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Image by Ivan Ivankovic from Pixabay

Sunny, romantic Dubrovnik is an orange-roofed city of charming historic architecture, set beside a sheltered harbour and emerald seas. It’s not just beautiful and colourful, it’s also inviting and ancient, and yet still relatively unspoiled. Elizabeth Taylor loved Dubrovnik in the seventies, and drew international attention to its 13th Century Old Town, its beaches and the Baroque Stradun: Dubrovnik’s main street. Ms Taylor wasn’t Dubrovnik’s first famous fan, though, it’s been much lauded by poets and authors, artists and scholars of all sorts, who gathered for the now Heritage Listed Old Town’s churches and monasteries, and museums and galleries. The city walls are another major sightseeing destination. And just off the coast are the lower Dalmatian Islands: adored by sailors. 

Our Guide to the Neighbourhoods of Dubrovnik 

Map via anniehoa.com

Old Town 

Image by albertoamaretto from Pixabay

Dubrovnik’s Old Town is where you’ll find many major sights, including Renaissance survivors, Sponza Palace and St. Saviour Church, the Franciscan Church and Monastery, the Rector’s Palace, the Baroque cathedral and Dubrovnik Bell Tower, and Dubrovnik’s main street, the Stradun. It's also surrounded by the ancient city walls, and even the buildings that aren’t especially famous or significant are beautiful! Along the Stradun you'll find boutiques, as well as cafes, bars and restaurants. There are plenty of accommodation options in the Old Town, but you do pay a bit extra for the privilege of being so central, and staying somewhere so picturesque. Food and drink prices are inflated in this neighbourhood too, and during the summer it’s lively until after midnight.

 Pile

By LBM1948 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Pile is one of the remaining gates by which you enter the Old Town, it’s the one on the western approach, close to the magnificent 11th century Lovrijenac Fortress. This is a great part of town to stay in if you want to be close to Dubrovnik’s main attractions but pay slightly less for your accommodation than you would in the Old Town. There are cobbled streets and a lot of historic architecture here too, some of it to rival that of the Old Town, plus plenty of bars and restaurants, a green and shady city park, and a fantastic little beach called Dance, pronounced Dan-che. Pile is also super-convenient for the buses, as most of the lines end here.  It boasts a good range of accommodation, from converted villas and other historic buildings, through to aparthotels.  

Ploče

By Bernard Gagnon - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Ploče is Dubrovnik’s eastern gate, on the port-side, and it is known for its views of the sea, the Old Town, and the city walls, especially lit up at night. It's also renowned for having many of Dubrovnik’s oldest and grandest hotels. Ploče is close to the city’s main public beach, Banje, Sveti Jakov, which is a pebbled cove, and the lower end of the cable car that goes up Srdj Mountain.  Ploče is a peaceful pick, but walking around this neighbourhood does involve stairs and steep inclines, though the views will be well worth the exertion.

Gruž

By Jorge Franganillo - Dubrovnik: Port Gruž, CC BY 2.0

Gruž is a neighbourhood right on the Adriatic, to the northwest of the Old Town. This is where many of the ferries and cruise ships dock, and where you’ll leave from if you travel across to Mljet, Korcula, or the Elaphiti islets.  Dubrovnik’s major bus terminus is here too, so it’s a great choice for anyone wanting to explore the whole region. It is also a popular mooring for smaller vessels and fishing boats. There are some great places to eat and drink along the waterfront, especially if you fancy seafood, and a number of hotels.  Other than the port and harbour, Gruž's main attraction is probably the Red History Museum, which commemorates the design of the Yugoslav period. Gruž also has Dubrovnik’s largest and busiest farmers’ market and fish market. Gruž is just one bay over from the contemporary pleasures of Lapad and the Lapad Peninsula, and a string of very nice beaches.  

Lapad & the Lapad Peninsula

By Flickr user Mike Knell

Lapad, and the Lapad Peninsula, are where the first larger contemporary hotels went up in the 1970s: they are right beside a pebble beach, and a sheltered, rocky inlet, just two miles (or a bus or ferry ride) from the Old Town. This neighbourhood has always been ideal for travellers looking for a relaxed base amongst the rich cultural treasures of Dubrovnik. It is the sort of place where sitting on a sun lounger for a couple of hours is a valid plan. Hotels in this area are generally more wallet-friendly than those in the Old Town, and in the summer this is a busy spot because there are so many nice beaches along this stretch. If you don’t mind paying for beach facilities, try out Copacabana, Uvala Bay or Cava, and if you’d prefer not to, try Solitudo, Neptun, or Gorica Svetog Vlaha.  If you walk around the headland, you'll see all the tiny beaches — the ones only a few people can fit on — that you can only reach by ladder.  As well as finding new beaches you can expect to discover numerous cafes, bars and restaurants.  

Mlini

Image by Ivan Ivankovic from Pixabay

Arguably Mlini isn’t a neighbourhood of Dubrovnik, it’s its own village, on the Srebreno Bay, which is about ten kilometres from the Old Town.  Mlini is very laid-back and beach-focused, more for folk who want a beach holiday with some seriously great excursion opportunities, rather than the other way around. A variety of pebble beaches and protected bays make it worth exploring, and if you do, you’ll find mature, flower-filled gardens surrounding elegant villas and hotels. Mlini also has its own impressive historic church of St. Hilarion.