Dubrovnik Old Town

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About Dubrovnik old town

Jutting out into the Adriatic Sea with a backdrop of rugged limestone mountains, Dubrovnik Old Town is known as one of the world’s finest and most perfectly preserved medieval cities in the world. For centuries, Dubrovnik rivalled Venice as a trading port, with its huge sturdy stone walls, built between the 11th and 17th centuries, affording protection to this former city-state.

Today, these walls still enclose Dubrovnik’s historic centre and it is possible to walk along them to enjoy the best views of the ‘Pearl of the Adriatic’ and the surrounding lush green islands. Dubrovnik’s Baroque churches, monasteries and palaces; its Renaissance fountains and facades, are all intertwined with gleaming wide marble-paved squares, steep cobbled streets and houses, all of which have also remained unchanged for centuries.

The remarkable preservation of the neatly contained Dubrovnik centre, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is the result of meticulous reconstruction after the earthquake of 1667. Many renovations were also done to return the city to its former splendour after it was attacked during the civil war of the early 1990s. Today, all new building work is strictly controlled, right down to the shade of green used on the shutters of the buildings in the main street, the ‘Stradun’.

Visiting Dubrovnik Old City – Things to Do:

Although Dubrovnik has much to offer in terms of historical sightseeing, part of its allure lies in the fact that it is still a lived-in city, vibrant and bustling with locals whose homes line the narrow streets and sunlit squares. As well as visiting the churches, palaces and museums, the visitor can also enjoy markets, bazaars, cafes, bars and restaurants.

In the summer, there is also a choice of a few nightclubs and discos and of course the famous Dubrovnik Summer Festival in July and August, which includes cultural events such as outdoor concerts, opera and ballet. All year round you can see theatre plays in the local theatre. See more info about cultural events in the town.

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There is also a variety of sporting activities in the area, such as volleyball, tennis, cycling and a range of water sports.

The Old Town attractions :

city walls – walk around walls of the old city: Old Town Walls; towers/fortresses: Lovrjenac, Bokar, Minceta, Revelin, Sveti Ivan, Clock / Bell Tower + see map here and entrance to the walls info and map
palaces: Palace Knezev Dvor, Palace Sponza
churches: Church Sveti Vlaho (St Blaise); Church of Saint Saviour; Dubrovnik Cathedral
monasteries: Dominican monastery; Franciscan Monastery ; The Cloister ; The Pharmacy; Monastery Museum
squares: Stradun / Placa , Luža Square , Gunduliceva poljana/ Gundulic Square
monuments: Onofrijeva Cesma, Orlandov Stup (Orlando’s Column), Jesuit Stairs; Bell Tower
old port: Porporela – a pier in Dubrovnik’s Old Harbour and Dubrovnik’s Old Port

If you are interested in booking Dubrovnik Old Town Walking Tour, you can do online booking via our partner site here: Book Dubrovnik Old Town Walking Tour

Getting to Old Town:

See here all about getting to Dubrovnik Old Town from various points: from Gruz; from Lapad
Public transport to the Old Town – from Gruž, from Lapad, Boninovo or Babin Kuk or the airport

Getting around old town:

The old town is a traffic-free zone so you have to walk around, no driving, cycling or similar. Besides that, a large part of the old town’s streets is steep steps so even if it’s not a traffic-free zone there will be very difficult to drive inside the city walls.