6 Things to Do in Dubrovnik — Walk the City Walls, Forts, and the Brilliant Blue Adriatic

Every angle of Dubrovnik looks like a postcard — but without a solid plan, you will spend your visit swamped by cruise-ship crowds that can hit 10,000 people a day in summer. The key is an early start: get inside the Old Town before 8 a.m. to have Stradun and the city walls to yourself before the crowds make everything unbearable. Dubrovnik at first light is one of the most beautiful travel experiences in Europe.

#1

📍 Encircles the entire Old Town — 1,940 metres long

Walls of Dubrovnik

The single unmissable highlight of Dubrovnik. The walls stand 4–25 metres high and were built and extended continuously from the 13th to the 17th century. A full circuit takes 1.5–2 hours and delivers unbroken views of the Adriatic, the orange rooftops below, and the outer islands. Some stretches are single-file and steep-stepped, but every turn is a photograph you will not forget. One real caveat: at midday in summer the walls bake in full sun with zero shade.

Best time 8:00–10:00 a.m. or 5:00–7:00 p.m. Avoid midday to mid-afternoon — the hottest and most crowded window.

How to get there Enter from Pile Gate on the western side or Ploce Gate on the east. Bus lines 1A, 1B, and 2 from most accommodation areas stop at Pile Gate.

Travel tips

• Enter between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m., before the cruise ships release their passengers. The walls are quiet and the morning light is exceptional.
• Entry costs €35 (2026) and includes a few museums. Buy online in advance or at Pile Gate or Ploce Gate on the day.
• Wear shoes with a grip and proper arch support. The wall walkway is uneven and slippery; flip-flops will be painful.

🎟️ Book tickets & tours for Walls of Dubrovnik on Klook →

🏨 Want to wake up near these spots? See top-rated hotels in Dubrovnik →

#2

📍 The main street of the Old Town — 300 metres long, from Pile Gate to Ploce Gate

Stradun

The heart of Dubrovnik's Old Town. The main street is paved with polished marble quarried from Plitvice — it literally reflects the sky. At just 300 metres, it is flanked by Baroque buildings over 300 years old, rebuilt after the 1667 earthquake. At the western end stands the large <strong>Onofrio Fountain</strong> from the 15th century; at the eastern end, the Church of St Blaise. At midday in peak season, Stradun is so packed it is barely possible to move.

Best time 7:00–8:30 a.m. before other visitors arrive, or after 8:00 p.m. when cruise ships have departed and locals reclaim the street.

How to get there Enter from Pile Gate (west) or Ploce Gate (east). Most public buses stop at Pile Gate.

Travel tips

• Wake at 7:00 a.m. and walk Stradun immediately — before shops open and before the crowds. Sitting with a coffee by the Onofrio Fountain while it is still quiet is something you will remember.
• Cafés and ice-cream shops on Stradun charge nearly double the price of places one alley back. Step into the side streets for local prices.
• Stradun is a public thoroughfare — no entry fee.

🎟️ Book tickets & tours for Stradun on Klook →

#3

📍 On a sea cliff west of Pile Gate

Fort Lovrijenac

A fortress standing on a cliff <strong>37 metres</strong> above the sea, built in just 3 months in <strong>1018</strong> to block a Venetian invasion. The seaward walls are <strong>12 metres thick</strong>; the walls facing the city are only 60 centimetres — deliberately, to stop any enemy who seized the fort from turning its cannon on Dubrovnik itself. The inscription above the gate reads <em>Non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro</em> — freedom is not to be sold for all the gold in the world. The fort appeared in <em>Game of Thrones</em> as the Red Keep, which brought it global recognition.

Best time 4:00–6:00 p.m. — the light hits the walls and the sea at its best.

How to get there About 5 minutes on foot from Pile Gate — descend the stone steps heading west toward the sea cliff.

