Flight time
2h 50m
Best season
May, June & September
Budget
Mid-range to splurge
Best for
Medieval walls, Adriatic, seafood, Game of Thrones
Overview
Why Dubrovnik for a city break?
Dubrovnik is one of the most beautiful cities in the Mediterranean — a perfectly preserved medieval walled city on a limestone promontory above the Adriatic, its orange rooftops contained within walls that have stood for 700 years. The walk along the top of those walls — 1.9km with the sea on one side and the city's church towers, fountains and baroque palaces on the other — is one of the finest urban experiences in Europe. The water is impossibly blue. The seafood is extraordinary.
From most UK airports Dubrovnik is under three hours — well served from London, Manchester, Bristol, Edinburgh and regional airports, particularly in summer. The essential caveat: go in May, June or September. July and August see 8,000–10,000 cruise ship passengers per day disembarking in the old town, the cable car queue takes two hours, and the wall walk becomes a slow shuffle. In May the crowds are thin and the light is perfect; in September the Adriatic is still warm and the city breathes again.
Where to stay & explore
Dubrovnik's best neighbourhoods
Old Town (Stari Grad)
The walled city — the Stradun (main limestone street), the Rector's Palace, the Cathedral and the Franciscan Monastery. Tourist-concentrated but genuinely extraordinary.
Lapad Peninsula
The residential peninsula west of the old town — the best hotels, a pleasant seafront promenade, and the most accessible beaches. The correct base for a summer visit.
Lokrum Island
Ten minutes by ferry from the old port — a forested island with a Benedictine monastery, naturist beach, botanical garden, and the best escape from the city crowds.
Things to do
What to see in Dubrovnik
1
The City Walls
The 1.9km wall walk around the entire medieval city is the single best thing to do in Dubrovnik — the views over the orange rooftops to the Adriatic on one side and to Mount Srđ above the city on the other are extraordinary. Go at opening time (8am) in summer to beat both the heat and the crowds. The walls include four towers and three bastions; the Minceta Tower at the northwest corner is the highest point. Buy tickets online; they sell out in high season.
2
Mount Srđ Cable Car & Fortress
The cable car rises 405 metres above the old town in four minutes — the view from the summit, over the walled city, the islands of the Elaphiti archipelago and the Adriatic stretching to the horizon, is the finest panorama in Dalmatia. Book tickets online in summer; the queue without booking can be two hours. The Homeland War Museum in the summit fortress covers the 1991-92 siege of Dubrovnik soberly and well.
3
Franciscan Monastery & Pharmacy
The Franciscan Monastery on the Stradun houses one of the oldest pharmacies in Europe (open since 1317, still operating). The cloister — a Romanesque masterpiece of double columns with carved capitals — is beautiful, and the monastery museum has an extraordinary collection of liturgical objects and early pharmacy equipment. One of the most atmospheric and undervisited spots in the old town.
4
Island-hopping: Lokrum and the Elaphiti
Dubrovnik's greatest asset is the Adriatic itself — the water temperature reaches 26°C in summer. Lokrum island (10-minute ferry from the old port, runs every 30 minutes) has wild peacocks, a salt lake, a nudist beach and a ruined monastery. The Elaphiti islands (Koločep, Lopud and Šipan) are reached by regular ferry from Gruž harbour — day trips to any of them show you the Dalmatian archipelago at its most unspoiled.
Food & drink
Where to eat in Dubrovnik
Restaurant 360°
Fine dining / city walls
Built into the city walls above the old harbour — the finest restaurant in Dubrovnik, with tables on a terrace directly over the Adriatic. The seafood tasting menu (Adriatic scampi, black risotto, Dalmatian octopus) is exceptional. The sunset slot is the most sought-after table in the city. Book months ahead for July and August.
Konoba Dubrava
Traditional Dalmatian / outside the walls
The antidote to the tourist-trap restaurants inside the walls — a family-run konoba (traditional restaurant) 10 minutes outside the city serving proper Dalmatian food at reasonable prices. Peka (lamb or octopus slow-cooked under a bell), black risotto, grilled fish from the morning market. Order the peka 24 hours ahead.
Bota Šare Oyster & Sushi Bar
Oysters / Mali Ston
The oysters from Mali Ston — 50km north, where the Pelješac peninsula creates a unique bay — are among the finest in Europe. Bota Šare serves them on the Gundulić Square in the old town, ice-fresh, with lemon and a glass of local Pošip wine. The combination is extraordinary; the setting is beautiful.
Itinerary
3 days in Dubrovnik — a suggested itinerary
Day 1
City walls at dawn, the Stradun, old town at dusk
Dubrovnik Airport is 20km from the city — the Atlas shuttle bus (€7) runs every 30 minutes to Pile Gate, the main entrance to the old town. The city walls open at 8am: be at the ticket office 15 minutes earlier. Walk the full circuit anticlockwise — the Bokar Fortress and Lovrijenac Fort views at the western end are the finest. The Stradun (the main limestone street) in the early morning, before the cruise ships arrive, is one of the loveliest streets in Europe. The Franciscan Monastery pharmacy at 9.30am. Lunch at one of the side-street restaurants off the Stradun — avoid anything with photographs on the menu. Lokrum island ferry at 2pm: the botanical garden, the salt lake (the Dead Sea in miniature), swimming off the rocks. Back to the old town for sunset from the walls above the harbour. Dinner at Bota Šare for the oysters and the Pošip.
Day 2
Cable car, beach, seafood lunch, island ferry
Cable car at 9am (booked online) — the view from Mount Srđ over the walled city in morning light is extraordinary. Homeland War Museum for 30 minutes. Down by cable car; swim at Banje Beach (the closest to the old town, 5 minutes outside Ploče Gate) or take the ferry to Lokrum for a wilder beach. Lunch at Konoba Dubrava outside the walls — order the peka if you called ahead, or the grilled fish. Afternoon: the Rector's Palace (the best museum in the old town — the history of the Ragusan Republic is extraordinary), the Cathedral Treasury (Byzantine and Renaissance art), a walk through the Jewish Quarter. Restaurant 360° for dinner if booked; otherwise a glass of wine on the old harbour wall watching the fishing boats come in.
Day 3
Elaphiti islands or Pelješac, one last swim
The ferry from Gruž harbour to the Elaphiti islands departs at 9am — Šipan is the most beautiful, with a medieval village, a bishop's palace, and swimming off completely clear water. The day ferry returns in the afternoon. Alternatively: rent a car or join a day trip to the Pelješac peninsula — the Ston salt pans (medieval, still operating), the Mali Ston oyster bay, and the Pelješac wine route (Dingač and Postup, the finest Croatian reds). Back to Dubrovnik for a final swim and a glass of local wine before the airport shuttle.
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