Dubrovnik

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I was so excited to finally be visiting the fortified walled city of Dubrovnik. I knew that it would be popular, but nothing could have prepared me for the overwhelming crowds. I explored for a bit before retreating to a restaurant up a quiet side street to wait to climb the city walls later in the afternoon. This turned out to be the best thing we could have done as, although still busy and hot, there was some reprieve as cruise ships and other day trippers departed and spots of shade were cast.

Walking the city walls was awe-inspiring and an essential part of the experience for any visitors to the town in my opinion. We spent the best part of two hours exploring the amazingly well-preserved walls and admiring the views. Then we headed for the cable car up Mount Srd, which towers over the old town. The queue at this time wasn't too bad and the journey up the hill only took 6 minutes. From there we had a magnificent view over the old town, the nearby nature reserve island of Lokrum and the whole bay area. I'd recommend anyone going up in the cable car in the evening to stay for sunset.

I get why Dubrovnik is so popular, it really is so impressive how intact it still is, and you can't blame everyone else for wanting to see it too. Apparently there are concerns that the sheer volume of visitors could start to do damage and lose the city its World Heritage status with UNESCO, so the mayor is talking about capping the amount of visitors. I'm glad I got there when I did, and if I ever return hopefully it will be in the off season!

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