Distance from Gangway to bus: 10 meters

Distance Pier from City Center: 3000 meters

Can You Walk? YES

Taxis Available at Pier? NO

Cost to City Center: EUR 10,00

US$ Accepted? YES

Taxis Metered? YES Hourly Rate: EUR 45,00

Phones Available at Pier? YES

Phone Cards Needed: YES

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Dubrovnik’s old town appeals to children as well as adults with its historic, fairytale ambiance. Surrounded by 13th-century walls, up to 20 feet thick and 80 feet high, and fortress towers, old town marks the spot where the prince would hold court. Take a walk atop the wall, more than a mile long, checking for marauders while admiring the spectacular sea and city views. Be sure to visit the rampart look-out in the early morning or late afternoon to avoid the blazing sun.

The best way to see the old city is by strolling the main plaza (the Placa or Stradun), where historic structures line the streets. Some of the more interesting sights for kids include the Dubrovnik Cathedral, rebuilt after a 1667 earthquake, and the Franciscan Monastery. Along with 15th- to 17th-century chalices fashioned from gold and silver, the cathedral features the skull, arm, and leg bones of Dubrovnik’s hero, Saint Blaise, encased in gold filigree. Friars founded the pharmacy tucked inside the 14th-century Franciscan Monastery in 1317, which claims to be the oldest working pharmacy in Europe. The small but intriguing collection of apothecary equipment on view includes an iron still for the distillation of brandy and a metal and wooden press to squeeze the “juice” from shrubs.

Not only history draws vacationers to Dubrovnik, but also the sun and the sea. Take the kids to the Copacabana Beach, a shallow-water beach on Babin Kuk peninsula. Like most of Dubrovnik’s beaches, pebbles cover the Copacabana shoreline. For better beaches, board a boat to one of the islands off Dubrovnik’s coast-Lopud, about a 40-minute boat ride from Dubrovnik, contains the sandy beach Šunj, along with a hotel.

Back on Dubrovnik, stroll through old town. Sample some local sweets, such as torta od makarona (macaroni cake) or arancini (ornage grinds with sugar), at one of the cafes. In the early evening, street performers strum guitars near Onofrio’s Fountains.

From mid-July to the third week in August, the Dubrovnik Summer Festival takes place, featuring music, dance, and theater (www.dubrovnik-festival.hr). Listen to the Zagreb Philharmonic, the Leipzig Quartet, the Russian symphony Orchestra, and many other performers.

Shell’s struck 68% of the 824 buildings in the old town, leaving holes in two out of three tiled roofs. Building facades and the paving stones of streets and squares suffered 314 direct hits and there were 111 direct hits on the great wall. Nine historic palaces were completely gutted by the fire while the Sponza Palace, Rector’s Palace, St. Blaise’s Church, Franciscan monastery and the carved fountains – Amerling and Onofrio, sustained serious damage. The restoration of the old town alone was to reach into the billions.

In order to handle the complex process of restoring the ancient city, an Expert Advisory Commission for the Rehabilitation was formed. The committee developed a master plan for the restoration work which would guarantee that all the repairs and reconstruction would be done with traditional techniques, using traditional materials whenever feasible.

One of the first and most urgent problems confronted by the committee’s experts was repairing the city’s tiled roofs in order to prevent water damage from rainfall. The rosy terracotta tiles that had topped all of Dubrovnik’s buildings were originally produced in a tile factory in Kupari, south of Dubrovnik, that had long since closed.

The traditional method was to knead the clay and then shape it to the curve on a man’s thigh before baking it. Such a procedure was far too lengthy under the circumstances, and the committee launched a desperate search for an existing supply of tiles to plug up the most critical holes. Replacements of the same color proved impossible to find.

The closest match came from the town of Agen in South-West France, which provided the first 200,000 tiles, followed by another 400,000 from a factory in Slovenia. The tiles now come from Bedekov?ina in the Krapina River valley. Though the red and ochre colors of the new tiles blends badly with the more subdued shade of the old Kupari tiles, the older tiles are gradually being replaced building by building.

The restorers faced a similar problem in finding a source of the fine white limestone used to build the city. The original stone came from nearby Vrink, off the island of Kor?ula, but the quarries have since fallen into disuse and are only capable of producing a small amounts of stone.

The island of Bra? has a long tradition of stonemasonry and a ready supply of high-quality stone; even with this stone, though, the restorers worried that obvious differences in color and texture would only magnify over time. The solution was to use the Bra? stone in places that had already used the stone or where it would not be readily visible, such as in drainage gutters.

With the war damage largely repaired, the focus of the committee is turning towards protecting Dubrovnik’s glorious architectural heritage from the ravages of time, weather and earthquakes. The process of replacing the old roof tiles is continuing. St. Blaise’s Church is undergoing structural reinforcement, while other buildings are being monitored for their structural integrity. Located in a zone that is seismic both geologically and politically, Dubrovnik’s citizens have become more determined than ever to protect their fragile, wondrous town.

