A two-kilometre wall walk, a marble main street and an island of peacocks. How to see Dubrovnik before the crowds do.
Checked: 28 August 2026
Dubrovnik is the only city in Europe you can still walk around on top of its complete medieval walls: 1,940 metres of ramparts, towers and sea wind, with the whole old town below you like a model of itself. For five centuries the Republic of Ragusa bought its freedom with diplomacy and silver while empires fought around it, and the walls are the reason it worked. Walk them first, everything else in Dubrovnik makes sense from above.
The essentials
- City walls: two hours on top, one direction only, buy the first slot of the day
- Stradun: the marble main street, polished by centuries of feet, glowing after rain
- Rector's Palace: the republic's seat, where the rector served one month and could not leave the building
- Lovrijenac: the fortress on the cliff outside the walls, Hamlet's stage and the Red Keep of Game of Thrones
- Srđ: 412 metres above town by cable car or zigzag trail, best an hour before sunset
- Lokrum: fifteen minutes by boat, botanical gardens, peacocks and a salt lake for swimming
How to beat the crowds
Dubrovnik has two cities a day: the cruise city between ten and five, and the real one before and after. Walk the walls at eight, take Stradun and the lanes in the evening when the stone glows amber under the lanterns. The steep side lanes north of Stradun stay quiet even in August, and the Buža bars, holes in the sea wall with tables on the cliffs, serve drinks with the Adriatic under your feet. Swim at Banje below the old town, or better on Lokrum. May and September give the city back its proportions.
“Those who seek paradise on earth should come to Dubrovnik.”
Watch
Dubrovnik on video
A short official city film to help you picture the place before you go.
Dubrovnik and time
Frequently asked questions
- How expensive is the wall walk?
- It is one of the priciest tickets in Croatia. The Dubrovnik Pass includes the walls and the main museums, so it pays for itself with the wall walk alone.
- When is Dubrovnik least crowded?
- Before ten and after five, whatever the month; May and September as seasons. Check the cruise schedule and pick a day with few ships.
- Where were the Game of Thrones scenes shot?
- King's Landing is the old town itself: Lovrijenac as the Red Keep, the Jesuit stairs as the walk of shame, the walls and Pile as backdrops.
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