Croatia · Self-guided walk
Dubrovnik in one walk 8 sights, 30 minutes
A self-guided walking tour of the Dubrovnik Old Town: 8 sights on one 1.9 km loop, about 30 minutes on foot, back where you started.
No two days to spare? Here is the short version: the big sights in one loop. I would take longer. I always take longer.
At a glance
The walk in numbers.
- Distance
- 1.9 km, a loop
- Time
- about 30 minutes of walking at 4 km/h, plus however long you stop
- Sights
- 8
- Start and finish
- Knežev dvor
- Steps
- on Sv. Dominika, Boškovićeva, Peline, Ispod Minčete, Celestina Medovića, Nikole Božidarevića, Miha Pracata, Strossmayerova ulica, Uz Jezuite, Od Pustijerne
- Cost
- free: no guide, no booking, no tip
The route
Map of the Dubrovnik walk: 8 stops, one loop.
The gold line is the walk. The numbers are the stops, in the order you reach them. The pale lines are every other street in the Old Town.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
The stops
8 sights in Dubrovnik, in walking order.
Each stop says how far the next one is and which streets take you there.
1. Knežev dvor
the start · inside open Mon–Sun 09:00–18:00
This one hands its ground floor to the lane. The arcade is open and you walk straight through it. Stop underneath and look up: no two of the capitals over your head are the same.
Next: Revelin, 400 m, about 6 min, along Pred Dvorom, Sv. Dominika, Trg oružja.
2. Revelin
about 6 minutes of walking from the start
You have to leave the ring for this one: over the bridge at the east end and out. Which is exactly why it is quiet up there. The terrace looks back at the town, and nothing else on this route does that.
Next: Minčeta, 410 m, about 6 min, along Maestra Đela Jusića, Boškovićeva, Peline.
3. Minčeta
about 12 minutes of walking from the start
The high point of the entire ring, up in the north west corner. From here everything else in the town is under you, and on the far side there is nothing but sea. It is a proper climb. I have never once regretted a climb.
Next: Sv. Franjo, 200 m, about 3 min, along Ispod Minčete, Celestina Medovića.
Lunch break
Buffet Škola, Antuninska 1, about 40 m off the route.
A small buffet a step off Stradun, and the bread is the point. More on what to eat in Dubrovnik.
4. Sv. Franjo
about 15 minutes of walking from the start
It sits at the far west end of the main street, and almost everybody walks past its long flank on the way in without turning. Turn. The way in is a narrow door on the side, and the quiet behind it is worth the detour.
Next: Bokar, 90 m, about 1 min, along Poljana Paska Miličevića.
5. Bokar
about 17 minutes of walking from the start
It sits out over the water at the western point, on its own piece of rock, with sea under three sides of it. Across the little bay, Lovrijenac looks back from its cliff. The two of them have been doing that for a very long time and neither has blinked.
Next: Crkva sv. Blagovještenja, 180 m, about 3 min, along Za Rokom, Od Puča.
6. Crkva sv. Blagovještenja
about 19 minutes of walking from the start
On Od Puča, one lane south of the main run. The front is modest enough that you can walk the street twice and not notice it. Slow down at the door. What is behind it does not match what is in front of it.
Next: Crkva sv. Ignacija, 230 m, about 3 min, along Nikole Božidarevića, Ulica Nikole Gučetića, Miha Pracata, Strossmayerova ulica.
7. Crkva sv. Ignacija
about 23 minutes of walking from the start
The quietest corner of the town, up at the top of the south side, and the last thing most people reach. You come up out of breath, and then the whole day you have walked is lying under you. Save this bite for later.
Next: Sv. Ivan, 240 m, about 4 min, along Od Pustijerne.
8. Sv. Ivan
about 26 minutes of walking from the start
Low, thick and standing in the water at the head of the quay. There is an aquarium in the base of it now and a maritime museum upstairs. A building that spent centuries looking at the sea and keeps a little of it in tanks.
Back to the start: Knežev dvor, 170 m, about 3 min.
Every stop counts from the street; the hours are for going inside. Opening hours from OpenStreetMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors. Check before you go.
After the walk
The rest of Dubrovnik.
This loop is 8 sights. The Old Town is 82 streets, and I have opinions about all of them. Every street of the Dubrovnik Old Town, with what to eat and where.
Cobble Gobble is a walking game for iPhone: every street is a line of dots you collect by walking it, and the phone stays in your pocket. Your first city is free.