Dubrovnik, Croatia, top 10 things to do (Wimup travel guide)

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Top 10EuropeCroatia

Top 10 Things To Do in Dubrovnik

Country

Croatia

Best months

May · Jun · Sep · Oct

Population

41,562 (2021 census)

Language

Croatian

Budget / day

€120–190

Quick answer

The best things to do in Dubrovnik are the full circuit of the city walls, the cable car up Srđ for the view back down on them, the Rector’s Palace, the Franciscan pharmacy that has been dispensing since 1317, and the ferry to Lokrum. Three days covers the old town and one island. A fourth buys the Elafiti or the oyster beds at Ston.

Best of Dubrovnik

▶ Video guide

Dubrovnik is a city of about 41,000 people built around a walled old town you can cross on foot in ten minutes. That is the whole planning problem. Everything the visitor came for sits inside a limestone circuit just under two kilometres long, and it fills and empties with the cruise timetable rather than with the hour of the day.

The 10 best things to do in Dubrovnik

Walk the full circuit of the city walls

Landmark· Gradske zidine, Pile Gate entrance, Placa 1, 20000 Dubrovnik

The walls run just under two kilometres around the old town, 25 metres high on the landward side and dropping straight to the sea on the other. The circuit is one way, stepped throughout and almost without shade. It is also the only vantage point that explains the city: the lanes off Stradun, the roofs (brighter tiles replaced after 1991), Lokrum offshore.

Time1.5–2 hr

Cost€40 adult

Best atThe first hour after opening

TipStart at Pile and go clockwise, so the sea stretch comes before the sun is overhead

Map ↗ Website

Ride the cable car up Srđ

Viewpoint· Donja postaja žičare, Petra Krešimira IV, 20000 Dubrovnik

The car has been climbing Srđ since 1969 and covers 778 metres of cable in about three and a half minutes, ending at 412 metres with the old town below and the Elafiti on the horizon. The Napoleonic Fort Imperial at the summit held out through the 1991 siege and now houses the Homeland War museum, which is the better half of the trip.

Time1.5 hr

Cost€30 return

Best atThe hour before sunset

TipBuy a one way ticket up and take the old serpentine path down

Map ↗ Website

Tour the Rector's Palace

Museum· Pred Dvorom 3, 20000 Dubrovnik

The Gothic and Renaissance palace was the seat of the rector, who was elected for a single month and largely confined to the building for his term, which tells you most of what you need to know about how Ragusa handled power. It is now the Cultural History Museum: state apartments, the courtroom, the cells on the ground floor and some 20,000 objects.

Time1 hr

CostTicketed

Best atLate morning

TipThe same ticket family covers the Maritime Museum and the Rupe granary

Map ↗ Website

See the pharmacy inside the Franciscan Monastery

Historic site· Placa 2, 20000 Dubrovnik

The monastery sits just inside Pile Gate, and its Romanesque cloister of paired columns is the calmest space in the old town. The reason to pay in is the pharmacy: founded in 1317 and one of the oldest still operating in Europe, with the original jars, mortars and ledgers next door. The counter at the front still sells creams to the house recipes.

Time45 min

CostTicketed

Best atEarly

TipThe cloister is the exhibit. Sit in it for ten minutes before you look at anything

Map ↗ Website

Walk Stradun end to end

Free· Placa (Stradun), 20000 Dubrovnik

Stradun is the limestone spine of the old town, running from Pile Gate to the bell tower and polished to a shine by five centuries of feet. The buildings on either side are deliberately uniform: the 1667 earthquake flattened the city and the rebuild imposed one facade and one roofline. Onofrio's two fountains are fed by a 1438 aqueduct and both still run.

Time30 min

CostFree

Best atBefore 09:00 or after 19:00

TipFill a bottle at either Onofrio fountain. The tap water here is the aqueduct water

Map

Climb Fort Lovrijenac

Landmark· Ulica od Tabakarije 29, 20000 Dubrovnik

Lovrijenac stands on a 37 metre rock outside the western walls, which is why the Republic could hold it as a second line if the city fell. Over the gate is the inscription Ragusa is remembered by: freedom is not sold for all the gold in the world. The terraces look back at the walls, and in summer the fortress is a festival stage. Entry comes with the walls ticket.

