Dubrovnik (Croatia)

Dubrovnik is much like Venice -- a former city/state with a highly successful port and trade. It's surrounded by the beautiful Adriatic Sea and rocky beaches. I dipped my feet in the clear, lightly refreshing water. But, the sun is too fierce to go swimming. Instead, I purchased the one day Dubrovnik card for 150 kuna ($30). Ridiculously expensive for this tiny town; but, everything is expensive here. We were spoiled by food prices in Montenegro and Sarajevo. But here, even each bus ride is 12 kuna ($2.40). A 24 hour pass is a deal at 30 kuna ($6). [The Dubrovnik card included a 24 hour bus pass.]

Part of the city walls around old Dubrovnik

The thing to see was the city walls (included in the Dubrovnik card), which are otherwise 100 kuna. Get there as early as possible (opens at 8 am) in order to get photos unobstructed by tourists. There are seven other sites included in the card. I stopped at all of them. All were tiny.

Here's my ranking of the Dubrovnik card sites from best to worst:

Part of the city walls around old Dubrovnik

1. City Walls -- beautiful, unobstructed photo views @ 8 am. The best site in Dubrovnik!

1743 document award to Dubrovnik captain for bringing pilgrims to Jerusalem.

2. Maritime museum -- very interesting. Two floors. History of Dubrovnik's port and trade back to the 9th century.

Leatherback sea turtle stuffed in 1894 by Baldo Kosic

3. Natural History Museum -- exhibits of Suez canal and accompanying fish migration and effects, variety of stuffed animals, including a sea turtle preserved by Dubrovnik naturalist Baldo Kosic around 1900.

Bronze jacks that originally rang the bell in the bell tower

4. Rector's Palace -- wide variety of interesting objects, including royal palanquins, jars from the city's Franciscan pharmacy, an exhibition of photos while Dubrovnik was shelled, the bronze "jacks" that rang the bell in the bell tower, old lock boxes and a prison. No photos allowed.

Map from Ethnographic museum. Black dot is Dubrovnik.
Black routes were former trading routes.

5. Ethnographic Museum -- floor of folklore; two floors of objects from daily life. No photos allowed.

"The three tenors" by Damir Fabijanic.
Do you recognize these three leaders?

6. Art Gallery Dubrovnik -- two floors of special exhibitions. One floor of Croatian artists and sculptors

7. Dulcic-Masle-Pulitika -- two small rooms of paintings. Skip it.

8. Marin Drzic House -- unless you know who this playwright is (and read Croatian), skip it.