A Guide to Walking the City Walls of Dubrovnik

When I came to Dubrovnik, the first activity I was determined to complete was walking its famous city walls.

Yes, the old town of Dubrovnik is surrounded by a medieval wall and several forts, and these days, you can climb up on to them and walk the perimeter of the old town. The wall was originally built in the 10th century to protect the buildings from Serbian attacks, and it’s just 2 kilometres, making it an easy stroll that offers fantastic views.

It takes about 2 hours to walk all the way round, as you’ll be wanting to stop regularly in order to take some photos, so if you’re visiting in the middle of summer, make sure you do this walk in the morning or early evening!

I decided to walk the city walls at midday in August and it just about killed me. Fortunately, there are cafes dotted around the walls, selling some seriously overpriced bottles of water that were there to save my life. Of course, sunscreen is therefore a necessity, too.

As well as the walls themselves, another form of protection was provided by the separate fortress known as Fort Lovrijenac. Lovrijenac was the most important part of the defence system for western Dubrovnik, defending against attacks from both land and sea. It is now used as a theatre in the summer.

Whilst walking the city walls, there are beautiful 360 degree views of the deep blue adriatic sea, as well as the jumble of red rooftops of the Old Town buildings.

At certain points along the wall, you can see the nearby Lokrum island, about 600 metres off the coast of Dubrovnik.

Towards the eastern side of the walls there are panoramic views of the Old Port. The quaint and pretty harbour still shows what it would have looked like in the Middle Ages when this was one of the busiest ports of the Adriatic. There are a number of small boats, and in the morning locals still go out into the bay to fish. Here is also where you can catch a boat to one the small islands close by.

One of the more dangerous activities that you can take part in in Dubrovnik is cliff jumping. Dubrovnik has twice hosted events in the World Series Cliff Diving Competition, and there are spots along the way where you can watch those who are brave enough jumping into the sea below.

The walls of Dubrovnik are open everyday between 8am and 7pm, and it costs 70 kuna to enter.

Where to Stay in Dubrovnik

I stayed at Dubrovnik Backpackers Club, which fast became one of my favourite hostels in Eastern Europe. I cannot talk up the owners enough!

I felt like I was staying with a family, as the mother welcomed me with open arms and the father was keen to give me lots of information about the surrounding area. There were day trips available, too. I took the one to Bosnia and enjoyed it thoroughly.

The family meal put on each night is fantastic value and they’ll keep feeding you until you’re full! Everyone took great care to hand me piles of food, and kept trying to fatten me up while I was there! The only downside to the hostel is its location — it’s not in the old town, but is only a ten minute bus ride away.

Still, I can wholeheartedly recommend staying at Dubrovnik Backpackers Club.

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