Cavtat

Cavtat is a small town on the coast of the Konavle region, some twenty kilometres south of Dubrovnik, set around a double harbour and a wooded peninsula. It began as the Greek and Roman settlement of Epidaurum, out of which nearby Dubrovnik later grew, and today it is one of the calmer places to stay within reach of the city.

The town’s waterfront is a single palm-lined promenade of cafes and old stone houses, and the wooded Sustjepan peninsula gives a short walk with a view back over the harbour. The most important building is the church of St Nicholas, whose interior holds works by the painter Vlaho Bukovac, who was born here, and the Racic Mausoleum, a small masterpiece by the sculptor Ivan Meštrović, set on the cemetery hill above the town.

Cavtat is the natural alternative to staying inside Dubrovnik’s crowded walls. It is quieter, cheaper and on the water, and it is a short bus or boat ride into the city. It is also the gateway to the Konavle valley, the fertile region of orchards, mills and old stone villages behind the coast.

For photographers, the harbour from the Sustjepan peninsula at dusk and the Meštrović mausoleum are the shots. Use Cavtat as a calmer base and day-trip into Dubrovnik, or combine it with the Konavle valley for a day off the city.

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