Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik City Tour
Dubrovnik Cable Car
City Walls Tour
Lokrum island

 After an evening flight to Dubrovnik we reached the   Hilton Imperial Hotel outside the city gate in Dubrovnik.

The hotel was in an excellent location and I didn't see any other options nearby.
A picturesque cove just outside the hotel.
The most recognizable feature which defines the physiognomy of the historic city of Dubrovnik and gives it its characteristic appearance, famous all over the world, are its intact city walls, which run uninterrupted for 1940 meters encircling the city.

Built mostly in the 14th and 15 centuries the walls were never breeched by an invaders or destroyed by cannon fire which was the fate of most city walls.


The Stradun or Placa is the main street of the town. It stretches between the two town gates, the gate of Pile and Ploče.

All the houses were built on the Stradun after an earthquake hit the city in 1667 year and have a similar layout, facade and height.

I was not really prepared for how spectacular Dubrovnik is.  Once you enter through the main gate there is a medieval town spread out before you.  Seemingly unchanged for 500 years except for modern utilities that are nicely hidden.
Immediately upon entering the main street is the Franciscan Monetary.

The Franciscan Monastery is built in the transitional Romanesque-Gothic style. The construction started in 1337. In 1667 it was completely destroyed in the Great Earthquake.

The door with Pieta at Stradun is the only thing left from the original church after it has been rebuilt.

At the end of the Stradun is the Church of St. Blaise

St. Blaise Church was originally built in the 14th-century but this was badly damaged in the 1667 earthquake and finally destroyed by a fire in 1706. The church was rebuilt in its present baroque style between 1706 and 1714.

The only surviving remnant of that church was a 15th-century statue of St Blaise who holds a model of medieval Dubrovnik in his hand. The statue is now incorporated into the main altar.
An archway near St. Blaise leads to the small harbor where you can get tour boats to the various islands near Dubrovnik.
Another street view of Dubrovnik.
Off the Stradun are several parallel streets of less width but no less interesting that more or less run the length of Dubrovnik.
Took a ride on the cable car to the top of the mountain overlooking Dubrovnik.  The views from the top are spectacular.

You get a nice view of all of old Dubrovnik and the city walls.

The next morning we took a walk along the city walls.  The walls surround the city and provide panoramic views of the city and the surrounding countryside and waters.

This view is looking seaward over the main gate.  The flooded lowland between the mainland and  the rock outcropping on the seaside of Dubrovnik was filled in to create land for the main part of the town. 
A view looking down the main street from the city walls near the main gate.  The Franciscan Monetary is to the left.  The archway to the harbor is at the upper end of the street.
Another view of the city walls surrounding Dubrovnik.
A good view of the city walls and the fort protecting the main gate can be seen here. 
  A good view of the harbor is captured in this photo.
Outside the walls some of the town of Dubrovnik. 

The Imperial Hilton is the large building on the upper right of the photo.
This view is looking northward along the coast form the city walls.

It's all just so incredibly blue. 
That afternoon we decided to take a boat to the island of Lokrum that is probably less than a mile from the harbor.


Maryann and Donna joined Peggi and I on this expedition.  Rick and Denise came along also.

The rest of the group took another excursion boat along the coast.
This is the excursion boat docked at the small harbor in  Lokrum.
We toured through the ruins of the 15thcentury Franciscan Monastery and the surrounding gardens.
We make our way to the far side of the island to go swimming. 

So in Croatia people swim nude or nearly nude.  This is cool except when all the Croatian woman on the beach are older than me and I'm 64.  Yikes!
A seaward view of Dubrovnik from the Lokrum tour boat on the way back to Dubrovnik. 

Go to Hvar

Go back to the beginning page