The weather was perfect that day in the Adriatic Coast. It was quite cold when I left Central Europe to visit some places and countries in the Balkans, also known as Southeast Europe or the Balkan Peninsula but in Dubrovnik, it was sunny and quite hot. The night before our trip to Dubrovnik, we had an overnight in Biograd na Moru, also a town in Croatia.

Croatia.DudrovnikDSC_0446.©RB Fotos
The Placa Stradun in Dubrovnik, Croatia. You can see the bell Tower at the end of the street.
We stayed in a 4-star hotel named Kornati.  My room was  fine  and I have a good view of the water.  Breakfast and dinner were good and was all in buffet form.  i love the foods in Croatia especially the seafoods served everyday. I set my alarm at 6:00 AM to get ready for breakfast. Our bus will leave at 8:00 for our next destination which was actually Budva, the most famous vacation getaway in Montenegro. On the way to this town, we were given a 2-hour sightseeing in Dubrovnik. Well, it was not really enough to explore the walled-city of Dubrovnik but I was happy because it was included in the itinerary.

Croatia.Dubrovnik. DSC_0493.©RB Fotos
After the bus dropped us near one of the gates, I did not wasted my time and went immediately inside this walled-city. I thought I can only this city in my travel book or in a travel reportage in television or in my friends’ photo albums in facebook, but I was there and experienced the city myself.

Here are some of the beautiful sights not to miss when visiting Dubrovnik.

Placa Stradun, (Old town). This is the central street of the city of Dubrovnik. This is the place where the old city comes to life. I ha d a great time walking on this street. There were so many tourists during our visit. Well, what can you expect in Croatia’s most visited city. During the day, explore the shades of the peripendicular streets and alleys on its sides, and during the night, take walks up and down the Stradun with an ice-cream in hand.

Sponza Palace, located on the West of the Bell Tower. It is a Gothic Renaissance palace and one of the few buildings that has maintained its form from before the catastrophic 1667 earthquake. Hosts historic archives. Memorial room of defenders. I want to go inside this building but since our time was limited, I just took a view from outside.

Bell Tower, after the Ploče entrance to the city. On top of the tower are the famous ‘Zelenci’ (The Green Ones), bronze statues which strike the gigantic bell every hour. They have been recently replaced with copies and the originals are in the atrium of the Sponza Palace.

Pile Gate, at the western end of the Placa Thoroughfare (Stradun) (Old town). This is a convenient starting place for your stroll through the Old Town. Before entering the Old Town, Fort Lovrjenac, the first among many sites worth seeing in Dubrovnik, provides a good view of the Old Town and its wall. This was where I spent some time viewing the beautiful scene of the walled-city of Dubrovnik.

City walls– I miss a walk around the city walls due to limited time. This is also the place where you can have great views of the Old Town. It is highly recommended to visit the walls during the early morning hours or the late afternoon hours during mid-summer months as it can become hot.

Big Onofrio´s Fountain. Located in the western Pile  entrance of the old town, The fountain stairs are nowadays a favourite meeting place for local youth and where both the tourists and pigeons take rest and refresh themselves with cool water.

For your information, the city of Dubrovnik joined the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1979. I did not had enough time during my visit in this city. I hope one day I can visit it again.

Cheers and have safe travels!