Travel tips

• Entry is included in the €35 city-walls ticket, or you can buy it separately for slightly less.
• Climb to the ramparts in the late afternoon to photograph the city walls and Dubrovnik Bay in golden light.
• The staircase is steep and has no handrail in places — not ideal for young children or anyone uneasy with heights.

🎟️ Book tickets & tours for Fort Lovrijenac on Klook →

#4

📍 Summit of Mount Srđ — 412 metres above Dubrovnik Old Town

Mount Srđ Cable Car

The best overall view of Dubrovnik is here. The cable car takes just <strong>4 minutes</strong> from the lower station near Pile Gate to the <strong>412-metre</strong> summit of Mount Srđ, where the whole Old Town, the Adriatic, Lokrum Island, and the Pelješac Peninsula stretching into the distance are laid out below you. At the top, <strong>Imperial Fort</strong> houses a museum documenting the Siege of Dubrovnik during the Croatian War of 1991–1992.

Best time About one hour before sunset, or early morning for golden-hour light over the city.

How to get there The lower cable-car station is on Petra Krešimira IV street, roughly a 10-minute walk from Pile Gate.

Travel tips

• Book cable-car tickets online in advance — €28 return. Queues in summer are long without a reservation.
• The sunset ride is the best experience on offer, but book the last car to match the timing; some days the cable car closes early due to wind.
• The restaurant at the summit is expensive. Bring your own water and snacks.

🎟️ Book tickets & tours for Mount Srđ Cable Car on Klook →

#5

📍 Opposite Dubrovnik Cathedral, in the heart of the Old Town

Rector's Palace, Dubrovnik

The most beautiful building in Dubrovnik. Built in the <strong>15th century</strong> as the seat of the Rector of the Republic of Ragusa — a position that rotated monthly to prevent anyone accumulating power. The Rector was required to live in the palace for the entire duration of his term and could only leave to see family in genuine emergencies. The architecture blends Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque from successive rebuilds. Today it is a cultural and history museum displaying period furniture, art, and artefacts.

Best time Open daily 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. Morning visits are quieter than afternoons.

How to get there On Pred Dvorom street in the Old Town centre — 3–5 minutes on foot east from Stradun.

Travel tips

• Entry costs €15 and is included in the City Museum Pass, which covers several other sites — worth it if you plan to visit multiple museums.
• The inner courtyard hosts classical concerts in summer during the Dubrovnik Summer Festival — one of the more unusual live-music settings you will find anywhere.
• The top floor displays portraits of every Rector in the city's history — the only place you can put faces to the names.

🎟️ Book tickets & tours for Rector's Palace, Dubrovnik on Klook →

🛏️ Halfway through the list — pick a great-value hotel in Dubrovnik before rooms sell out →

#6

📍 A small island 600 metres from the Old Harbour of Dubrovnik

Lokrum

A protected nature reserve just <strong>10 minutes</strong> by small ferry from the Old Town. No hotels or private accommodation are permitted on the island. What you get instead: an 11th-century Benedictine monastery, a natural saltwater swimming pool known as the Dead Sea, eucalyptus forest, and peacocks wandering freely. Lokrum also served as a <em>Game of Thrones</em> filming location — the city of Qarth. Local legend holds that anyone who removes treasure from the island will be cursed.

Best time 9:00–10:00 a.m. to arrive before cruise-ship visitors, or after 3:00 p.m. when numbers thin out.

How to get there Small ferry from the Old Harbour inside Dubrovnik Old Town — 10 minutes.

Travel tips

• Ferries depart from the Old Harbour every 30–60 minutes — €15 return, which includes the island entry fee.
• Bring your own food and water. The few shops on the island are limited and expensive. There are no cars or motorbikes.
• The peacocks are bold — do not feed them directly, and keep your distance if you spot any with chicks.

🎟️ Book tickets & tours for Lokrum on Klook →

🏨 That's all 6 spots! Next step — book a top-rated stay in Dubrovnik →