Must-see attractions in Southern Dalmatia

  • High angle of Dubrovnik's old town and coastal region.

    City Walls & Forts

    Dubrovnik

    No visit to Dubrovnik is complete without a walk around the spectacular city walls that encircle its historic core. They're among the finest in the world…

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    St Mark’s Cathedral

    Korčula Island

    Dominating the little square at Korčula's heart is this magnificent 15th-century cathedral, built from Korčula limestone in a Gothic-Renaissance style by…

  • Arches of Gothic Renaissance Rector's Palace.

    Rector’s Palace

    Dubrovnik

    Built in the late 15th century for the elected rector who governed Dubrovnik, this Gothic-Renaissance palace contains the rector’s office and private…

  • DUBROVNIK, CROATIA - MAY 26, 2014: Tourist looking at photos in the War photo limited gallery. There is 350m2 of exhibition space on two floors. ; Shutterstock ID 215780338; Your name (First / Last): Josh Vogel; GL account no.: 56530; Netsuite department name: Online Design; Full Product or Project name including edition: Digital Content/Sights

    War Photo Limited

    Dubrovnik

    An immensely powerful experience, this gallery features compelling exhibitions curated by New Zealand photojournalist Wade Goddard, who worked in the…

  • Srđ

    Dubrovnik

    From the top of this 412m-high hill, Dubrovnik's old town looks even more surreal than usual – like a scale model of itself or an illustration on a page…

  • Mljet National Park

    Mljet Island

    Covering 5400 hectares of land and sea at the western end of the island of Mljet, this national park offers shady walking and cycling tracks, a ruggedly…

  • The main promenade on Lopud runs from the 15th century Franciscan Monastery

    Lopud

    Elafiti Islands

    Car-free Lopud has the prettiest settlement of all the Elafitis, composed of stone houses surrounded by exotic gardens and overlooked by ruined fortresses…

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    Lokrum

    Dubrovnik

    Lush Lokrum is a beautiful, forested island full of holm oaks, black ash, pines and olive trees, only a 10-minute ferry ride from Dubrovnik's Old Harbour…

  • Fountain Neptune at the Trsteno Arboretum.

    Trsteno Arboretum

    Southern Dalmatia

    Gorgeous whatever the season, this leafy garden, 14km northwest of Dubrovnik, is the oldest of its kind in Croatia. It was during the Renaissance that…

  • Narona Archeological Museum

    Narona Archaeological Museum

    Southern Dalmatia

    In 1995 archaeologists in Vid made the extraordinary discovery of an Augusteum, a temple dedicated to the cult of the Roman Emperors, built around 10 BC…

  • Šipan

    Elafiti Islands

    At 16 sq km Šipan is the largest of the Elafiti Islands and was a favourite with the Dubrovnik aristocracy, who built houses here. Most ferries dock in…

  • Koločep

    Elafiti Islands

    The nearest of the Elafitis to Dubrovnik, this sweet island is inhabited by a mere 163 people and is covered in centuries-old pine forests, olive groves…

  • Belltower of Church of Franciscan Monastery.

    Franciscan Monastery & Museum

    Dubrovnik

    Within this monastery's solid stone walls are a gorgeous mid-14th-century cloister, a historic pharmacy and a small museum with a collection of relics and…

  • Exterior of Gothic Renaissance Sponza Palace.

    Sponza Palace

    Dubrovnik

    One of the few buildings in the old town to survive the 1667 earthquake, the Sponza Palace was built from 1516 to 1522 as a customs house, and it has…

  • Baroque domes of Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin and St Blaise's church.

    Cathedral of the Assumption

    Dubrovnik

    Built on the site of a 7th-century basilica, Dubrovnik's original cathedral was enlarged in the 12th century, supposedly funded by a gift from England’s…

  • Gothic Renaissance Church with Dominican Monastery.

    Dominican Monastery & Museum

    Dubrovnik

    This imposing structure is an architectural highlight, built in a transitional Gothic-Renaissance style and containing an impressive art collection…

  • Exterior of Pile Gate.

