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Fort Lovrijenac and the Old Town on the cliffs above the sea

Best Things to Do in Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik rewards a short list done well. Here's ours, roughly in order of priority for a first visit, with a couple of things most people skip at the end.

  1. Walk the city walls. Nearly two kilometres of battlements around the whole Old Town, looking down into courtyards, onto roofs and out to sea. This is the one thing not to miss. Our city walls guide covers timing and tickets.
  2. Stradun and the Old Town lanes. The polished main street, then the steep side lanes, the monasteries and the Rector's Palace. Follow our Old Town walking route.
  3. Fort Lovrijenac. The fortress on its own rock outside Pile Gate, with walls up to 12 metres thick on the sea side and a view straight back at the city. Your walls ticket gets you in, so don't pay twice.
  4. The cable car up Mount Srđ. A few minutes up to the ridge above the city, where the whole Old Town looks like a model. Go for the last hour before sunset. The Fort Imperial at the top holds a museum on the 1991 to 1992 siege, and it's sobering.
  5. Lokrum. A wooded island ten minutes by boat from the Old Port, with a ruined Benedictine monastery, peacocks and a small saltwater lake called the Dead Sea. Details in our day trips guide.
  6. A drink at a cliff bar. Through small openings in the southern walls, bars are set on the rocks above the sea. Locals call them Buža, meaning "hole in the wall". People swim and jump off the rocks below.
  7. Sea kayaking. Morning or late-afternoon tours paddle from below the walls round to Lokrum and back. It gives you the view of the city that the old sea traders had.
  8. Banje beach. The pebble beach just east of Ploče Gate, with the Old Town across the water. Crowded, yes, but the view is hard to argue with.
  9. War Photo Limited. A small gallery just off Stradun showing war photography, from the Balkans and beyond. Harder going than most museums in town, and more memorable.
  10. The Maritime Museum and Aquarium. Both are in St John's Fortress by the Old Port. Good for a hot afternoon, and the aquarium keeps children happy.
  11. Gruž market. The morning market by the ferry port sells figs, lavender, dried fruit and fish. Less photogenic than the Old Town market on Gundulić Square, and more real.

The Game of Thrones tours are popular, but you'll recognise most of the locations anyway: the Jesuit Staircase, Fort Lovrijenac and the walls themselves.