially dangerous variety of liqueurs.
Live like a local
Check for the rope: On very busy days, a rope is put up at the Pile Gate entrance to the Old Town, with an entrance and exit on either side. Locals know that if they see the rope, the Old Town will be nightmarishly packed with cruise ship passengers, and they stay out. Wednesdays tend to be busiest, Mondays quietest.
Leave it later: The cruise ships tend to depart between 2pm and 5pm – so the Old Town is best tackled later in the afternoon. The city walls, in particular, are best walked after 5pm.
Bus cards: Buy a bus card from ticket booths or shops near bus stops, and each ride costs 12kn instead of 15kn.
Did you know? Dubrovnik is isolated from the rest of Croatia by a 22km stretch of Bosnian coastline. The geographical quirk dates back to the old Republic of Dubrovnik, when the Republic ceded the coastline to Ottoman Empire as part of a ‘tribute’ designed to stave off invasion and conquest.
Sleep
Accommodation in Dubrovnik is highly seasonal – prices in July and August can be extortionate, while many hotels close over winter. Private accommodation found through the likes of www.dubrovnikapartmentsource.com usually offers best value.
Budget (£): In the heart of the Old Town, and with far fewer steps to negotiate than many rivals, the spotlessly clean Amoret Apartments (multiple locations. T: 00 385 20 324 005) come with kitchenettes and antique furniture that adds character.
Mid-range (££): The best value of Dubrovnik’s four stars, Hotel Lapad (Lapadska obala 37. T: 00 385 20 455 555) has been smartly refurbished and has a marvellous suntrap of a pool. Rooms are gadgeted-up to control just about everything from a push-button panel near the bed.
Luxury (£££): The Hilton Imperial (Marijana Blazica 2. T: 00 385 20 320 320) occupies a wonderfully done-up 19th century building, but the trump card is its location just outside the Pile Gate – most other luxury hotels are a bus ride away from the Old Town.
Eat
Cheap (£): The word “marenda” is a handy one to know at lunchtime – it’ll generally see you given the option of a simple but good fish or chicken dish that’s not on the menu. Orsan (Ivana Zajca 2. T: 00 385 20 436 822) is the best place to try it – the waterside yacht club setting is superb, and the marenda dishes cost just 40kn.
Mid-range (££): Prijeko is a street full of lazy, poor quality restaurants, but Rozario (Prijeko 1. T: 00 385 20 322 015) at the end of it is several gulfs in class above the rest. Local produce and surprisingly inventive takes on traditional dishes are what it does best.
Splash out (£££): The new venture from Maltese chef Jeffrey Vella, 360 (Sv. Dominika bb. T: 00 385 20 322 222) has an astounding location built into the city walls. You’ll pay a premium for the views, but service is sharp and the gamey focus of the menu is a welcome change.
After hours
Buza: Accessed through an arch in the city walls, and then down a number of steps, Buza (Crijevićeva 9. T: 00 385 98 361 934) is built right onto the rocks, with a terrace for watching the boats go by and the sun go down. A better place for an early evening beer is hard to imagine.
Cave Bar More: The terrace of the Hotel More’s bar (Kardinala Stepinca 33. T: 00 385 20 494 200) doubles as a deck for sun-worshippers, but go inside and you’re inside an extraordinary cave, complete with stalagmites and stalactites. It’s classy and intimate.
D’Vino: This Old Town wine bar (Palmoticeva 4a. T: 00 385 20 321 130) is a great port of call for anyone wanting to get to know Croatian wines beyond ordering the bog-standard house red. It offer sampling flights, detailed tasting notes and friendly, knowledgeable staff.
Getting there
British Airways (T: 0844 493 0787) flies from Gatwick year-round. Jet2 (T: 0871 226 1737) flies seasonally from Edinburgh, East Midlands, Manchester, Newcastle, Belfast and Leeds-Bradford.
Getting around
The Old Town is entirely pedestrianised, but the Libertas buses link up the rest of the city efficiently, running until the early hours. Taxi drivers usually have at least transactional English – call 00 385 20 970 to book one. To head out to the islands independently, Jadrolinija runs frequent ferries.
When to go
Peak season runs roughly from July to mid-September. This is when temperatures are most uncomfortable, crowds are most unbearable and hotels engage in staggering levels of profiteering. Much of the town can close down during winter months, however – and the best compromise is May, June, mid-September or October.
Need to know
Visas: No visas are necessary for UK citizens
Currency: Kuna (HRK or kn). £1 = 9.2kn.
Vaccinations: No vaccinations are required.
International dial code: 385. City code is (0)20
Time difference: GMT+2
This story was originally written for National Geographic Traveller (UK).