Walking Dubrovnik's City Walls at Dusk

Dubrovnik's city walls are among the finest in Europe: a complete circuit of two kilometres enclosing the old town, with towers and bastions rising to 25 metres above the sea, built and rebuilt continuously by the Republic of Ragusa from the 13th through 17th centuries. Walking them, looking inward over the rooftops of the limestone city and outward over the Adriatic, takes about two hours at a comfortable pace and offers a spatial comprehension of the city that no amount of time spent inside it can provide.

The republic that built these walls — Ragusa, as the city was known until 1918 — was a sophisticated maritime state that maintained independence from Venice, the Ottomans, and the Habsburg Empire simultaneously through a combination of diplomatic skill, geographic advantage, and careful neutrality. It was one of the first states in the world to abolish the slave trade (1416). Its constitution and political structures influenced Thomas Jefferson when he was drafting the American constitution. The walls are not just defensive architecture; they are the embodiment of a 700-year political project.

Dubrovnik has been transformed by tourism — Game of Thrones filming brought it to global attention, and in summer the old town can feel like a theme park. The correct approach is to arrive in May or October, stay inside the walls (where the private rooms are small and expensive but extraordinary), and do the wall walk at five in the afternoon when the day-tripper coaches have gone. Swim off the Buza Bar (accessible through a hole in the sea wall) between the wall walk and dinner.