The entrance is located next to the Pile Gate, just make sure your camera's prepared and you have something to drink and a hat (the Dalmatian sun can take a heavy toll on you if you're not prepared - there's very little shade on the walls). There's also some stair climbing along the way, so children might better wait down below.

The walk will take you all around the city - from the towers in the north giving you a view of the Lovrjenac citadel on the hill on the other side of the bay (looking even more impregnable than the city itself) - to the sight of the Adriatic - and the nearby island. You can even get a glimpse of a beach of some sort -to me it was perhaps the most odd and dangerous place to sunbathe (take a look at the picture to see what I mean), let alone swim - and yet there were quite a few people that seemed to enjoy it.

But the most prominent thing you'll notice will be a sea... inside the walls. A sea of red roofs, that is - that's what makes this such a great sight. You'll look down at the church spires, gardens - yes, there are gardens inside the walls as well.

And you will look down at the narrow, crowded streets as well , as you'll catch a glimpse of everyday living in Dubrovnik through an occasional open window - dishes cooking, old people resting on the balconies. That's what - in addition to all the breathtaking views - makes the walk unique.

The walls originated in the early 7th century, when the Islet of Ragusa was populated by Roman refugees. The rocky islet’s natural defensive position was augmented by fortifications that by the 9th century were already strong enough to resist a 15-month siege by the Saracens. By the 11th century, the channel was filled in, and the walls extended to take in the Croat settlement on the mainland. The walls took their final shape in the 14th century, when they were extended to encompass the Dominican monastery and many of the original fortresses were built.

The fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453 led to the appointment of renaissance architect Micheloezo di Bartolomeo of Florence to refortify the city. The two main entrances, Gradska vrata Pile (Pile Gate) and Vrata od Ploèa (Ploèe Gate), were reconstructed along with Trvaðava Revelin (Revelin Fort). The elegant Zulezdan (Bokar Tower) was constructed to protect vrata Pile, the small port below, and as a base for the destruction of the external Tvraðava Lovrijinec (Lovrijinec Fort), should it fall into enemy hands. While the walls of this fort are for the most part 12m thick, the side facing the city is only 60cm. Finally, the great Trvaðava Minèeta (Minèeta Fort) was expanded and joined to the new scarp walls designed to protect the city from artillery fire. This is still the highest point in the city and affords superb views. This work was mostly completed by 1463, the same year that saw the Turks advance into neighbouring areas.

In the late 15th century, the city feared conquest both from the marauding Turks and the Venetians, from whom the republic became independent in 1358. City engineer Pakaje Milièevic set about refortifying Gradska Luka (Old Port), rebuilding the imposing Trvaðava sv Ivana (St John’s Fort) and Trvaðava sv Lukaš (St Luke’s Fort) opposite, and replacing the chain and wooden beams that used to be stretched between the two to close the port at night with Kaša breakwater. He also built the Passing Bell Fort on the southern wall, which now affords excellent views of the sea and Lokrum Island, and a new stone bridge across the defensive ditch to Vrata od Ploèa.

The mighty walls saw little combat, until the devastating siege of 1991, but did prove themselves by surviving the devastating earthquake of 1667 relatively unscathed, including Trvaðava Revelin, refortified by Antonio Ferramdino between 1538-49, which housed the city’s treasury. The walls today stretch for 2km around the city and range from 1.5m thick on the seaward side to 6m thick on the land side. They can be accessed for 30Kn from next to Gradska vrata Pile, or opposite the Bell Tower, and the walk around the circumference is a perfect way to experience the city and its immediate surroundings.

The walls offer outstanding views into the Old Town and its red-tiled roofs, the Old Port (and the nearby island of Lokrum), and out to sea, but are also quite a sight unto themselves. For all their present harmony, they were actually constructed and expanded over the course of four centuries (from the 1200s to the 1600s) and their sixteen towers reflect a variety of architectural styles. Many individual fortifications, such as the Pile Gate (which is mentioned in sources as early as 972 but which was reinforced in 1461) are even older.

Almost directly opposite the Pile Gate, on a headland near the city, is the one piece of Dubrovnik’s historic fortifications not linked to the city walls, the Fortress of Lovrijenac, which according to legend was constructed in a mere three months in the early 11th century to prevent the Venetians from building their own fortress there. Above the entrance, the defiant Ragusans inscribed "Non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro" ("All the gold in the world cannot buy freedom.")

The Ragusan did spend a great deal of gold preserving freedom themselves, however, and the most elaborate of the fortifications date to the Republic’s Renaissance peak. The largest and most impressive of these is the Minčeta Fortress which resembles a large chess piece. Begun by the Florentine Michelozzo Michelozzi in 1455 on the site of a medieval quadrangle, and completed by Juraj Dalmatinac (the greatest architect of the Croatian Renaissance), it guards the northwest corner of the city, the most obvious route of attack by land. Hard up against the eastern edge of the landward portion of the walls is the Dominican Monastery, built in the early 1300s with civic assistance because of its important role as a fortification.

Just beyond the Monastery is the Ploče Gate, further defended by the Revelin Fortress just outside the walls. Work on both commenced in 1449, although it took until 1539 for the Revelin to be completed. Together with St. John’s Fortress, at the southeast corner of the city, the Revelin defended the harbor. However they were of little use when the Serbian gunboats shelled the harbor in 1991, damage from which is still evident just inside the city’s eastern wall. The seaward southern wall is of more interest for the spectacular views (and photograph opportunities) it offers than its history, although the Michelozzi-designed Bokar Fortress at its western end is a very attractive example of a casemate fort.