Dubrovnik: Europe's Most Beautiful City

For all its harmony, Dubrovnik’s Old Town was actually formed from two separate communities: the Latin settlement of Ragusa and the Slavic town of Dubrovnik. After the channel dividing Ragusa from Dubrovnik and the mainland silted up, it came to serve as the new main street of a city where a unique mingling of cultures occurred. Although initially ruled by a succession of foreign powers, the community (known as Ragusa until 1918) retained this fusion of cultural influences, which are particularly evident in its art and architecture, including its completely intact Medieval and Renaissance walls.

Between 1358 and 1808, the so-called "Ragusan Republic" managed to retain political and economic independence as a neutral city-state in exchange for owing nominal fealty and tributes to various great powers. Although run as an oligarchic "republic" on the Venetian model, the city-state allowed its citizens a much greater degree of economic freedom, exemplified in the motto "Libertas," which it retains to this day. The wealth it generated subsidized many of the greatest artistic works of the Croatian Renaissance, some of which are preserved in the superb Dominican Monastery located next to the Ploče Gate, its eastern entrance by land.

The earthquake of 1667, wars in the Balkans, and internal feuding weakened the Republic to the extent that its dissolution by Napoleon was a mere formality. Its subsequent incorporation into the Austrian province of Dalmatia hastened its decline, although it came to have a second career as a fashionable resort. Its artistic legacy has lived on, originally in an idealized form among Croatian nationalists, and since 1949 in the annual Dubrovnik Summer Festival. Despite the ferocity of the Serbian siege of 1991-1992, the Old Town remains well preserved. However, Mount Srđ, the finest place from which to view the whole assemblage, is badly scarred.

The immaculately white Old Town is far greater than the sum of its parts and is best appreciated by traversing the full length of its walls. Stradun (the ancient main street) stills bisects the town, running from the Pile Gate in the west to Luža Square. Nearly every building has some feature of interest, but it’s the assemblage of red-shingled residences with green shutters (as provided for by an old ordinance still in effect today) that is truly memorable. Free of cars and advertising banners alike, the Old Town retains an unrivalled beauty at once stunning and understated.

Quick Tips:

The Dubrovnik Tourist Board maintains offices year-round on Stradun (at the heart of the Old Town), at
Dr. Ante Starcevica 7 (just outside the Pile Gate), and Gruška obala b.b. (by the ferry port).

Accommodation in Dubrovnik is more expensive than anywhere else in Croatia and generally fills up extremely quickly in the summer. Try to avoid staying anywhere on the Babin Kuk Peninsula (while attractive it’s inconvenient for sights and beaches alike), and (if possible) book in advance. I found this listing of private rooms very helpful, the tourist office website has a search engine, but note that it covers the region rather than the city.

Avoid Prijeko (parallel to Stradun) which is taken up with identical touristic restaurants whose proprietors loudly solicit your custom as you pass. The restaurants in the streets south of Stradun and outside the city walls tend to be more atmospheric and less expensive.

Save for the somewhat specialist Maritime Museum, Dubrovnik’s city-run museums are quite disappointing and admission is overpriced at 20Kn. In summer you can buy a pass to visit them all for 35Kn.

Stick to marked paths around Dubrovnik as much of the area is still mined.

Best Way To Get Around:

Getting to Dubrovnik:

Air:Dubrovnik Airport is served by flights from most major European cities, although the vast majority stop off in Zagreb. The airport itself is located 17 km from the city in Čilipi, but all arrivals (regardless of hour) are met by a Croatian Airlines bus which runs to the bus station. Buses run from the bus station to the airport 90 minutes before all outbound flights. The fare is 30Kn each way.

Ferry:Dubrovnik is the southernmost stop on the Jadrolinija coastal ferry which runs to Rijeka via Korčula, Hvar, Split, and Zadar daily in summer and twice weekly in winter. Local ferries run daily to the Elaphite Islands and Mljet.

Bus: There are hourly services from the bus station to Cavtat (local bus #10), as well as frequent services up the coast to Split and less regular (but daily) services to Zagreb, Mostar, and Sarajevo.

