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Dubrovnik, the ‘Pearl of the Adriatic’, situated on the Dalmatian coast, became an important Mediterranean sea power from the 13th century onwards. Although severely damaged by an earthquake in 1667, Dubrovnik managed to preserve its beautiful Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque churches, monasteries, palaces and fountains. Damaged again in the 1990s by armed conflict, it is now the focus of a major restoration programme co-ordinated by UNESCO. (Source, UNESCO Licence CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0)
A place I’ve long wanted to visit, which was finally achieved on a short 5-day break in April, with my wife, Lynda Dale We stayed at the Hotel Lero, which is walking distance to the Old Town (22 minutes) and is served by the regular No 4 bus, which picks up and drops just 20m from the hotel. However, on all but one occasion we walked to and from the hotel each day, sometimes more than once a day. A pleasant enough walk with views of the Adriatic and local parks on route.
One of the best things we did on our first visit to the Old Town was to purchase a 3-day Dubrovnik Pass from the Tourist Information Centre outside the Pile Gate entrance to City. This costs 45 Euros, but includes the walk around the City Walls (35 Euros) plus access to a number of museums and unlimited use of public transport.
On our first full day, we booked places on the Karaka Game of Thrones Tour, consisting of a voyage around the coast from Port Graz to the Old Port in Dubrovnik on a replica of a 16th century traditional carrack ship (small galleon), where we disembarked for a walking tour of the Old Town. Our tour guide, Indira, took us to many of the locations where scenes from the HBO TV series of Game of Thrones was filmed, enriched by many interesting stories about the fliming that only someone who was there and witnessed it would know. I highly recommend this tour if you’re a fan of Game of Thrones.
Earlier in the day we completed the obligatory circuit of the battlements of the City Wall, a must-do experience if your visiting this wonderful city. Apart from the stunning views of the city with all of its medieval and baroque splendours, there’s time to rest and sample a beer or wine at the many hostelries that have embedded themselves in various terraces around the wall. The full circuit is about 2km and
There’s no shortage of places to eat, and just about all of them offer local sea food (my favourite). We found that restaurants in the main plazas and in the Old Port were a bit more expensive than those you can find in the side streets of the Stradum (main drag). Worth checking out are cafes and bars along Zamanjina, Kuniceva and Antuninska streets. For the best evening dining, the restaurants along Prijeko, whcih runs parallel to Stradun, the main street, offer great food at reasonable prices. Our favourite was Dalmanito’s, but you have to book if you want to be sure of getting a table. Another hidden gem is the terrace Aquarius Restaurant near the Maritime Museum. Try the Special – grilled sardines, chips and salad plus a glass of white wine for 18 Euros.
Other places we visited:
- Fort Lovrijenac
- Dominican Monastery-Museum
- Fort Boker
- St Ignatius (steps where they filmed Cersei’s Walk of Shame)
- Cathedral-Treasury
- St Blaise Church
- Rector’s Palace
- Franciscan Monastery
- War Photo museum (siege of Dubrovnik 1991/2, the Kosovo conflict 1998–99. and other photos)
- St Saviour Church
- Island of Lokrum (gardens, Monastery and location of actual Iron Throne from Game of Thrones)
A Selection of photos
