Our Dubrovnik walking tour starts at Pile Gate, the western entrance into the Old Town. But we’re not going to enter – yet! Let’s first catch sight of the massive St. Lawrence Fortress, built on a 37 metre high rock. Mamma mia, this is the Gibraltar of Dubrovnik! The famed inscription “Freedom is not to be sold, not for all the gold of the world” is carved above the entrance to the fortress. But how did the Dubrovnik Republic manage to preserve its freedom? After all, the Dubrovnik state was so Lilliputian on the map of the Gulliver’s medieval world…

From Pile Gate over Stradun

After passing through the inner Pile Gate with its Gothic arch, we’ll suddenly be treading the main street, Placa, commonly known as Stradun. You’ll be struck by the shininess of its limestone. It’s so shiny your shoes can see their faces in it. The Stradun starts and finishes with fountains, the Large Onofrian Fountain and the Small Onofrian Fountain. On the left, squeezed between the City Walls and the Franciscan Monastery, the Renaissance Church of the Holy Saviour protects the town from earthquakes…

The journey of discovery

Our route will take us to one of fourteen steep streets leading to the northern wall. As we climb the steps, the view over the terracotta roofs opens up. All of a sudden, a basketball court leaps into view! Wow! Minčeta Tower stands tall behind it. Our journey of discovery continues beneath the city walls, through narrow streets where laundry is hung out to dry. We’ll pass through the Buža Gate (literally the hole in the wall) to walk also along the outside wall in order to explore the Revelin Fortress whose main function was to protect the town against attack from the land…