By the end of the 12th century, Dubrovnik had become an important trading center on the coast, providing an important link between the Mediterranean and the Baltic states. From the hinterlands, cattle and dairy products, wax, honey, timber, coal, silver, lead copper and slaves were exported along with products from Dubrovnik such as salt, cloth, wine and fish.

As the city grew powerful and prosperous, it began to pose a threat to the other major commercial port in the Adriatic – Venice. Worried that they may become too powerful and that trade may shift away from Venice, Dubrovnik came under the Venetian authority in 1205 and remained for another 150 years. Despite accepting governance from Venice, the city continued to establish its own commercial relations and finally broke away from Venetian control in 1358. The city acknowledged the authority of the Croatian-Hungarian kings and paid them an annual tribute, in doing so, they were left alone to do what they did best – make lots of money.

In the 15th century the town had extended their borders to include the entire coastal belt from Ston in the north to Cavtat in the south, trade and wealth were so that they purchased the islands of Lastovo and Mljet and the entire peninsula of Peljesac and began to call themselves “Respublica Ragusina” – the Republic of Ragusina. Dubrovnik turned towards sea trade and established a fleet of its own ship, cutting out the middleman and bringing more wealth to the city. The city’s ships were dispatched to Turkey and Syria in the east and as far west as Spain stopping in France and Sicily along the way. Dubrovnik benefited greatly with some excellent diplomacy that allowed them to trade with everybody, including the Ottoman Empire.

Centuries of peace and prosperity allowed art, science and literature to flourish. Tragically, most of Dubrovnik’s Renaissance art and architecture was destroyed in the great earthquake of 1667; the quake left the city in ruins and killed more than 5000 people. The quake marked the beginning of an economic decline of Dubrovnik, with the emergence of new rival naval powers and the opening of new trade routes to the east. The final nail was driven when Napoleon and his troops entered the city in 1806 and declared the end to the republic.

Museums and sites of interest around Dubrovnik

The City Walls:
Built between the 13th and 16th centuries and still intact, these powerful walls are the finest in the world and Dubrovnik’s main claim to fame. They enclose the entire city in a curtain of stone over 2 km long and up to 25m in height, with two round towers, 14 square towers, 2 corner fortifications and a large fortress. A walk around the walls offers great views over the town and the sea. There are two areas from which to enter & exit the walls, one near the Pile Gate and the other near the Ploce Gate. It take approx. 1-hour to walk the whole length. (‡9am till 6:30pm, Daily. Admission 30 Kunas)

The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin:

Built between the 7th and 12th century as a a gift from England’s King Richard I, the Lionheart, who was saved from a shipwreck on the nearby island of Lockrum. The treasury holds an exhibition of relics from St. Blaise as well as 138 gold & silver reliquaries from the 11th/17th centuries. (‡8am till 5:30pm, Daily. Admission 7 Kunas)

The Rector’s Palace:
Built in the late 15th century for the rector who governed Dubrovnik, the Palace contains the Rector’s office, his private chambers, public halls and offices. It is now a museum with furnished rooms, baroque paintings and historical exhibits. (‡9am till 5pm, Daily. Admission 15 Kunas)

The Franciscan Monastery and Museum:
was built in 1498 and you do not want to miss the 14th century cloister with its many columns, all topped by different figure, portraying human heads, animals and floral arrangements. (‡9am till 6pm, Daily. Admission 10 Kunas) The Old Pharmacy: is located just outside the monastery. It is the third oldest pharmacy in Europe and was built in 1391. Have a look at the relics, paintings, old work and pharmacy items such as laboratory gear and medical books.

Sponza Palace:
Originally a custom house, a bank and a State Treasury the Palace now houses a priceless collection of manuscripts dating back a thousand years. (‡8am till 4pm, Daily. Admission free)

The Serbian Orthodox Church:
Dating back to 1877 the church contains a fascinating collection of icons from the 15th – 19th century in addition to many biblical portraits from Crete, Italy, Russia and Slovenia. There are several portraits by the Croatian painter Vlaho Bukovac. (‡9am till 1pm, Daily. Admission 10 Kunas)

The Dubrovnik Aquarium:
Housed inside Fort St. John, the aquarium is uniquely fed with fresh sea water from the Adriatic and the numerous tanks filled with sealife from around Croatia. (‡9am till 7pm, Daily. Admission 20 Kunas)

The Maritime Museum:
Located close to the aquarium and traces the naval history of Dubrovnik with ship models, navigational objects and paintings. (‡9am till 5pm, Daily. Admission 15 Kunas)

The Dominican Monastery:
The Monastery was built during the strengthening of the city walls in the 14th century so It looks like a fortress. There is an impressive collection of paintings from local artists of the 15th and 16th centuries.

(‡9am till 5pm, Daily. Admission 15 Kunas)

The Synagogue:

Built in the early part of the 15th Century, it is the oldest Sephardic and the second oldest Synagogue in Europe. (‡9am till 1pm, Mon – Fri. Admission free)