Walking the Walls of Dubrovnik in 10 Photos

by M&C · October 31, 2018

Full disclosure: one thing we really, really wanted to do in Croatia was walk the famous walls of Dubrovnik. It’s amazing to consider their history, why they exist, and how they’re now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Fortified cities are pretty incredible places and Dubrovnik did not let us down.

Opening Hours: Varies depending on the season; approx. 10am to 3pm in the winter and 8am to 6pm in the summer

Entrance fee: 150.00 HRK (about $25.00 USD). Tickets can be purchased by credit card or Croatian Kunas. Euros are not accepted.

Best time year to visit: May to October

Best time of day to visit: Early morning or late afternoon to avoid some crowds and heat

How long to spend here: About 1-2 hours

ABOUT THE DUBROVNIK WALLS

With most of the construction completed between the 12th and 17th centuries, the huge limestone walls surrounding most of the old city of Dubrovnik (over 80 feet high in places!) have stood the test of time, towering above and protecting it from enemy attacks. Visitors can walk atop the walls in a complete circle to the tune of 1.2 miles all the way around. We took about 2 hours to complete the full course around the city walls and that included taking a lot of pictures and also stopping to enjoy the beautiful scenic vistas (and also stopping to fix our umbrellas after the wind turned them inside out).

ENTRANCES

Once you enter Stradun via the Pile Gate, there’s a ticket office tucked in the corner where you can purchase tickets for the city walls. There were several options, including guided tours with narration. We opted for the self-guided tour so we could explore at our own pace.

This is laughable now but we had the hardest time finding the actual entrance to the walls. We were definitely overthinking it. We ended up entering at the Pile Gate entrance, which is where most people start the walk. After we bought our tickets, we walked across the heavily traveled sidewalk and found the access point… a set of stairs leading up. There are three different entrances to access the city walls: (1) the entrance by Pile Gate, (2) the entrance by St. Lucas Fortress and (3) the entrance by St. John’s Fortress. It’s also possible to exit at these three points at any time, so if walking the entire length of the walls seems daunting, cut it short and exit before the loop is complete. All traffic flows in a counter-clockwise direction, so we hopped in and followed the suggested flow of traffic.

OUR VISIT

We had a nice early start in the morning, getting to Old Town around 10am. Old Town in itself is pretty amazing with all of its shops and restaurants and pedestrian friendly areas. The day started off overcast and soon all of our plans of walking the walls on a beautiful day with sunny blue skies came crashing down around us in the form of raindrops. Lots of heavy, soaking rain drops. We forged ahead and made the best of it, knowing we were going to walk the walls rain or shine. In the end, the rain actually brought out such beauty in the city, turning all of the tiled roofs into a deeper, more stunning shade of orange (who knew that was even possible?). Another bonus? It wasn’t as crowded or as hot as we expected, probably thanks to the rain.

FINAL THOUGHTS

We’re very thankful we were able to experience the Walls of Dubrovnik. We think this is a stop that should be on everyone’s list. Without further ado, the photos.