13th-14th September 2017

How Dubrovnik became one of my most favorite places I’ve visited

Part of a longer trip in south Croatia was visiting this famous intrigued city facing the Adriatic Sea. Was intrigued to me because I knew how popular it was thanks to the Game of Thrones series. I never expect much from such popular destinations, I knew it would be full of tourists from all corners of the world and also not that cheap (it is the most expensive city in Croatia after all).

So I went there with 0 expectations, actually with somewhat bad expectations if I have to admit. I thought it would be one of those famous places I go, see and check off my list. A huge surprise was about to await me, once I wandered through its streets.

First of all, I love cities by the sea, and the way the fortresses were opening and facing the beautiful waves was already fascinating. I wondered through its parks till I reached the shore by the Lovrijenac fortress and spent 30 minutes just looking at how the waves were hitting its shore and walls, each making a unique shape and sound. It was an agitated sea that day.



The views from the heights were gorgeous and there were so many places where you could have a nice viewpoint. Being on any fortress or high park (like Gradac park) offered me great photo points towards all the others.

Later the same day I got to visit also a more distant beach Plaža Sveti Jakov, which was less populated, cleaner, and with nice views of the city.



The awesome thing about Dubrovnik is that it is situated on a coast, so while I was walking towards Plaža Sveti Jakov, I was still pretty high above the sea which got me inspired to continue walking more to catch a nice sunset somewhere outside the city. The road was not that good even for cars and I remember I encountered tons of cats (the city is famous for the cats, as I was about to find out). The sunset colors were starting to paint the sky just as I was hoping and I said to myself that it was one of the prettiest sunsets I had seen (spoiler alert, the next day’s sunset was undoubtedly one of the best sunsets I’ve ever seen).



The following day in the morning, I visited the great, famous, extremely popular... Walls of Dubrovnik. Besides the fact that it was pretty expensive (before GOT it was 10 euros but after the madness, the visit cost raised to around 25 euros), it is also a very crowded place. My goal was to be there first so I could have an empty wall as much as possible. It was of course populated right from the beginning (8 a.m.) still, it was less crowded than later, and the light was better for photos.

The many angles from which I could photograph the city’s rooftops from the walls kept me busy all morning. After many hours I managed to make a round tour and see all the center from above.



Later I met two other Romanian friends and went to visit the Lovrijenac Fortress, the famous location for the GOT scenes. Being at that place on an International Dance Day, got us inspired to make a small Brazilian Zouk Dance under those old medieval walls. For more about that `fan-made` video you can check this link .

My trip to Dubrovnik ended in the best way possible. I was already impressed by everything I had seen, but the last hours I spent watching the sunset from the hill in front of the city and the night walk inside the preserved medieval center just blew my mind (note: I am not easily that amazed).

A nice short hike to Mount Srd (there’s also a cable car) at sunset on a sunny day can offer you a visual picture you will remember forever. At least that’s how it happened to me. With no expectations, no big plans, or photography goals, I was about to remember that moment forever.



After the sunset I followed the way down, reaching the medieval center when it was already dark and taking a last walk through it. It was that perfect night, the last I was spending in Croatia, after 2 weeks of great travels and dancing with friends. The preserved medieval buildings and streets were the ones that made the walk truly memorable. Each time I was alone with no people or shops in front of me, it felt like I was teleported 400 years ago in time. It was the first time I had this feeling in a medieval town.



The city had also a lot of cute cats, wandering in the night around the roads which gave another magical feel to the city.

It's hard to believe I've seen everything in two days because it felt more like I visited Dubrovnik for a week. After such an intense trip I knew I had discovered one of my most favorite cities I’ve been to. You can check the rest of the pictures below.


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I'm a traveler/ photographer/ dancer in love with the journey. For more photos of my adventures, follow me onInstagram

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