Time45 min

CostIncluded with the walls ticket

Best atLate afternoon

TipKeep the walls ticket. It is valid at Lovrijenac on the same day

Map ↗ Website

Take the ferry to Lokrum

Island· Lokrum ferry, Stara luka (Old Port), 20000 Dubrovnik

Lokrum is 72 hectares of holm oak and pine about 600 metres offshore, protected since 1948 and the third oldest protected area in Croatia. The boat leaves the Old Port and takes fifteen minutes. On the island: a Benedictine monastery with a botanical garden run wild, a warm salt lake called the Dead Sea, peacocks and rock ledges to swim from. Nobody stays overnight.

TimeHalf a day

CostTicketed

Best atMorning, then swim after lunch

TipCheck the time of the last return before you settle in anywhere

Map ↗ Website

Spend an hour in War Photo Limited

Gallery· Antuninska 6, 20000 Dubrovnik

Two floors and 350 square metres of conflict photojournalism in a lane off Stradun, with a permanent room on the wars in the former Yugoslavia and changing exhibitions from further afield. It is the most serious thing in the old town and the least comfortable, and it is the correct counterweight to a day spent photographing the roofs. Not for young children.

Time1 hr

CostTicketed

Best atMidday

TipThe permanent exhibition upstairs is the one to leave time for

Map ↗ Website

Visit the Dominican Monastery and its cloister

Historic site· Ulica Svetog Dominika 4, 20000 Dubrovnik

The Dominicans built against the eastern walls, and the complex is part fortification as a result. The fifteenth century cloister is the finest in the city, and the museum off it holds Dubrovnik school panel painting, reliquaries and a Titian altarpiece of Saint Blaise. It sits beside the Ploče Gate, so it pairs naturally with a walk out to Banje.

Time45 min

CostTicketed

Best atAfternoon

TipCome in from the Ploče end and you get the staircase and the cloister before the church

Map

Swim at Banje, under the walls

Beach· Frana Supila 10, 20000 Dubrovnik

Banje is the old town beach, three minutes on foot from the Ploče Gate, shingle rather than sand and looking straight back at the walls with Lokrum behind you. Half of it is a beach club with loungers for hire and half is free public shore, and the free half is perfectly good. It empties in the evening, when the light on the walls is at its best.

Time2 hr

CostFree on the public section

Best atAfter 17:00

TipWater shoes. The entry is shingle and the shelf drops away quickly

Map

8 of the 10, mapped

Dubrovnik · 8 spots

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Dubrovnik travel FAQ

How many days do you need in Dubrovnik?+

Three. One for the walls, Stradun and the monasteries, one for the cable car and the museums, and one for Lokrum or a swim at Banje. A fourth day buys the Elafiti islands or Ston.

How much does the Dubrovnik city walls walk cost, and how long does it take?+

An adult ticket is €40 and the circuit takes most people 90 minutes to two hours. It is one way, stepped and unshaded, and the ticket also admits you to Fort Lovrijenac on the same day.

When is the best time to visit Dubrovnik?+

May, June, September and October. The sea is warm enough from June and still warm in October, while July and August bring both the heaviest cruise days and the temperatures that make an unshaded wall walk hard work.

Can you swim in Dubrovnik itself?+

Yes. Banje is three minutes from the Ploče Gate, Šulić sits under Fort Lovrijenac at the other end, and the cliff bars on the southern wall have ladders into the sea. Lapad and Babin Kuk have the larger beaches, and Lokrum has the rock ledges.

How do you get from Dubrovnik airport to the old town?+

The airport is at Čilipi, about 20 kilometres southeast. The Platanus shuttle meets flights and runs to the Gruž bus terminal with a stop near Pile, taking around 30 to 40 minutes. Taxis and pre-booked transfers wait outside arrivals.

Where to eat

Best restaurants in Dubrovnik

Six kitchens, from the Michelin room on the harbour wall to a neighbourhood bistro out in Lapad.

All 6 restaurants →

Book ahead

Pile

Nautika

Seafood, fine dining

In the restored nineteenth century Nautical Academy outside Pile Gate, with two terraces facing Fort Lovrijenac.

