Dubrovnik, Croatia

The port of Dubrovnik, Croatia, was packed with tourists, since the Emerald Princess was one of five cruise ships docked here today. Most of the visitors, including me, wanted to walk around the Old City of Dubrovnik, which is a picturesque walled medieval town. My mother and I made our way to the Pile Gate, which is one of only a couple entrances to the Old City, and it was absolutely packed with tourists.

The photo you see below was taken in the late afternoon on my way out, when it was much calmer. Going in, the outside was crammed with wall-to-wall people trying to get in, and a few people trying to squeeze through and get out. My mom decided not to brave the crowds, so I went onward myself. I’ve never been in such a press before – by the time I got inside the gate itself, people were shoving, men were yelling in Italian and Croatian, and a few times I even worried that people might start fighting with each other as we were all jostled and squeezed. Thankfully, just through the gate things were much better, and the tourist traffic during the rest of my visit was busy, but not overwhelming.

If you’re not taking an organized tour in Dubrovnik, it’s easy to see a great deal of the city on your own, and one of the most pleasant activities is to walk around the ramparts. There are several entrances where one must buy a ticket, and then it takes about an hour to walk around, with many opportunities to climb towers and take photos looking out over the red tiled roofs of the Old City, the fortresses of the wall itself, and the scenic coast. Here are a few views from the Dubrovnik city walls:

After walking around the walls, I spent some time wandering through alleys and small streets, and ended up eating lunch at one of many open-air cafes, Konoba Jezuite. You probably can’t go wrong with any little café in Dubrovnik, most of which serve local seafood. My lunch consisted of a local roasted fish called a giltfish, with a side of Dalmatian chard.

Finally, here are a couple of views of Dubrovnik from ground-level, one of the Old Harbor, and another along the main street, the Placa.