The ticket is valid for one circuit and re-entry is not possible, which turns a simple walk into a decision: which gate you start at, which hour you pick, and how much water you carry.
Checked: 31 August 2026
The walls run just under two kilometres around the old town and are walked in one direction only. The rule that shapes everything else is on the ticket itself: it is valid for a single circuit, and once you leave you cannot come back in on it. There is no stepping off for lunch and returning, and no turning back if the queue at a tower looks long.
Hours and the rules that matter
- Open from 8:00 in the morning, with the closing hour moving with the season; in summer the last entry is in the evening.
- One ticket, one circuit. Re-entry is not possible, so plan the whole loop in one go.
- Children have to be accompanied by an adult for the whole walk.
- Residents of Dubrovnik-Neretva County show an identity card at the entrance for the local rate.
Where to start
Three entrances lead up: Pile at the western end of the Stradun, St Luke near Ploče in the east, and the one by the St Dominic monastery. Pile is the busiest because it sits where the tour groups arrive, so starting at one of the other two puts you ahead of the crowd rather than inside it for the first half. Whichever you choose, the walk finishes where it started, so the choice is about traffic and not about the route.
The hour decides the walk
There is almost no shade up there. Stone underfoot, stone at shoulder height, sun on both. In July and August the wall becomes an oven by ten in the morning, and the only comfortable slots are the first hour after opening and the last hour before closing, when the light on the roofs is better anyway. Between November and March the same walk is a pleasure at midday, and the old town below is genuinely empty.
Watch
Dubrovnik on video
A short official city film to help you picture the place before you go.
Dubrovnik and time
Frequently asked questions
- Can you leave the walls and come back?
- No. The ticket is valid for one tour and re-entry is not possible, so the full circuit has to be walked in one go.
- How long does the walk take?
- The circuit is just under two kilometres. Walked without stopping it takes about an hour; with photographs, the towers and the two forts along the way, most people spend closer to two.
- What is the best time of day?
- In summer, the first hour after opening at 8am or the last hour before closing. There is almost no shade on the wall and it holds the heat from mid morning. From November to March midday is the comfortable slot.
Make Croatia Atlas a preferred source
One click and Google shows you our stories more often in Top Stories and in AI answers. It changes your own results only.
