Stradun and the Old Town

Stradun, officially the Placa, is the spine of the Old Town and the first thing you see after walking through the Pile Gate: a broad, perfectly straight street of pale limestone paving, worn so smooth that it gleams after rain, running about three hundred metres to the bell tower and the old port. It looks this way because of a catastrophe. The earthquake of 1667 destroyed most of the city, and Stradun was rebuilt in a single, sober Baroque style, with matching stone houses whose ground-floor doors and shop windows share the same arched frame. At the western end stands the Large Onofrio Fountain, a fifteenth-century domed cistern with sixteen carved stone masks that still pour drinkable water from the aqueduct built for the Republic; at the eastern end you reach Luža Square, with the Small Onofrio Fountain, the City Bell Tower, the Gothic-Renaissance Sponza Palace, which served as customs house and mint, the Baroque Church of St Blaise, the city's patron saint, and Orlando's Column, the stone knight that once marked the place where laws were proclaimed and the Republic's flag flew. From there the Rector's Palace, the Cathedral and Gundulić Square, with its morning market, are steps away. Narrow, stepped lanes climb off Stradun on both sides, north toward Prijeko street and the walls, south toward the Jesuit Staircase and the sea, and the real pleasure of the Old Town is losing yourself in them. It is all free to wander. The challenge is the crowds: on big cruise days the street is solid from mid-morning to late afternoon, so walk it early, in the evening, or out of season, when it belongs to the people who live here.

The best way to understand the Old Town is to walk it twice, once early and once late. At about eight in the morning, Stradun is washed clean, delivery trolleys rattle over the stone, locals take coffee standing at the bars, and Gundulić Square is filling with market stalls selling dried figs, candied orange peel, lavender and lace. This is the hour to look up at the architecture, to drink from Onofrio's Fountain, and to slip into the Franciscan Monastery cloister at the Pile end as it opens. Return after sunset and the street turns golden under the lamps, the cafes spill onto the squares, and the stepped lanes fill with the sound of dinner. Between those times, especially when several cruise ships are in, consider retreating to the walls, the beaches or the islands.

Some rules of the road. The Old Town is a living neighbourhood with a shrinking number of residents, and the city has run campaigns asking visitors to respect it: no swimwear or bare chests in the streets, no sitting on monument steps to eat, and some patience with the rolling suitcases that echo through the lanes when you arrive. Restaurants on Stradun itself are mostly aimed at passing trade; the better meals are a few lanes away, and Prijeko street, parallel to Stradun on the north side, is lined with terraces that are good for people-watching if not for cooking. The steep lanes also hide small museums and churches, including the Dominican Monastery by the Ploče Gate and the Synagogue on Žudioska street, one of the oldest in Europe still in use.

Know the calendar. On 3 February the city celebrates the Feast of St Blaise, a festival inscribed on UNESCO's intangible heritage list, with processions, relics and flags on Orlando's Column. From early July to late August the Dubrovnik Summer Festival turns the squares, palaces and forts into open-air stages for theatre and music. In winter, the town is quiet, the light is low and beautiful, and many restaurants close for a few weeks, but the Advent season brings lights, stalls and a festive mood to Stradun. Whatever the season, start at the Pile Gate, finish at the old port, and give yourself time to get lost in between.