Getting Around Dubrovnik: The only way to see the Old Town is on foot. A ferry runs to the nearby island of Lokrum. Local buses #1a and #3 run from the ferry terminal and bus station to the Pile Gate. Tickets cost 7Kn in advance or 10kn onboard.

Justly legendary on many backpacker Internet message boards for her kindness, Marija Biličić would be reason enough to stay at this guesthouse herself. Not only does she pick up all her guests at their point of arrival and take them to their point of departure free of charge, she provides better information than the tourist office regarding onward connections and local sights. On the merit of its rooms her guesthouse is the finest (and one of the most reasonably priced) in Dubrovnik.

Location: The guesthouse is located in a quiet but centrally located residential neighborhood that is an atmospheric 5-10 minute downhill walk to the Old Town and directly across the street from a stop for Bus #10, which runs to Cavtat. There is also a small grocery store nearby. It is 15-20 minutes by foot from the base of Mount Srđ and 20-30 minutes from the bus station and ferry port. Unless you’re particularly keen to stay in the Old Town (which I would personally advise against) this is the best possible location in Dubrovnik.

Rooms: I stayed in a single room (with two beds, Mrs. Biličić charges per person) with its own bathroom. While the comfortable beds took up much of the room, the writing desk/table near the doorway did not feel cramped. Towels were provided but soap was not, although I suspect that if you asked Mrs. Biličić would provide it. The heating was adequate except on the night of Dubrovnik’s first snowfall in two decades. Quite unusually, there was a small electric kettle (with coffee) and a mini-refrigerator – she told me that in summer many guests grill food in the garden. The reproductions of famous paintings along the walls, soothing blue bedside lamps, and extensive closet space made the room feel particularly cosy.

Service: Even among Croatians, who are justly famed for their kindness and hospitality, Mrs. Biličić stands out for her warmth and generosity of time and spirit. She was genuinely concerned that I was enjoying my time in Dubrovnik and interested in what I chose to do there. She asked me daily if everything was all right, allowed me to stay in the room until my 3pm bus to Korčula (which she confirmed since I had been issued an incorrect ticket), and raised the heat in my room the final night, after the snowfall.

As you might expect, Guesthouse Biličić is extremely popular, so you should reserve as far ahead as possible. Note that like most Croatians who rent out private rooms, she may request a security deposit to hold reservations for the summer months (June-August).

Please see http://www.dubrovnik-online.com/apartments_bilicic/accommodations/accommodations.html for further information and rates. Note that the website has not been updated recently and room rates have risen slightly although they remain quite reasonable.

I visited Dubrovnik’s Old Town for the first time on a stormy evening in early March, although it was beautiful even then. Unfortunately, the ominousness of these skies was reflected in the dearth of affordable restaurants open in Dubrovnik’s Old Town – not only were the pair recommended in my guidebook both closed, so too were the ones that the tourist office (which was open) suggested to me! As I worked my way back to Stradun I stopped beneath a scaffolding to catch my breath (and avoid the rain) and saw a lighted sign offering "25Kn Specials" in a nearby window. I opened what turned out to be the back door of this cosy (but completely empty) restaurant.

Reading the menu by candlelight, I learned that the 25Kn specials were only served at lunchtime, but staving off my hunger for the moment with a cup of herbal tea, learned that the dinner offerings didn’t cost much more. The first food to make its way to me was bread and sir s vrhnjem a delicious mild herbal cream cheese made locally and well worth the 5Kn cover charge, which outshone the fresh but unmemorable salad that followed. My main course of girice, small fish covered in flour then deep-fried whole (akin to British whitefish) was surprisingly filling and absolutely delicious. Consequently, I resolved to return the next day to sample the lunch specials that had lured me in the first place.

Dining with a sense of expectation rather than hunger, I was able to appreciate the konoba (a Croatian term for a small inn or restaurant, usually with antique pretensions) and its surroundings to a far greater extent, its exposed stone walls, local paintings, and nautical bric-a-brac (including a very unusual wooden paddle-fish) to a far greater degree. The otherwise brusque proprietor seemed quite pleased to see me return, explaining that the konoba is usually quite easy to find as it sets tables out in a courtyard by St. Blaise’s Church, just off the Luža, the Old Town’s Main Square. As this courtyard is now torn up as the result of an archaeological dig, his business has declined significantly.