    Pile Gate

    Dubrovnik

    The natural starting point to any visit to Dubrovnik is this imposing city gate, built in 1537. While crossing the drawbridge, imagine that this was once…

  • City Defences

    Korčula Island

    Korčula’s towers and remaining city walls look particularly striking when approached from the sea, their presence warning pirates the town would be no…

  • Fort Lawrence stands independent of the old town walls

    Fort Lawrence

    Dubrovnik

    St Blaise gazes down from the walls of this large free-standing fortress, constructed atop a 37m-high promontory adjacent to the old town. Built to guard…

  • Your black horizon sits minutes uphill from Lopud waterfront, at the heart of the settlement

    Your Black Horizon Art Pavilion

    Elafiti Islands

    The joint work of Olafur Eliasson and David Adjaye, the Art Pavilion is an amalgamation of contemporary art and architecture, set in an orchard of cypress…

  • A view of the Onofrio fountain from the city walls

    Large Onofrio Fountain

    Dubrovnik

    One of Dubrovnik’s most famous landmarks, this circular fountain was built in 1438 as part of a water-supply system that involved bringing water from a…

  • The entrance to the house and museum of artist Vlaho Bukovac

    Bukovac House

    Cavtat

    The house where Cavtat’s most famous son, the painter Vlaho Bukovac (1855–1922), was born and raised has been converted into an interesting little museum…

  • One of the Dubrovnik during the Homeland War museum displays

    Dubrovnik During the Homeland War

    Dubrovnik

    Set inside the crumbling Napoleonic Fort Imperial (completed in 1812) near the cable-car terminus, this permanent exhibition is dedicated to the siege of…

  • Baroque St Ignatius Church.

    St Ignatius of Loyola Church

    Dubrovnik

    Dramatically poised at the top of a broad flight of stairs, this Jesuit church was built in the baroque style between 1699 and 1725. Inside, magnificent…

  • Synagogue entrance.

    Synagogue & Jewish Museum

    Dubrovnik

    With a religious practice that can be traced back to the 14th century, this is said to be the second-oldest still-functioning synagogue in Europe and the…

  • Overhead of Dome of Baroque St Blaise's Church.

    St Blaise’s Church

    Dubrovnik

    Dedicated to the city's patron saint, this exceptionally beautiful church was built in 1715 in the ornate baroque style. The interior is notable for its…

  • The clocktower at Luža Square

    City Bell Tower

    Dubrovnik

    Marking the eastern end of the old town’s main drag, this slender dome-capped tower has a large curvy clock face known as ‘the octopus’ and a two-tonne…

  • St. Nicholas church viewed from the seafront

    St Nicholas' Church

    Cavtat

    Peek inside this 15th-century church to view its impressive wooden altars and the accomplished Bukovac paintings of the four evangelists on either side of…

  • Orlando Column sits in the centre of Luža square

    Orlando Column

    Dubrovnik

    Luža Sq once served as a marketplace, and this stone column – carved in 1417 and featuring the image of a medieval knight – used to be the spot where…

  • View of the mausoleum

    Račić Family Mausoleum

    Cavtat

    Built from 1920 to 1921, this octagonal white-stone tomb is the handiwork of preeminent Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović. Inside, a heavenly host of…

  • The main entrance to the Lady of Snow church

    Our-Lady-of-the-Snow Monastery

    Cavtat

    The church attached to this Franciscan Monastery (founded in 1484) is worth a look for some notable early Renaissance paintings and a wonderful Bukovac…

  • The front facade of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art

    Museum of Modern Art

    Dubrovnik

    Spread over three floors of a significant modernist building east of the old town, this excellent gallery showcases Croatian artists, particularly painter…

  • Sveta Marija

    Mljet Island

    Tiny St Mary's Island lies on Veliko Jezero, not far from its southern shore. Boats (included in the park admission price) head here at least hourly…

  • Sokol Grad

    Southern Dalmatia

    Perched atop a 25m-high crag, this fairy-tale castle has a name which literally means 'Falcon Town', and it certainly provides a bird's-eye view of…

  • Love Stories Museum

    Dubrovnik

    Providing a sunny Dalmatian counterpoint to Zagreb's popular Museum of Broken Relationships, this unusual museum aims to tug at the heart strings…

  • Icon Museum

    Korčula Island

    This modest museum has a collection of interesting Byzantine icons, painted on gilded wood, and 17th- and 18th-century ritual objects. The real highlight…

  • St Mark's Abbey Treasury

    Korčula Island

    The 14th-century Abbey Palace houses an important collection of icons and Dalmatian religious art. The most outstanding work is the 1431 polyptych of The…

  • Proizd

    Korčula Island

    For a total veg-out at the beach, nothing beats the island of Proizd at Korčula's northwestern tip. There's not much here but a single summertime…

  • Pasjača

    Southern Dalmatia

    Hidden below high cliffs, Pasjača is one of Dalmatia's most beautiful beaches, with intensely blue and green water lapping at a pebbly shore. It's a…

  • Korčula Town Museum

    Korčula Island

    Occupying the 16th-century Gabriellis Palace, this museum traces the history and culture of Korčula throughout the ages. Displays cover stonemasonry,…