Landing In King’s Landing: Dubrovnik

by | May 15, 2014 | Croatia, May 2014: Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Italy, Walking Tours, What Dreams May Come | 0 comments

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Dubrovnik, aka “Pearl of the Adriatic” and “King’s Landing” of Game of Thrones’ fame, lies near the borders of Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina and was once a city-state that rivaled Venice in the Middle Ages. It has been regarded as one of the most beautiful cities of the Mediterranean as it became a magnet for prominent celebrities, playwrights, philosophers, poets, and scholars as early as the 19th century and even to this day remains as Croatia’s top tourist destination and most well recognized locale from the hit TV series, “Game of Thrones.”

I arrived by bus from Split at 4:45pm. 

From there I took a 10min bus (1A, 1B or 1…all head to the same place) for 15kn into Old Town. 

 

To get to my hostel, Apartments Stella, I had to climb a lot of stairs:

 

 

In return I got a great view of Dubrovnik and its old town outside my room:

 

 

After settling in, I headed to Old Town itself from its Eastern “Pile” Gate:

 

 

It felt as if I were walking into something out of Harry Potter (or Game of Thrones, which would be more fitting):

 

 

When you enter, you’ll most likely be walking along its main road, Placa Stradun, where the city comes alive with locals and tourists alike:

 

 

Head to the Western End and climb up the stairs to the Jesuit Square:

 

St. Ignatius Church

 

Keep walking along the Southern Street of Buza, follow the signs “Cold Beer, Great View…” and you’ll find the famous Café Buza:

 

 

Plop down a chair, order a beer, and enjoy the sunset as you overlook the island of Lokrum. On some months, you can step out from your chair and go cliff diving:

 

 

Afterwards, Dubrovnik takes on a different atmosphere in the evening:

 

Roland's Column and Sponza Palace

 

Everything begins to close up by 10pm, shuttering by 11:30pm:

 

A concert outside the nearby university

 

The next morning I took a hike up Mountain Srd overlooking Dubrovnik, to reach the fortress museum and Cable Car at the top:

 

 

The hike was a pleasant zig zag up the hill and took me about 30-40min to climb at a leisurely pace.

 

 

At the top is a fortress housing a museum that depicts the 1991-1995 war that devastated Croatia and Dubrovnik, as well as giving you 360 degree views of Dubrovnik from its terrace:

 

 

Walk around to the Cable Car station where you can take it down to Old Town for 120 kn each way:

 

 

There in a total WTF moment, I ran into Christian and Candice, my fellow classmates graduating with me from medical school!

 

 

After catching up, I explored what was left of Old Town and its surroundings, including the abandoned Hotel Bellevue (where they shot a lot of Game of Thrones scenes…read on!) and Fort Lovrijenac.

 

 

Want examples of how Game of Thrones was filmed here? I have many.

Like this:

 

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or this:

 

kill-the-basterds

 

or this:

 

ItRZ6IN

 

Afterwards I paid the 30kn student entrance fee to check out empty Fort Lovrijenac, which served to defend Dubrovnik back in the day.

 

 

After that, I packed up and prepared my voyage across the Adriatic Sea to Bari, Italy.

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- At time of posting in Dubrovnik, it was 14 °C - Humidity: 47% | Wind Speed: 18km/hr | Cloud Cover: clear

 

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