The grilled squid was extremely tasty and so fresh that might well have been caught, or at least delivered, earlier that day. Accompanied by braised mangold (a kind of spinach) and potatoes, it made for an extremely hearty, yet simultaneously light lunch, which I repeated on my final day in Dubrovnik. Other patrons told me the seafood was some of the best they had enjoyed in Croatia and I’d certainly agree. Based on my experience with their vegetables, however, I’d caution you that Konoba Penatur’s terrestrial dishes are not particularly outstanding. Likewise, the generally friendly service was adequate but no great commendation in itself. Overall, Konoba Penatur is delicately poised on the correct side of the division between touristic and charming, and consequently I’d highly recommend it to any seafood lover looking for an inexpensive, and traditional, meal in Dubrovnik’s Old Town.

There’s no better way to appreciate Dubrovnik’s history and architecture than by traversing the beautiful walls that surround the Old Town. There are multiple entrances, but the best (and most popular) is on the left side of Stradun, just after you enter the city from the Pile Gate (which is topped by a large Croatian flag.) Entrance costs 30Kn (students 20Kn, children 10Kn) and it’s a good idea to bring something to drink as the two-kilometer circuit contains many steps and can get quite tiring, particularly in hot weather.

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.

One can see most of Dubrovnik’s significant buildings by entering the Old Town through the Pile Gate then walking along Stradun, which terminates in Luža Square, and turning right onto Prid Dvorom in order to see the Rector’s Palace and Cathedral.

Carvings of St. Blaise, Dubrovnik’s patron saint, who holds a model of the city in his hand, adorn both the Pile and Ploče Gates, historically the only two entrances to the city. Visitors were required to disinfect themselves in the adjacent fountains, which were the termini of a system delivering water from Mount Srđ, overlooking the city. Just opposite the Large Fountain, to the right of Pile Gate, is the Renaissance St. Savior’s Church. The elaborately decorated Franciscan Monastery behind it includes (among other things) what claims to be the Europe’s oldest pharmacy, having been open continuously since 1317.

The pathway through Pile Gate becomes Stradun, the main street following the course of the channel that once separated Slavic Dubrovnik (to the left) from Latin Ragusa (to the right). To the left, each "street" perpendicular to Stradun is actually a staircase, indicating the steepness of the incline, although the streets to the right slope upward as well, albeit far more gently. This generally touristy area lacks historical sights save for an old Synagogue at the corner of Stradun and Žudioska (Jew’s Street), where a congregation founded by refugees who fled Spain in 1492 worshipped.

Most of the Ragusan Republic’s buildings of state were located in the general vicinity of Luža Square and its fifteenth century belltower. The sixteenth century Sponza Palace, which today houses an exhibition memorializing the city’s defenders in 1991-1992, served as its mint and custom house. Orlando’s Column, the statue in the middle of the square, was the Republic’s focal point. The length of its right arm was used as the city’s standard measure (the Ragusan cubit), new laws were announced from atop it (as the Dubrovnik Summer Festival is today), and those who broke them found themselves punished on the same spot. Behind the column is the gaudy Baroque church dedicated to St. Blaise, who owes his role as the city’s patron to his alleged appearance in a vision warning a local priest of a Venetian attack in 791.

The city’s political nerve-center lays nearby in the Rector’s Palace, a colonnaded hulk housing state offices, a powder store, and (appropriately) a prison. It currently is a museum that does a poor job of explaining these past glories. It takes its name from the city’s nominal ruler, a noble elected monthly by his peers who then could not be reelected for another two years. He was effectively imprisoned here for his entire term, emerging only (with the permission of the rest of the nobility) for state ceremonies. This bizarre arrangement served its purpose of keeping this oligarchy from becoming a dictatorship and opulence of the reliquary in the otherwise unexceptional Baroque Cathedral testifies to the economic success of this system and the city that spawned it.