Flight time
2h 45m
Best season
May–June & September–October
Budget
Budget to mid-range
Best for
Medieval walled city, fjord, cats, value
Overview
Why Kotor for a city break?
Kotor is one of the most dramatically situated medieval cities in Europe — a perfectly preserved walled city of narrow lanes, baroque churches and Venetian palaces at the innermost point of the Boka Kotorska, a fjord-like bay of extraordinary beauty surrounded by the Dinaric Alps. The UNESCO-listed old city occupies a triangle of land between the sea wall and the mountains, watched over by the ramparts of St John's Fortress climbing 1,350 steps to the summit above. It also has an improbable abundance of cats, which have become the city's unofficial mascot and cultural identity.
From London and several UK airports it's under three hours — Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air fly to Tivat Airport (25km from Kotor, taxi €20) or Podgorica (80km, bus). The city is best in May, June and September: the bay is swimmable, the old town is accessible without the July–August cruise ship surge that can make the lanes genuinely impassable. Montenegro is one of the cheapest countries in the Balkans — a good dinner costs €15–20, a beer is €2, and the surrounding landscape (the Lovćen mountain, the Ostrog Monastery, the villages of the bay) makes day trips extraordinarily rewarding.
Where to stay & explore
Kotor's best neighbourhoods
Old Town (Stari Grad)
The entire medieval city within the walls — small enough to cross on foot in 10 minutes, with three main squares and a labyrinth of lanes connecting them.
The Sea Walls & St John's Fortress
The 4.5km of medieval walls rising from the sea to the fortress summit above the city — the most dramatic city wall walk in the Balkans.
Dobrota & the Bay Villages
The string of Venetian-era villages along the bay north of Kotor — Dobrota, Perast, Prčanj — each with a waterfront of baroque palaces and churches, accessible by boat or coastal road.
Things to do
What to see in Kotor
1
St John's Fortress & the City Walls
The 4.5km of medieval walls climbing from sea level to the fortress of St John at 280 metres — the climb (1,350 steps, 45 minutes upward) is demanding but gives one of the finest views in the Balkans: the bay spreading in every direction, the red rooftops of the old city below, the mountains rising sheer from the water. Start from the River Gate entrance near the north side of the old city. The entry fee (€8) covers the full wall walk; go in the early morning before the heat and the crowds.
2
Cathedral of Saint Tryphon
The finest Romanesque cathedral in the eastern Adriatic — built in 1166 on the site of an earlier church, with extraordinary carved 14th-century ciborium above the altar, the 12th-century fresco fragments in the apse and the cathedral treasury (Byzantine silverwork and reliquaries of the patron saint). The two asymmetrical towers are the defining image of the Kotor skyline. Entry €3.
3
Perast & Our Lady of the Rocks
The most beautiful village on the bay — 10km north of Kotor (taxi €10 or bus), Perast is a single Baroque street of palaces and churches overlooking two islands. Our Lady of the Rocks (Gospa od Škrpjela) — an artificial island built by tradition whenever a sailor returned safely from sea, adding a stone to the growing reef — has a 17th-century church with extraordinary votive paintings covering the interior. Boat to the island (€5 return from the Perast waterfront); the Bay of Kotor from the island is one of the finest views in Montenegro.
4
The cats of Kotor
Kotor has an ancient relationship with cats — Venetian sailors brought them to control rats on ships, and the descendants of those cats have lived in the old town ever since. They are fed, cared for and, increasingly, celebrated: the Cats Museum near the Main Square covers the feline-human history of the city, and the cats themselves are everywhere in the old town, sleeping on doorsteps, watching from windowsills and generally supervising the tourism with lordly indifference. Free to admire; the museum charges €2.
Food & drink
Where to eat in Kotor
Galion
Seafood / harbour
The finest restaurant in Kotor — on the old harbour outside the city walls, serving the freshest Adriatic seafood: black risotto, grilled fish bought from the morning market, scampi buzara (prawns in wine and tomato). The terrace above the water with the old city walls lit behind is one of the finest dining settings on the Adriatic. Book ahead.
Konoba Scala Santa
Traditional Montenegrin / old town
Hidden in a medieval courtyard in the old town — the finest traditional Montenegrin cooking in Kotor: njeguški pršut (the local prosciutto, smoked over beech wood in the Montenegrin highlands), lamb under sač (slow-cooked under a bell in embers), and kačamak (cornmeal and potato porridge with cheese). Order the sač 24 hours ahead.
Bocun Wine Bar
Wine bar / old town
The finest wine bar in Kotor — a small, knowledgeable bar serving Montenegrin and regional wines by the glass, with excellent charcuterie and cheese platters. The Vranac (the indigenous Montenegrin red grape, powerful and tannic) and the local white Krstač are both worth exploring. The most relaxed evening spot in the old city.
Itinerary
3 days in Kotor — a suggested itinerary
Day 1
City walls, Cathedral, cats, evening on the harbour
Taxi from Tivat Airport to Kotor old town (€20, 25 minutes). Walk through the Sea Gate into the old town — the Main Square (Trg od Oružja), the clock tower, the cats on the steps. Cathedral of Saint Tryphon (entry €3) for the carved ciborium and the treasury. The city wall climb from the River Gate at 7am (before the heat): 1,350 steps, 45 minutes, extraordinary views. Return to the old town. The Cats Museum. Lunch at one of the old town cafés — burek (filo pastry with meat or cheese) from one of the bakeries is the cheapest and most satisfying lunch. Bocun Wine Bar for aperitivo. Galion for dinner (booked).
Day 2
Perast, Our Lady of the Rocks, bay swimming
Taxi or bus to Perast (€10 or €1.50, 20 minutes). The Perast waterfront — the baroque palaces, the 18 churches, the extraordinary setting. Boat to Our Lady of the Rocks (€5 return) — the votive paintings, the silver embroidery, the view of the bay from the island. Swim off the island rocks before returning. Lunch at one of the Perast waterfront restaurants — the grilled fish caught that morning. Return to Kotor in the afternoon. Walk the base of the city walls and along the waterfront. Konoba Scala Santa for dinner — order the sač the previous day.
Day 3
Lovćen National Park, the mausoleum, one last view
The Lovćen mountain rises directly above Kotor — the road climbing from the bay through 25 serpentine hairpin bends to the Lovćen National Park is one of the most dramatic drives in the Balkans. The Njegoš Mausoleum at the summit (1,657m) — designed by Ivan Meštrović, the greatest Croatian sculptor of the 20th century — contains the tomb of the philosopher-prince-poet Petar II Petrović Njegoš, with views over Montenegro and into Albania on clear days. The telecom tower alongside has a café. Return to Kotor by afternoon: the old town one last time, the cats, the walls. Taxi back to Tivat for the evening flight.
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