Insta-worthy Dubrovnik beyond the Wall walk…

Entering the walled city of Dubrovnik through the impressive 13th century Pile Gate, four doors, two walkway bridges and a wooden drawbridge, remind yourself that Napoleon’s French army once stomped through this path with destructive, harmful intent. Shivers up your spine?

You can see the broad limestone-paved promenade ahead, gleaming like polished marble under millions of footsteps. Can you believe that 300 meters of the Stradun (or ‘large street’ as christened by the Venetians), used to be a swampy channel till the 11th century, separating two settlements of Laus and Dubrava, which were later integrated and city walls built around them? Even from a distance, you can feel the heartbeat of the traffic-free old town, a bustling street by day and party place after dark. A procession singing religious songs slowly marches by. Stradun’s age-old tradition as the hub for group activities and festivities continues uninterrupted. High above the roofs, people trail the famous Dubrovnik walls. You’re doing that too…later! But first, a dive into the ethereal beauty of the perfectly designed town. Emerging for lungfuls of air at the sweetest spots of all.

Sweet Spot 1: Maskeron

At the mouth of the Stradun is a massive fountain, a sixteen-sided container with a cupola, a masterpiece in itself. ‘Onoforio’ supplied fresh water to the citizens from Ombla river, 12 km away in medieval times, and its water is still drink-worthy. Just opposite, is a Pharmacy that has been open for business since the Middle Ages. A young woman tries to step onto the head of a small stone gargoyle ledge, fixed about half a meter above the ground and sticking out barely fifteen centimetres from a wall. It seems like the mouth of a rainwater drain, and even has a name…Maskeron. Its top surface is smooth and polished like marble from years of thousands of steps and the wall above is greasy from the touch of a thousand hands. A luck thing? The woman keeps trying but can’t balance as there is nothing to clutch. Her husband keeps watching from a distance until love prevails…he walks over and gives her a brief, ever-so-gentle shove from behind, so that she makes it. You smile at the cute scene. She jumps off and kisses him and they walk off together. The legend is that if you balance on the ledge, stand facing the wall, you will find true love. Give it a shot!

Sweet Spot 2: Loggia Square

Stroll the Stradun, gazing at the rows of stone houses built in a modest Baroque style…equal heights, similar fronts and shops on the ground floor. Dating back to the post-earthquake year of 1667. Definitely old enough to be labelled ‘old’. Dozens of dark, narrow lanes criss-cross on both sides…cafes and tiny tables line the narrow stone walls. A coffee at one of these, maybe? Onto the modest sized Loggia Square, if you can call that rectangular shape. And a profusion of grander monuments bunched together…without breathing space. The Franciscan Monastery with its bell tower, the Gothic Renaissance-styled Sponza Palace (originally a customs house and mint, now housing the Historical Archives and one of the oldest institutions in Europe), the Rector’s Palace (earlier the municipality, now a museum), the Orlando’s Statue standing guard and the 17th century Baroque cathedral, dedicated to the protector of Dubrovnik, St. Blaise. Only a student of architecture can detect how the Renaissance, Gothic, Classical and other period forms compete haphazardly in the monument facades. No Notre Dame perfection here, but the impact of the harmony is spellbinding.

Sweet Spot 3: St Ignatius Church

Right of the Cathedral, locate the quaint baroque marketplace, Gundulić Square, stop by the high statue of famous Croatian poet Ivan Gundulić…and survey the open benches full of fruits, vegetables, dry figs, aromatic oils, home made cheese, liquers, arancini (candied bitter orange peel), lavender bags for closets, hand crafted souvenirs and lace. 

Then climb the beautiful 18th-century Baroque stairs (an indigenous version of the Rome-like ‘Spanish Steps’) connecting the square to an area that used to be the Jewish ghetto. To your right, is the stunning, white St Ignatius Church, constructed in the recognizable Jesuit style, its interior decorated by a Spanish artist with baroque frescoes. Drool at the sumptuous altar inside. A guitarist strums strings at the steps of the Europe’s second oldest Jewish synagogue just next door. Take a picture…he smiles and nods in appreciation.

Sweet Spot 4: Buza Bar

You’re now in pursuit of Buza Bar…Dubrovnik’s best known café. Straight ahead of the Jewish Church towards the left, find a sign that read “Cold drinks with the best view in town” that leads you to what is literally a hole in the wall…down a makeshift flight of rough stone steps to a casual café perched on the edge of a sheer cliff. Straw thatched roof, plastic chairs, tiny folding tables facing the sea. For miles and miles, the azure Adriatic is all you can see. The wind blows your hair into your eyes, and from far below your feet, the foaming waves crash against the rocky cliffs, again and again and again, the rhythmic roar rising and fading. This is a view to simply die for. Buza Bar serves only Pepsi, juices and beer, but this tiny little place, with seating for maybe 50 people, is amongst the Top 10 must-see spots on everybody’s list while in Dubrovnik. Further away, Buza Bar 2 offers formal dining with table service. Paradise is painted in one color…azure blue!

Sweet Spot 5: Hrvasa Lane

Back in the town, head through the popular St.Dominick Street, once a marketplace for local craftsmen to display their wares, now a medley of Chinese- souvenir shops. Running parallel to Stradun, is Ulica od Puca, where a row of leather shops, handmade souvenir shops and jewellers stand, over a street where many wells were scattered in the old days to collect rain water for use by citizens. Gaze at the artillery-splattered wall of the stone city, each stone is part of a story thousands of years old. It is heart-wrenching…how this grand fortified structure has endured ravages of intruders, survived a massive earthquake, and risen from the destruction of bombardment during the civil war of 1991, when people hid in underground safe-houses without power and water supply for months. Everything has been rebuilt with so much love. In K.Hrvasa Lane, the house of a famous artist, Ivo Grbic stands testimony of the war-ravaged times, painted walls outside narrating ugly memories vividly…the artist’s museum inside baring his creative soul and spirit. Immerse in the past.