Map ↗ Website

Since 1886

Old Town

Proto

Fish

A fish restaurant that opened in 1886 at the corner of Široka and Za Rokom, with a first floor terrace over the lane. Grilled whole fish and buzara, done straight.

Map

Michelin star

Old Port

Restaurant 360

Tasting menus

Built into the medieval wall above the old harbour, with the terrace running along St John's Fortress. Chef Marijo Curić holds a Michelin star for 2026.

Map ↗ Website

Terrace

Old Town

Kopun

Croatian

On Ruđer Bošković square at the top of the Jesuit steps, quieter than anything on Stradun. The kitchen works from old Dubrovnik recipes; order the capon it is named for.

Map

Locals

Lapad

Pantarul

Bistro

Out in Lapad, away from the walls entirely, run by a cookbook writer. The menu moves with the season and reads more like home cooking than hotel cooking. Worth the bus.

Map

Casual

Old Town

Barba

Small plates

A counter and a handful of tables in a lane off Stradun doing octopus burgers and squid in a bun. The honest cheap lunch inside the walls, which is otherwise rare.

Map

After dark

Best bars in Dubrovnik

Five places to drink, two of them built into the rock the city stands on.

All 5 bars →

Cash

Old Town

Buža

Cliff bar

Reached through a literal hole in the southern wall, marked only by a hand painted Cold Drinks sign. Concrete ledges, a plastic cup, and the open Adriatic below.

Map

Flights

Old Town

D'Vino Wine Bar

Wine

A narrow room on Palmotićeva pouring Croatian wine by the glass, with flights that are the quickest way to understand Pelješac reds and Korčula whites.

Map

In a cave

Lapad

Cave Bar More

Cocktails

Attached to Hotel More on the Lapad shore, with the back half of the bar inside a natural cave lit from below and a sea terrace out front. The room is the reason to go.

Map

Evenings

Old Town

Troubadour

Live jazz

Behind the cathedral on Bunićeva poljana, the longest running live music bar in the old town. Tables spill into the square and the sets start in the evening.

Map

Swimming

Old Town

Bard Mala Buža

Cliff bar

The lower of the two cliff bars, on the rocks below the southern wall with ladders into the sea. Come in swimming things, order after the swim rather than before.

Map

What to see indoors

Best museums in Dubrovnik

Six collections covering seafaring, the grain pits, the socialist decades and modern painting.

All 6 museums →

In the fortress

Old Town

Maritime Museum

Seafaring

On the upper floors of St John's Fortress at the harbour mouth, tracing Ragusa from a medieval port to a fleet that reached the Atlantic. Models, charts and flags.

Map ↗ Website

Grain pits

Old Town

Ethnographic Museum Rupe

Folk life

A sixteenth century granary whose fifteen dry pits, cut into rock and plastered smooth, held the state grain reserve.

Map ↗ Website

Sea terrace

Ploče

Museum of Modern Art Dubrovnik

Croatian art

A 1930s villa on the coast road east of the walls, holding the city collection of nineteenth and twentieth century Croatian painting. The terrace is half the visit.

Map

Cable car

Srđ

Homeland War Museum

1991 to 1995

Inside Fort Imperial at the top of Srđ, on the ground the defenders held through the siege. Photographs, maps and personal effects, in the building itself.

Map

Private

Gruž

Red History Museum

Yugoslav era

In a former carbon graphite factory in Gruž, covering daily life, design and industry in socialist Croatia between 1945 and 1991.

Map ↗ Website

Small

Old Town

House of Marin Držić

Theatre

A memorial museum to the sixteenth century playwright whose comedies are still staged at the Summer Festival. Twenty minutes, and it makes the programme legible.

Map ↗ Website

Where to swim

Best beaches in Dubrovnik

Four stretches of shore beyond the walls, all of them reachable without a car.

All 4 beaches →

Steps

Ploče

Sveti Jakov

Sand and shingle

East of the old town below a long flight of steps, which is what keeps it quieter than Banje. Afternoon sun, a view back to the walls, and a bar at the bottom.

Map

Families

Babin Kuk

Copacabana

Pebble

On the north shore of the Babin Kuk peninsula, shallow and equipped, with water sports and ramps into the sea. The most practical beach in the city for small children.

