Fort Lovrijenac

Lovrijenac stands on its own rock just west of the Old Town, rising sheer from the sea, and it is the fortress that guarded the city's western approach from both land and water. According to the city's chronicles, the Venetians planned to build a fort on this rock in the early eleventh century, and the people of Ragusa beat them to it, raising their own fortress in a matter of months; the earliest written record dates to 1301, and the structure you see today was strengthened over the following centuries. The walls facing the open sea are enormously thick, up to about twelve metres, while the wall facing the city is thin, a deliberate design so that if a commander ever turned the fort against the Republic, the city's guns could knock it down. Above the entrance is the inscription that sums up Ragusa: Non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro, freedom is not sold for all the gold in the world. Inside, a triangular courtyard is ringed by arches, with stairs up to the cannon terraces and the roof, where the views across the water to the walls, the Bokar bastion and Minčeta Tower are among the finest in Dubrovnik. The fortress has a second life as a theatre: productions of Hamlet staged here have become a symbol of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, and the courtyard is one of the festival's most dramatic venues. Game of Thrones fans know it as a key King's Landing location, used for scenes around the Red Keep. Entry is included in the City Walls ticket, which makes it an easy add-on, and the climb from the Pile area takes about five minutes.

Most visitors do Lovrijenac on the same day as the walls, either before or after the circuit, and the order matters less than the light. In the morning, the sun falls on the fortress and the bay of Kolorina below it, which looks good from the walls; in the late afternoon, the light swings round onto the city walls and Bokar, so the view from Lovrijenac back toward the Old Town is at its best. The approach is a short but steep climb up stone steps from the little cove beside the Pile Gate, so it can be hot in summer. Once inside, the fortress is compact: you can see it in thirty to forty-five minutes, but it is worth lingering on the top terrace.

Ticketing is simple if you know the rule: the City Walls ticket includes Lovrijenac, but a Lovrijenac-only ticket does not include the walls. Unless you are certain you will skip the walls, buy the walls ticket and use it for both. The fort keeps similar seasonal hours to the walls, with shorter opening in winter, and it may close to visitors when festival rehearsals or events are taking place in summer. If you are in Dubrovnik between July and August, check the Summer Festival programme for performances in the courtyard; a night of theatre on this rock above the sea is unforgettable.

Below the fortress, the small coves of Kolorina and Pile are where locals swim and where kayak tours often set off or pass by, and the rocky shore toward Danče and Bellevue offers swimming away from the Old Town crowds. The road above Pile is also where the best wide photograph of both Lovrijenac and the western walls can be taken. For Game of Thrones fans, combine the fort with the Pile Gate, the Jesuit Staircase and the Minčeta Tower to cover the main King's Landing sights in one walk.