*Sponza Palace (map). Gothic Renaissance palace, one of the few buildings that has maintained its form from before the catastrophic 1667 earthquake. Hosts historic archives.

*Rector’s Palace (map). The former palace of the Major Council houses a museum dedicated to the city’s history.

Pile Gate (Vrata od Pila, map), at the western end of the Placa Thoroughfare (Stradun). A convenient starting place for your stroll through the Old Town is the Pile Gate. Before entering the Old Town, Fort Lovrjenac (map), the first among many sites worth seeing in Dubrovnik, provides a good view of the Old Town and its wall.

Placa Stradun (Old town, map). The Stradun (Placa) is the central street of the city of Dubrovnik and is the place where the old city comes to life. During the day, explore the shades of the perpendicular streets and alleys on its sides, and during the night, take walks up and down the Stradun with an ice-cream in hand. The uniform Baroque architecture of the houses in Placa, with shops on the street level and their ‘knee-like’ entrances, got its present-day form in the restoration of the City taking place after the disastrous earthquake in 1667.

Big Onofrio’s Fountain (map). In the western (Pile) entrance of the old town. The fountain stairs are nowadays a favourite meeting place where both the tourists and pigeons take rest and refresh themselves with cool water.

Minceta Fort (map) is one of the most beautiful cultural attractions in Dubrovnik. It is situated on the northwest side of the city inside the City Walls. It was built according to the design of Renaissance builder Juraj Dalmatinac. St. Luke’s Tower you can see walking along the landward side of City Walls up to Ploce Gate. St. Luke’s Tower has protected the entrance to the Dubrovnik harbour throughout the history of the city.

Franciscan Monastery (map). This beautiful monastery with Baroque Church, houses a Romanesque cloister and the third oldest pharmacy in the world.

Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (map). This impressive building is in the Poljana Marin Držić. Supposedly, the original church was built with money donated by Richard the Lionhearted who survived shipwreck on his way home from the Third Crusade.

Dubrovnik’s most beloved church is St Blaise’s church (map), built in the 18th century in honour of Dubrovnik’s patron saint.