Map

Bus 6

Lapad

Uvala Lapad

Bay

At the end of the Lapad promenade, a sheltered bay with a pedestrian street of cafes running down to it. Faces west, so it holds the light until late.

Map

Small

Pile

Šulić

Cove

A short shingle cove in Kolorina bay directly under Fort Lovrijenac, five minutes from Pile Gate. Tiny, so it fills fast, but no other swim is this close to the walls.

Map

Where to base yourself

Best neighborhoods in Dubrovnik

Four districts, and what each one costs you in walking time.

All 4 neighborhoods →

No cars

Old Town

Stari Grad

The walled town

Inside the walls: limestone lanes, steep stairs, no vehicles and no quiet in high season. Everything is ten minutes from everything else, and luggage goes by hand.

Map

Views

Ploče

East of the gate

The coast road running east from the Ploče Gate, holding the grand hotels, the Museum of Modern Art and Banje beach. Five minutes from the walls.

Map

Bus 6

Lapad

Green peninsula

Twenty minutes out by bus, with pine, a promenade, the swimming bay and prices that are not set by the old town. Where most people who are staying a week end up.

Map

Ferries

Gruž

Port and market

The working harbour: ferry berths, the bus terminal, the morning fish and produce market and the everyday restaurants that come with all three. The most useful base.

Map

Within reach

Best day trips in Dubrovnik

Six trips between forty minutes and two hours from the old town or the port at Gruž.

All 6 day trips →

Half or full day

By ferry

Elafiti Islands

Koločep, Lopud, Šipan

Three inhabited islands northwest of the city, reached from Gruž. Koločep and Lopud are car free, Lopud has the best sand at Šunj, and Šipan is the largest and emptiest.

Map ↗ Website

Car or bus

55 km northwest

Ston and the Pelješac peninsula

Walls and oysters

Ston keeps the longest defensive wall in Europe after Hadrian's, built from 1358 to guard the salt pans.

Map ↗ Website

Boat or bus

18 km southeast

Cavtat

Harbour town

A quieter waterfront on the way to the airport, with the Račić mausoleum by Meštrović on the hill and the Bukovac house in the lanes. Bus 10 runs year round.

Map ↗ Website

Bus 12, 15, 21, 22

25 km northwest

Trsteno Arboretum

Renaissance garden

The oldest arboretum in this part of Europe, laid out around a villa built between 1494 and 1502 and now run by the Croatian Academy.

Map ↗ Website

Full day

By catamaran

Mljet National Park

Island lakes

The western third of Mljet is the oldest marine protected area in the Mediterranean: two salt lakes, a monastery on an islet, and a path around both.

Map ↗ Website

Passport

90 km southeast

Kotor, Montenegro

Across the border

The bay behaves like a fjord and the walled town at the end of it is Dubrovnik's Venetian cousin, with a fortress staircase up the cliff.

Map ↗ Wimup guide

On screen

Best film locations in Dubrovnik

Four places you have already seen, from King’s Landing to Canto Bight.

All 4 film locations →

Free

Old Town

Jesuit Stairs

Cersei's walk of shame

The baroque flight up to St Ignatius church, built in the 1730s, stood in for the steps of the Great Sept in Game of Thrones. It is on the way to Kopun.

Map

Free

Pile

Gradac Park

The Purple Wedding

A pine park on the headland west of the walls, where Joffrey's wedding feast was staged. It is also a good place to sit with the sea below.

Map

Free

Old Town

Stradun

Canto Bight

Star Wars: The Last Jedi filmed its casino city chase on the main street in March 2016, with the set dressing going up around ordinary Dubrovnik traffic.

Map

Walls ticket

City walls

Minčeta Tower

House of the Undying

The round tower at the highest point of the walls played the entrance to the warlocks' house in Qarth. It is also the steepest climb on the circuit.

Map

What's on

Festivals & annual events in Dubrovnik (2026)

Time your trip around the city's biggest dates.

Feb

Feast of Saint Blaise

The patron saint's day, kept on 3 February and held every year since 972. The relics go along Stradun; UNESCO lists the rite.

