Luxury hotels in Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik guide

Dubrovnik: walking the city walls

Two kilometres of ramparts above the Adriatic, the Stradun at dawn and the islands by boat.

Walking the city walls, nearly two kilometres of ramparts around the old town of Dubrovnik, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the most cited experience; go at opening or late in the afternoon, when it is cooler and the cruise passengers have left. The Stradun, the marble main street, is empty and beautiful at dawn.

Take the cable car up Mount Srđ for the view, and a boat to Lokrum island or the Elaphiti islands. The Pelješac peninsula's wines and oysters at Ston are close by, and May, June and September are ideal.

Lokrum and the Elaphiti Islands

Lokrum, a forested island a fifteen-minute boat ride from Dubrovnik's old port, is one of the most cited escapes from the crowds: botanical gardens, a Benedictine monastery, peacocks and rocky swimming spots, including a small saltwater lake called the Dead Sea.

A day on a private boat among the Elaphiti Islands, Koločep, Lopud and Šipan, adds sandy beaches, small villages and seafood lunches. Lopud's Šunj Bay is one of the few sandy beaches near Dubrovnik. The season runs from May to October.

Ston and the Pelješac peninsula

Ston, about an hour north-west of Dubrovnik, is known for its fourteenth-century walls, more than five kilometres long, built to protect the salt pans of the Republic of Ragusa, and for the oysters of Mali Ston Bay. Walking the walls and eating oysters by the water is the most cited day out from Dubrovnik.

The Pelješac peninsula beyond is Croatia's great red wine region, with Plavac Mali grown on the steep slopes of Dingač and Postup. Family wineries welcome visitors, and the town of Orebić faces the island of Korčula.