Insight Guides - Insight Guides: Explore Dubrovnik

How To Use This E-Book

This Explore Guide has been produced by the editors of Insight Guides, whose books have set the standard for visual travel guides since 1970. With top-quality photography and authoritative recommendations, these guidebooks bring you the very best routes and itineraries in the worlds most exciting destinations.

Best Routes

The routes in this book provide something to suit all budgets, tastes and trip lengths. As well as covering the destinations many classic attractions, the itineraries track lesser-known sights, and there are also excursions for those who want to extend their visit outside the city. The routes embrace a range of interests, so whether you are an art fan, a gourmet, a history buff or have kids to entertain, you will find an option to suit.

We recommend reading the whole of a route before setting out. This should help you to familiarise yourself with it and enable you to plan where to stop for refreshments options are shown in the Food and Drink box at the end of each tour.

Introduction

The routes are set in context by this introductory section, giving an overview of the destination to set the scene, plus background information on food and drink, shopping and more, while a succinct history timeline highlights the key events over the centuries.

Directory

Also supporting the routes is a Directory chapter, with a clearly organised AZ of practical information, our pick of where to stay while you are there and select restaurant listings; these eateries complement the more low-key cafs and restaurants that feature within the routes and are intended to offer a wider choice for evening dining. Also included here are some nightlife listings, plus a handy language guide and our recommendations for books and films about the destination.

Getting around the e-book

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights mentioned in the text are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map] just tap this to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

Youll find lots of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of the destination. Simply double-tap on an image to see it full-screen.

2015 Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

Table of Contents

Recommended Routes For...

Back to nature

Revel in the greenery of the National Park in Mljet ().

Dominic Burdon/APA Publications

Best views

A walk around the City Walls () for glimpses of the Elaphite Islands.

Dominic Burdon/APA Publications

Escaping the crowds

Hop on a boat to pretty Cavtat () on the way to Trsteno for a waterside lunch.

IStock

Foodies

Head out to Mali Ston () and sample some of the regions top wines.

Corrie Wingate/Apa Publications

History buffs

Breathtaking and beautifully preserved Renaissance architecture surrounds you on a wander through the Old Town ().

Dominic Burdon/APA Publications

Island hopping

Choose from a short jaunt to Lokrum ().

Dominic Burdon/APA Publications

Seaside fun

Clamber among the rocks and pebbly beaches of Lapad and Babin Kuk () is the citys beach, with great views of the old port.

IStock

Street life

Join the strollers along the main Stradun thoroughfare ().

Dominic Burdon/APA Publications

A kayak tour in the Old Town

AWL Images

Explore Dubrovnik

Behind the fairy-tale faade of Dubrovniks medieval walls lies a city of inexhaustible beauty. Its as beguiling now as when Lord Byron clapped eyes on it two centuries ago and called it the Pearl of the Adriatic.

Framed by the deep blue waters of the Adriatic Sea, the glittering former Republic of Ragusa enjoys one of the most dramatic settings along Croatias Dalmatian coast. Dubrovnik was once a powerful maritime trading port, and this Unesco World Heritage Site still shows an independent spirit born of centuries of keeping an eye on its enemies with a clever combination of diplomacy and hefty fortifications.

Within its medieval protective walls are shimmering marble streets lined with green-shuttered stone houses. Its two most impressive buildings the Rectors Palace and Sponza Palace survived the devastating earthquake of 1667 that destroyed much of its Venetian Gothic and Renaissance architecture. The remade baroque city took another battering as recently as 1991, when Serbian and Montenegrin forces besieged Dubrovnik during the bitter Yugoslav civil war. With admirable speed, the city was repaired once again, showing few scars apart from the tell-tale brightness of newer terracotta roof tiles.

Nowadays, the only sieges are from the large groups of cruise passengers and coach parties that throng the streets during the day. Come late afternoon, the caf tables that fill the lanes and squares hum with contented coffee drinkers happy to reclaim the city from the day-trippers. Warm summer evenings bring a magical ambience, with music drifting from classical concerts being held in historic buildings. In the many outdoor restaurants, diners feast on plates of fresh seafood before they head off to the bars tucked into the narrow streets off Stradun.