Feb

Dubrovnik Carnival

Masked parades, children's costume days and a party on Stradun in the run up to Lent, so the dates move with Easter.

Apr

Du Motion Runners’ Days

A late April race weekend built around a half marathon and a two kilometre run along the top of the walls, the only time allowed.

Apr

Dubrovnik FestiWine

A wine week for the region, traditionally the last weekend of April: guided tastings, pairings and vineyard trips to Pelješac.

Jun

Midsummer Scene

Shakespeare in English on the terraces of Fort Lovrijenac, the only English language theatre festival in southeast Europe.

Jul

Dubrovnik Summer Festival

The 77th edition ran from 10 July to 25 August 2026, with more than 2,000 artists.

Oct

Good Food Festival

Two weeks of restaurant menus, chef dinners and tastings, from 5 to 18 October in 2026.

Dec

Advent in Dubrovnik

Lights the length of Stradun, market stalls on the squares, choirs and a concert in front of the bell tower.

Getting around

Dubrovnik transport & airports

How to arrive and move around the city.

DBV

Dubrovnik Airport

Ruđer Bošković Airport sits at Čilipi, about 20 kilometres southeast of the old town. The Platanus shuttle meets flights and runs to the Gruž terminal with a stop near Pile, in 30 to 40 minutes.

Map ↗ Website

Libertas

City buses

Libertas runs the city network, and everything converges on Pile Gate and the Gruž terminal. The useful lines link the old town with Lapad, Babin Kuk and Mokošica. Validate on board.

Map ↗ Website

Gruž

Ferries and catamarans

The port at Gruž is where the islands start: Jadrolinija runs the Elafiti services, and seasonal catamarans reach Mljet, Korčula, Hvar and Split. The Lokrum boat leaves from the Old Port.

Map ↗ Website

Walking

On foot, and no trains

There is no railway to Dubrovnik: the Croatian network stops at Ploče, 100 kilometres up the coast. Inside the walls nothing moves on wheels, and every address here is walkable from Stradun.

Map

Traditional food

Must-try dishes in Dubrovnik, Croatia

The classics to order before you leave.

Zelena menestra

The Dubrovnik dish: cured pork and sheep meat simmered slowly with cabbage and potato.

Šporki makaruli

Dirty macaroni: pasta dressed only in the sauce from a long beef stew.

Ston oysters

European flat oysters farmed in Mali Ston Bay, an hour up the coast, and served raw with nothing but lemon.

Crni rižot

Black risotto, cut with cuttlefish ink until it stains everything it touches.

Buzara

A method rather than a recipe: shellfish opened in white wine, olive oil, garlic and breadcrumbs.

Peka

Meat or octopus and potatoes cooked under an iron bell buried in embers.

Rožata

The city dessert, a set custard in the crème caramel family, distinguished by a spoon of rose liqueur.

Arancini

Candied orange peel, boiled and rolled in sugar, sold in paper bags in the market.

Dubrovnik fact sheet

Dubrovnik at a glance

The essentials worth knowing before you go.

Country

Croatia

Region

Dalmatia, Dubrovnik-Neretva County

Population

41,562 (2021 census)

Founded

Settled by the 7th century, as Ragusa

Nickname

Pearl of the Adriatic

Language

Croatian

Currency

Euro (€), adopted 1 January 2023

Time zone

CET (UTC+1), CEST in summer

Calling code

+385 20

Airports

Dubrovnik (DBV), 20 km southeast at Čilipi

Power

Type C and F, 230 V

Emergency

112

Ideal length

3 days

Getting around

On foot inside the walls, Libertas buses beyond them

Tourism board

Official site

Interesting facts

The Republic of Ragusa governed itself from 1358 until Napoleon abolished it in 1808, electing a rector for one month at a time.
On 27 July 1377 the Major Council ordered arrivals from a plague area to spend a month on Mrkan or at Cavtat first.
On 27 January 1416 the same council banned the slave trade and the carrying of slaves by ship, with prison for any captain who broke it.
The old city has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1979. It went onto the danger list after the 1991 shelling until 1998.
Game of Thrones used the city as King's Landing from its second season, and The Last Jedi turned Stradun into Canto Bight in 2016.

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