Better out of season? (Dubrovnik)

Member Name: dangaroo

Product:	Dubrovnik
Date:	21/04/09 (144 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful fortress, sea and old town

Disadvantages: Poor nightlife, too crowded

Until recent years Dubrovnik had lived a fairly happy life, initially living under the protection of the Byzantine Empire until it was a sovereign state under the rule of Venice and later Hungary, Dubrovnik and its surroundings then known as the Republic of Ragusa was completely independent for 4 centuries, it was a wealthy state and abolished slavery as early as the 15th century and accepted many Jewish refugees from the Iberian countries, the Republic had good diplomatic relations with pretty much everyone and did well as a sea-faring nation and even set up settlements as far away as India and the USA with their merchant navy, bringing back their findings. It suffered an earthquake badly in the 16th century which has destroyed the majority of the renaissance buildings. Napoleon attacked the Republic at the turn of the 19th century and Ragusa eventually succumbed to the French Illyrian Provinces which were eventually handed over to the Austrians. After the war, it became Yugoslavia and Dubrovnik took much of the brutal bombing from neighbouring Serbs, just about everyone there has lost a relative of some sort.

Dubrovnik is a fine looking city, whilst the outskirts consists mainly of shoddily new built housing, it's unllikely you'll be spending much time there other than if you are staying there. The city is relatively small and it's possible to walk everywhere, including to the hill behind the city from where you get a magnificent view over the city and the bay. The old town is done to perfection, every building inside the wall is in tip top condition and has a typical ancient Mediterranean feel with cobbled streets, an impressive fountain and narrow side streets which almost always lead you to the fortress wall eventually. Views from the fortress windows (not sure if that's what they are really called) leading on to the rocks or the sea are great fun to peer through and the city is exceptionally clean. Where Dubrovnik wins marks is that it manages to combine the magnificence of an Italian or Greek styled town with cheaper prices.

Croatian food is usually of a pretty good standard but the prices have creeped up over the years and it's no longer a case of not being able to spend your money for the grub.

Accomodation is likely to come to you with people actively looking for people to rent rooms at the bus station and ferry terminal in particular. Prices are relatively dear now but should never be more than 30 euros for 2 people and can still be had for 10 euros per person. The days of picking up a room for 5 euros per person are long gone though. The HI hostel is crap because they have a curfew and it's always fully booked during the summer months anyway!

The downside of the city for me is that the prices are high by regional standards and the city over the least 8 years has gone from people thinking that they are still at war to droves of tourists on the street, in particular Italians, Irish, British and Germans. The former are irritants in the clubs and the latter 3 tend to block up the roads by walking like sloths (never quite understood that phenomenon - everyone seems to be able to walk perfectly well at home.) It's really a bit too much for me when teh streets are so packed and if you feel the same - then it's worth heading here out of season and hoping for a bit of nice weather! As far as an attractive old town goes, Dubrovnik definitely tops the list in Croatia but I personally prefer Split and Zagreb.

Summary: Nice for a one off visit