Legend has it that the original cathedral was built by Richard the Lionheart as a thank you after surviving a violent storm off Dubrovnik. This baroque incarnation comes complete with three aisles and a large dome that dominates the city skyline. The cathedral’s treasury holds more than 100 invaluable relics.
Things to see in Dubrovnik
Tourist offices
Address: Brsalje 5, Old Town, Dubrovnik, 20000, Croatia
Tel: +385 20 312 011.
Opening Hours:
Mon-Sat 0800-1900; Sun 0900-1500.
www.tzdubrovnik.hrThe city has two main tourist offices, where friendly, multilingual staff provide maps and brochures and arrange accommodation. They also have details of walking tours as well as how to get around the region if you want to do some island-hopping. The office located just outside the Old Town at Pile Gate is also the head office of the Dubrovnik Tourist Board.
Address: Obala Ivana Pavla II, Gruž, Dubrovnik, 20000, Croatia
Tel: +385 20 417 983
Opening Hours:
Mon-Fir 0800-1500; Sat 0800-13000
www.tzdubrovnik.hrThe second main tourist information centre is located at the port of Dubrvonik, Gruž.
The Dubrovnik Card (www.dubrovnikcard.com) offers free entry to top attractions, discounts in restaurants and shops, free bus travel and a complimentary city guide. Cards are available for one, three and seven days, and can be purchased at tourist offices in Dubrovnik, with additional savings available if purchased online.
A stroll around Dubrovnik's city walls is essential. The 2km (1.2-mile) circular path that winds its way around a myriad of fortresses provides stunning vantage points from which to survey the Old Town rooftops, the old port, the Adriatic Sea and the limestone crags to the north. Allow at least an hour.
At the entrance of this monastery complex, just off the Stradun, you’ll find a working 14th-century pharmacy believed to be the third oldest in the world. In the museum adjoining the cloisters is a range of medieval medicines. Other highlights include the Church of St Francis and an interior courtyard.
Stradun is the unofficial name for the main street that joins the two main entrances to the Old Town. It bustles with tourists, cafés, bars and shops. The burnished paving stones that cover its length are made of pale limestone marble.
A wide staircase sweeps up from the open-market on Gundulić Square to the Ruđer Boškovic Square, where Dubrovnik’s most beautiful baroque construction, The Jesuit Church of St Ignatius, stands. Built at the end of the 17th century, the church’s compelling art portrays the life of St Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order.
Take the cable car to Srđ Hill for sweeping views of the city, Lokrum island and the indented coast. The cable car journey is short and can get crowded, but the panorama at the top is worth the effort. There is a restaurant at the summit as well as a museum.
South of the Stradun, the former home of the city's rector is a romantic blend of Gothic-Renaissance masterpiece. The complex also houses the Cultural History Museum which has some interesting paintings and relics. In summer, the courtyard is used for traditional music and dancing.
Look for the ‘We are forbidden to cheat and use false measures, and when I weigh goods, God weighs me' motto on this graceful 16th-century palace that was once a customs house and state mint. Today it includes the moving Memorial Room of the Dubrovnik Defenders from the siege of 1991-1995.
Most of the attractions in Dubrovnik are rooted in the distant past. The remarkable War Photo Limited breaks the mould with exhibitions of modern war photography. It makes for a sobering but salutary visit, presenting raw evidence of the realities of conflict in the former Yugoslavia and around the world.
Said to be the second oldest (and possibly the smallest) synagogue in Europe, Dubrovnik Synagogue was the only such place of worship to remain functioning throughout WWII. Found on the second floor, the synagogue itself still has its original 17th-century furnishings, while below there’s a modestly sized museum with some fascinating exhibits.
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