6 THINGS YOU MUST DO IN... DUBROVNIK
THIS ancient city suffered appalling damage during the Balkans war of the early 1990s but, as GARETH HUW DAVIES discovers, the ‘pearl of the Adriatic’ has been restored to its former glory…
1. TOP SPOT
BEFORE you do anything else in Dubrovnik, take the cable car (120 kuna, or £13.50) to the top of Mount Srd from just behind the city walls. The journey takes less than three minutes and you’ll be rewarded with exceptional views over the old walled town and a garland of islands in the Adriatic. Next to the cable-car station is a former Napoleonic fort, now called the Homeland War Museum.
2. WALK THE WALL
DUBROVNIK stands supreme among the walled cities of the world. The medieval fortification is studded with forts, and is up to 18ft wide in places and up to 75ft high. It took 111 hits from shells in 1991-92, but has been fully repaired (although Unesco, which grants it world heritage status, is not entirely satisfied with the work). Game Of Thrones used the walls as setting for the King’s Landing. It costs 120 kuna to walk the wall – the circuit takes about an hour to complete. Some sections are very steep, and there is little relief from the sun. Go early in the morning to beat the crowds.
3. BAROQUE BEAUTIES
MOST of the historic buildings are in the traffic-free Old Town, within the walls. Many were rebuilt after an earthquake in 1667 in the ornate and lavish Gothic, Renaissance and baroque styles.
Buildings damaged in the Balkans war, when many died here, have been restored. Enter the walls through the western Pile Gate and walk on the footsteps-smoothed limestone of the main street, Stradun. You come to squares and statues, marble pillars, noble Renaissance arches, columned cloisters and intriguing cobbled alleys. Look out for the two Onofrio’s Fountains dating from about 1440, the Sponza Palace, the cathedral, the Dominican Monastery, and the Rector’s Palace.
4. ISLAND ESCAPES
A SCATTER of islands can be found off Dubrovnik, occupied at various times by the Romans and Venetians. None is more than a few miles wide, and you are free to wander in pine woods and among churches, shrines, little harbours and Renaissance mansions. The closest, a 20-minute ferry hop away, is Lokrum, while the most distant is Lastovo, which is more than three hours away by catamaran.
5. SMART STAY
STAY in or around the Old Town if you can. One of the classiest hotels is the venerable Excelsior. This former royal villa has a splendid waterfront location. Agatha Christie, Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and Margaret Thatcher enjoyed its elegance.
Up the hill is Villa Orsula, restored in 2012. Hotel Bellevue stands on a cliff, while Pucic Palace is within the Old Town walls. One of the more memorable places to eat is Restaurant 360, which serves modern Mediterranean food.
6. BUTTERFLY BAY
NATIONS cram together in this tight corner of the Balkans, offering some easy cross-border excursions. The Bay of Kotor, in adjoining Montenegro, is less than two hours from Dubrovnik, a pleasant day trip down the coast.
Shaped like a butterfly, it is technically a fjord, one of the most southerly in Europe.
To the north in Bosnia is Mostar. The 400-year-old bridge Stari Most was destroyed during the war in 1993 but was rebuilt and reopened in 2004.