1 destination · 10 things to do

Montenegro

Kotor is the walled town at the very end of the Bay of Kotor, where grey limestone mountains drop almost straight into still green water and a medieval Venetian port sits tucked beneath them like something kept safe. Its Old Town is a tight knot of marble lanes, small squares, Romanesque churches and sea captains’ palaces, protected with the whole bay as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, and above it the city walls zigzag up the mountainside to the Fortress of St John, 260 metres above the rooftops. Around the bay lie the stone villages that grew rich on shipping: Baroque Perast, with its tall bell tower and the island church of Our Lady of the Rocks just offshore, and quiet harbours where locals still swim from the quays. Over the mountain is Lovćen National Park and the mausoleum of the poet-prince Njegoš; down the coast are Budva’s old town and the island village of Sveti Stefan. This guide shows you how to climb the walls without the midday heat and the cruise crowds, which boat trips are worth it, how to fit Perast, Budva and Lovćen around Kotor, and which hotel suits your trip, from palace rooms on the Old Town squares to a resort on the water.