22 Best things to see & do in Dubrovnik

A 2km walk along these 13th-century walls is a feast of dazzling views over Dubrovnik’s old town rooftops and the Adriatic.

One of the world’s great kayak tours – around Dubrovnik’s magnificent medieval walls and along beautifully unspoiled coastline, away from the crowds.

Our summary of the typical foods, ingredients and flavours, cooking styles, dining scene and best foodie experiences in Dubrovnik.

An annual celebration of world-class music, theatre and dance, performed beneath the stars in Dubrovnik’s magnificent Old Town.

Sample some of Croatia’s finest red wines at the vineyards on this mountainous peninsula. A one-hour drive up the coast from Dubrovnik.

A remote island national park with pristine forests for hiking and biking, and emerald-blue saltwater lakes you can kayak on or swim in.

A pristine archipelago, just off the coast of Dubrovnik, with pine-forested hills, quiet beaches with crystal-clear water, and lovely waterfront tavernas.

A charming Romanesque monastery with a hidden garden of orange and palm trees, a religious museum and the world’s oldest pharmacy, still functioning today.

A traditional Dalmatian village, famous across Croatia for oysters served in restaurants overlooking a sheltered bay. A scenic drive north of Dubrovnik.

Gorgeous secluded beach with a waterside terrace café, within walking distance of Dubrovnik’s Old Town.

Dubrovnik’s best-known beach, just a short walk from the Ploce Gate, Banje has spectacular views of the Old Town and is backed with a clutch of cafes and restaurants.

Rising 415m above the city, topped with a historic fortress and accessible by cable car, Mount Srd offers spectacular views across Dubrovnik and beyond – on a clear day, the vista stretches for up to 60kms. The lower station is just ‘above’ the Old Town on Ulica Petra Kresimira IV, and it’s 3 and a half minutes to the top.

A tranquil, pretty waterfront village with a restaurant-lined promenade, shaded by palms and picturesque old houses. Perfect to escape the crowds.

The city’s museum – showing how local aristocrats once lived – includes an armoury and dungeon. It’s all housed in a 15-century palace.

This daily market is the place to come to mingle with locals buying fresh fruit and vegetables, olive oil and locally-produced Grappa – come early in the morning for the best produce, it closes by lunchtime.

A Roman-Baroque cathedral, with eye-catching cupola, home to the polyptych (panelled painting) of The Assumption of the Virgin (1522), attributed to Titian. The treasury displays more than 100 gold and silver relics, including the skull of St Blaise, Dubrovnik’s patron saint, encased in a bejewelled Byzantine crown.

A museum documenting Dubrovnik’s past as a major seafaring city, through scale models of ships, engine room equipment, flags, maps and sailors’ uniforms.

The administrative heart of the Republic of Dubrovnik in the 16th and 17th centuries, the palace is now a museum with furniture, artifacts and artworks dating back to the era of the Republic.

If you want to understand the conflict that decimated Dubrovnik, and much of Croatia in the early 1990s, this museum of photo-journalism gives an intense insight into the Civil War.

Often referred to as Dubrovnik’s ‘Gibraltar’, the St Lawrence Fortress sits on an outcrop of rock just outside the City Walls, and took 600 years to complete. Originally built to protect against the Venetian fleet, its walls are between 4 and 12 metres thick.

This small wine shop in the heart of the Old Town sells wines straight from the Peljesac peninsula, plus Croatian deli items including fruit spirits, preserves and sweets.

A tiny shop selling understated jewellery and fashion accessories by Croatian artists. Some original clothes too.