Dubrovnik City Walls

Walking the walls is the one thing nobody should skip in Dubrovnik, and the reason is simple: from the ramparts the city makes sense in a way it never does from the street. The defences of the old Republic of Ragusa run for close to two kilometres around the entire Old Town, rising highest on the landward side, where the walls are thickest and the great round Minčeta Tower crowns the northwest corner, and dropping to sea walls built straight onto the rock on the south, where the water below is a startling clear blue. Most of what you walk was built and rebuilt between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, when the threat of Ottoman and Venetian attack kept the Republic investing in stone; the result is one of the most complete medieval fortification systems in Europe and the centrepiece of the Old Town UNESCO World Heritage Site. The circuit takes you past the bastions of Bokar and St John, above the old harbour, over the rooftops and laundry lines of residential lanes, alongside little orchards and basketball courts tucked inside the walls, and past cafe terraces where you can stop for a cold drink with a view of Lokrum. The walls are managed by the Society of Friends of Dubrovnik Antiquities, which uses the revenue to restore monuments across the region. The ticket is expensive by European standards, it allows one circuit with no re-entry, and it also covers Fort Lovrijenac on its own rock outside the walls, so do both on the same day. There are three entrances: by the Pile Gate, which is the busiest, near the Ploče Gate, and by St John's Fortress at the old port. Shade is scarce, so in summer the first hour after opening and the last hours of the day are the only sensible times.

The walls are also the best history lesson in the city. Ragusa survived as an independent republic from the late Middle Ages until Napoleon's forces ended it in 1808, and it did so by being rich, neutral and very well defended; the land walls were thickened and the towers added as cannon replaced siege ladders, and the fortifications were never breached by an enemy army. They were tested again in the siege of 1991 and 1992, when shells hit the Old Town hundreds of times; the damage was repaired with original techniques, and a map near the Pile Gate shows where the strikes fell. As you walk, the newer, brighter roof tiles mark the houses that had to be re-roofed after the bombardment, a quiet record that is impossible to unsee once someone points it out.

Practicalities matter here more than almost anywhere. The ticket is valid for a single tour, re-entry is not allowed, and the closing time is also the last entry time, so do not arrive at the gate ten minutes before closing expecting to walk the full circuit. Winter hours run from the start of November to the end of March and are much shorter than in summer; the walls are open every day of the year except Christmas Day. Payment at the entrances is generally by card, and the official webshop sells tickets in advance. Children under seven go free, and students with recognised cards get a reduction. The Dubrovnik Pass includes one walls entry along with city museums and buses, which makes it good value if you plan to see the Rector's Palace too. Follow the posted direction of travel, wear proper shoes for the steep, polished steps, carry water and a hat, and allow about two hours at an unhurried pace.

Strategy for the best walk: enter at the Pile Gate right at opening and climb to Minčeta first, while the light is soft and before the cruise passengers arrive, then follow the circuit round to the sea walls, saving the old port views for the second half. If you are in town on a big cruise day, walk late in the afternoon instead, when the day visitors have returned to their ships and the stone has started to glow. Photographers should pause on the stretch above the old harbour for the classic view of the port and the Dominican Monastery, and on the southern sea walls for the rooftop panorama. After the walk, cross to Lovrijenac on the same ticket for the view back at everything you have just walked.