Croatia Europe

Wandering Through Dubrovnik’s Old City

November 19, 2016

Pile Gate Old City Dubrovnik Old City Dubrovnik Old City Dubrovnik Cats Minceta Tower Old City Dubrovnik Cats in Old City Dubrovnik Minceta Tower Old City Dubrovnik

Old City Dubrovnik

Old City Dubrovnik was one of my favourite places to explore in Dubrovnik. It’s encased inside the huge City Walls and filled with buildings with terracotta coloured roofs, restaurants, shops and houses. It’s so lovely to walk around and discover the tiny little alleyways or the many many steps to the north entrance.

Old City Dubrovnik Old City Dubrovnik Old City Dubrovnik Old City Dubrovnik Old City Dubrovnik Old City Dubrovnik Old City Dubrovnik Old City Dubrovnik Fountain Old City Dubrovnik Cats in Old City Dubrovnik

It’s actually a UNESCO World Heritage site and has been damaged many times in the past. Once by an earthquake in 1667 and then throughout the war in the early 1990’s, but has been amazingly restored.

There’s two main entrances into the Old City – Pile Gate and Ploce Gate. Pile Gate was built around 1537 and is the one that most people into the City enter through, especially if you’re coming from the Lovrijenac Fortress. The gates are so beautiful – back in the day they used to have drawbridges there for protection, but now they’re just concrete bridges leading into the city.

Storm Old City Dubrovnik Cats in Old City Dubrovnik Arsenal Taverna Seafood Risotto, Dubrovnik Pile Gate Old City Dubrovnik Old City Dubrovnik Walls

One of our other favourite parts of the Old City was the Old Port. On our last day, we spent most of our time here watching the boats rocking in the waves before heading around the corner to a little pier. There’s also a mini ‘beach’ area hidden around there with ladders from the smooth rocks to the sea. I could have spent hours wandering around the Old City, as it was just so beautiful, though one of my favourite things was that it was filled with cats! Sadly, I didn’t want to stroke any just incase, but I loved watching them just wandering around.

If you’re looking for good food around the Old City, we loved Dubravka 1836 which is just outside the Pile Gate. On our last day we had lunch at Arsenal Taverna which was pretty good too (and it had the most amazing views across the Old Port). I really wanted to eat at LAJK Restaurant too, but we just never got the time to fit it in!

  • Reply
    Darina
    November 19, 2016 at 2:21 pm

    Beautiful city and photos!

  • Reply
    Lucy
    November 20, 2016 at 7:37 pm

    Ooh I can see the makings of a perfect day here.. lazing on those rocks, clambering into the sea, having a good lunch.. I’m convinced! It’s on the ever-expanding wishlist xxx
    Lucy @ La Lingua | Life, Travel, Italy

    • Reply
      April
      November 22, 2016 at 7:05 am

      Haha, you have to visit! It’s so beautiful!
      xo April

  • Reply
    Maria
    November 20, 2016 at 8:35 pm

    Dubrovnik looks so wonderful.. and oh, the cats! 😛
    Did you see any of the sites that were used for filming Game of Thrones..?
    Cheers,
    Maria

    • Reply
      April
      November 22, 2016 at 7:07 am

      I’ve never actually watched GoT so I personally didn’t recognize any sites from it, but there were tour guides everywhere for those that wanted to go see all the sites from the filming. Apparently there’s quite a few!
      xo April

  • Reply
    Georgina Goodman
    November 21, 2016 at 10:27 am

    These photos are great! I visited for a day on a cruise but I’d love to go back and explore properly!

    http://www.georginadoes.co.uk

    • Reply
      April
      November 22, 2016 at 7:40 am

      Oh I love cruises because you can see where you’d like to go back to again haha! I’d love to do one of those sailing cruises along the coast of Croatia – they look amazing!
      xo April

  • Reply
    Rox-Anne
    November 21, 2016 at 4:53 pm

    What an incredible place! Adding this to my travel bucket list right now! xx Rox-Anne, Celebratingthislife.ca

    • Reply
      April
      November 22, 2016 at 7:41 am

      Yay! It’s such a lovely place to explore, so I hope you get to go one day!
      xo April

  • Reply
    Fariha
    November 22, 2016 at 4:36 pm

    This place looks lovely and your photos are wonderful! I love seeing cats whenever I travel to new cities. I feel like they make me feel more comfortable haha. Thanks for sharing your experience 🙂

    Fariha | http://blog.farihawajid.com

    • Reply
      April
      November 28, 2016 at 7:34 am

      It’s always good when there’s cats around hah!
      xo April

  • Reply
    Julie
    November 23, 2016 at 6:58 pm

    I’m so jealous! Croatia is soo high on my bucket list but sadly, I’ve yet to go… Beautiful pictures – love all the kitties featured!

    • Reply
      April
      November 28, 2016 at 7:35 am

      You have to visit! It’s been one of my mum’s favourite countries since they visited a couple years ago, and I can definitely see why! I really want to go back next year and see more of the country!
      xo April

  • Reply
    Donné
    June 16, 2017 at 12:40 am

    Hi April,

    Thanks for the beautiful post! I’m looking for a clean, comfortable room in a decent hostel/lodge in Dubrovnik. Is it better to stay outside of the walled city? I’m a budget traveler. Do you have any advice? The information on the net can be overwhelming. Thanks so much, Donné

    • Reply
      April
      June 16, 2017 at 7:08 am

      Hey! I don’t have any suggestions of actual places to stay (we stayed in a private apartment via airbnb) but I’d definitely recommend staying near to the Old City, but not in it. We found prices to be crazy expensive to stay inside the walls, but our apartment was only a 10 minute walk away and it was great. It depends what you’re after, but for budget, definitely outside the walls! I hope you enjoy your trip there – Dubrovnik is one of my favourite places! If you need any suggestions etc just let me know!
      xo April

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: