Dubrovnik, also known as the Pearl of the Adriatic, is a beautiful town on the Dalmatian coast. The city’s Old Town is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is absolutely breathtaking. Dubrovnik’s tumultuous past, breathtaking architecture and seaside landscape make it the most visited tourist destination in the Balkan, and one of the most loved places in Europe. Its recent use as filming location for the popular HBO series Game of Thrones has only contributed further to Dubrovnik’s popularity. So who’s ready for a walk of shame through King’s Landing?
PILE GATE, STRADUN & BIG ONOFRIO FOUNTAIN
Most tourists enter the Old Town trough the 15th century Pile Gate, the main entrance to the old, fortified city. The street in front of you is the Stradùn or Placa, Dubrovnik’s beating heart. On this promenade you’ll find plenty of lovely terraces and bars, where you can enjoy a coffee or gelato, while watching the crowds (and time) go by.
The Big Onofrio Fountain is located on the right hand side of the Pile Gate. The fountain was built in 1440 by the Italian architect Onofrio de la Cava and is part of the waterworks system of Dubrovnik. The fountain brought drinkable water to the Old Town city from a source in Rijeka Dubrovacka, about 20 km outside of the city.
On your left you’ll see the entrance and ticket booth for the City Walls and the Franciscan Monastery, which was built in 1317. Most part of the monastery’s original construction got destroyed during the 1667 earthquake. The southern portal with its impressive Pieta is one of the only remains dating back to the original building.
CITY WALLS
The City Walls are the most popular tourist attraction in Dubrovnik. It’s one of the best ways to experience the Old Town, so we started our sightseeing with that. The views upon the Old Town and Adriatic Sea are absolutely amazing, so if you visit Dubrovnik, this must be on your to do list. I recommend to go early, because there’re usually many of tourists inline to get tickets and it can be very hot up there as well. So make sure to bring enough water and sun block.
The first fortifications of the walls were already built in the 8th century, but the most intense construction took place from the mid-15th to the end of the 16th century. Luckily, the huge earthquake in 1667 did not damage the wall too much.
Walking the walls took us about 2 hours to complete, but we did stop quite a lot to create some Instagram-worthy pics 😉
LUZA SQUARE
Luža Square is located at the eastern end of the Stradùn. On this square you’ll find most of Dubrovnik’s landmarks, such as the Sponza Palace, the Rector’s Palace and the St-Blaise Church, Onofrio’s Small Fountain and the city’s 31 m high Clock Tower.
The Sponza Palace was built in the early 1500s, by the architect Pasij Milicevic and was used as the city’s custom house. It’s one of the few buildings to survive Dubrovnik’s 1667 earthquake.
The Rector’s Palace housed government and state offices as well as the rector’s headquarters and living accommodation. Nowadays, the palace houses the Town Museum.
The St-Blaise Church is a baroque church built between 1706 and 1714 on the location of the original 14th-century Romanesque church damaged in the 1667 earthquake. The staircase and terrace are a very popular place to sit on and watch the world go by. In front of the church you will see Orlando’s Column, which remembers the legend of the knight Orlando, who helped the people of old Dubrovnik defeat invaders in the middle ages.
DUBROVNIK CATHEDRAL
Legend says that Dubrovnik Cathedral was founded by Richard Lion-Hart as a thank you to the people of Dubrovnik from saving him from a shipwrecking. True or false, it’s nowadays one of the most important religious buildings in Croatia. The cathedral has a lovely interior, with numerous old religious paintings.
MOUNT SRD
If you want the most beautiful views upon the Old Town and Lokrum island, you must go to Mount Srd. You can either hike your way up (the hill is 412 m high) or you can do like me and take the cable car. Don’t worry you won’t get enough exercise done, Dubrovnik is quite hilly, so no need to hit the gym while you’re there!
LOKRUM ISLAND
Lokrum is the island closes to Dubrovnik’s Old Town. It’s full of gorgeous gardens and exotic animals. Oh, and equally important, the Iron Throne from Game of Thrones is on this island!! Like, the real deal! Want to experience it yourself? Every 30 minutes boats leave the Old Port to go to Lokrum Island.
FORT LOVRIJENAC
Fort Lovrijenac (Fort of St. Lawrence) is located at the western side of the Old Town, outside the city walls on a 37 meters high cliff. The fort was built to protect the city from hostile attacks. Game of Thrones fans will definitely recognize this building, as the fort doubles as the Red Keep in King’s Landing, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms. Lots of the scenes are filmed at this fort including the tournament thrown in honor of King Joffrey’s name day in season two.
By the way: plenty of Game of Thrones tours and activities are being organized throughout the Old Town, but I decided to do my research online and visit the filming locations on my own. In case you’re interested in going a tour, head to Pile Gate, where there’s an information booth.
LAPAD BAY
Lapad is a residential suburb of Dubrovnik, that lies about 3km northwest of the Old Town. The area offers plenty of lovely sea views, fine restaurants and a large amount of accommodation facilities including hotels, apartments and guesthouses, but because it’s so calm and residential you don’t get the feeling that you’re in a touristy place at all! One of the most beautiful areas of Lapad, is Lapad Bay Beach. You’ll find several pebble and rocky beaches there and lovely walking paths along the sea. The fact that Lapad Beach’s swimming area is protected from boats and water bikes, and is fully equipped with beach umbrellas, sunbeds, showers and changing cabins, it’s a very nice place for some fun in the sun.
EXCURSIONS FROM DUBROVNIK
Dubrovnik’s old city is really lovely, but two days is enough time to visit everything. Luckily there are a lot of things that you can do if you are based in Dubrovnik and want to see more! I will be writing more detailed posts about these options soon, but I’d thought I’d already include them as they could be useful when planning your holiday.
- Visit the Elaphiti Islands: these islands are an archipelago of 13 islands which are situated near Dubrovnik. Three of the islands are inhabited – Lopud, Sipan and Kolocep. We went on a boat trip with Katarina Island Cruises and had lunch at the captains house.
- Visit Perast, Kotor and Budva in neighboring Montenegro with bus company Perla Adriatica.
- Visit the Kravice Waterfalls, Počitelj and Mostar in neighboring Bosnia-Herzegovina with bus company Perla Adriatica.
I’ve been wanting to go to Dubrovnik for a while, so I was really happy to finally spend my holiday there. I had these crazy big expectations and it truly was everything I hoped it would be. The views from the City Walls upon the Adriatic and the Old Town were just too beautiful to be true. It really became one of my favorite places in Europe. Can I please go back NOW? Later this week I’ll share with you my restaurant and hotel suggestions in a Dubrovnik Hotspots post.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
- Currency: Croatian Kuna (HRK)
- Airport transportation: Atlas Travel Agency buses take you to Dubrovnik Pile Gate in 30 minutes, but as we were staying in Lapad we arranged a taxi through the hotel, which was 250 HRK
- Local transportation: Bus 5 takes you from the Lapad Post Office to Dubrovnik Pile gate in less than 10 minutes. The bus runs every 10 minutes. A one way ticket costs 12 HRK.