Dubrovnik is a special place. You don’t need us to tell you that; it is clear from the moment you set eyes on the town, and its magic flows through every narrow street of the Old Town.
Still, a little recognition goes a long way, right? Dubrovnik is one of the few cities on the planet whose tangible and intangible charms have been deemed worthy of UNESCO attention, and 2024 is when all of this comes together. For one, the year marks the 45th anniversary of the city’s first entry into the annals of UNESCO. In 1979, the Old City of Dubrovnik was given World Heritage status, a doff of the cap to centuries of love and care given to the Gothic, Baroque, and Renaissance beauties that pack the streets within those famous walls. In 2009, the Festivity of Saint Blaise was awarded UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage status, the annual celebration inaugurated in 972 that marks Saint Blaise’s day. Finally, in late 2023, the Archives of the Republic of Dubrovnik (1022-1808) were included in the fabulously named Memory of the World register. Some say that good things come in threes, but this is just the tip of the iceberg regarding cultural and historical heritage in Dubrovnik.
To celebrate the year of UNESCO in the city, a broad range of exciting events will take place, headlined by the fascinating “Dubrovnik and UNESCO” exhibition (May 24 to October 31 at Rector's palace), which will open the doors of the old republic’s archive material to the public. Elsewhere, the FER Academic Male Choir of the University of Zagreb will perform two concerts (May 31 and June 1) in the Little Brothers Church and Duke’s Palace, respectively, before Katarina Livljanić and the Dialogos ensemble perform “Hecuba — Queen of Troy” as part of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival (July 24).
It is blindly obvious, but it can’t be said enough: Dubrovnik is a special place.
1. Coasting the contemporary art scene
Understandably dazzled by Dubrovnik's historical splendour, many visitors remain unaware that it's a city with robust contemporary art traditions too. One cult gallery that has surfed many an avant-garde wave is Otok ("Island"), located in the beautifully renovated ensemble of medieval quarantine buildings known as the Lazareti. If you want to know what's going on in contemporary Croatian art, then Otok is the place to be.
The Museum od Modern Art Dubrovnik has an ever-fascinating calendar of exhibitions of events planned, as you’d expect from the city’s largest art institution. The sculpture and installations of Alem Korkut will be showcased from June 6 to July 14 before the presence of the Mediterranean in 20th and 21st-century Croatian paintings gets time to shine July 19 to September 15. The trend-defying and wildly engaging work of Petar Dolić will be on show from September 24 to October 27, showcasing a truly unique sculptor. In between it all, the vivid portraits of Mara Bratoš will be unveiled on July 12, and her exhibition Lopud will shimmer as part of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival.
2. Hit the Vlaho Bukovac trail
Born and raised in Cavtat, Vlaho Bukovac (1855-1922) was one of the most gifted and prolific Croatian artists of the modern period. Both a brilliant portraitist and a master of the impressionistic landscape, his work was in demand across Europe and he ended up as a professor at the academy in Prague. Best place to get to grips with Bukovac's world is at the Bukovac House in Cavtat, a charming and intimate introduction to the artist's life and times. There are valuable collections of his works in the Museum of Moder Art Dubrovnik, while his serene Miracle of St Dominic hanging on the wall of the Dominican Monastery Church just inside the Ploče Gate.
A special exhibition of Bukovac’s fascinating portraits of Dubrovnik families will open in the Dulčić Masle Pulitika Gallery in mid-November and run through February 2025.
3. Get in step with the folk ensembles
Dubrovnik's folklore troupe Linđo has been treading the boards ever since 1965 and enjoys an international reputation for its presentations of traditional music and dance. Their repertoire covers the whole gamut of Croatian folklore, but has a natural bias towards Dubrovnik and the surrounding region. The ensemble gets its name from a local hop known as the linđo, which is danced in couples to the jolly accompaniment of a screeching archaic lyre. They perform weekly throughout the summer.
One particular tradition for which the Dobrovnik County is famous is the group of archaic sword dances performed on the island of Korčula. Best-known of these is the Moreška from Korčula Town, a highly stylized narrative dance in which a Black King and his followers attempt to abduct a maiden known as the Bula. The Moreška is performed twice a week from the beginning of May to the end of September, outdoors in the town's open-air cinema or - in case of bad weather - in the local House of Culture.
4. Catch a film under the stars
There's nothing quite like catching a movie in one of Croatia's open-air cinemas, and Dubrovnik can boast two of the most atmospheric: the Jadran, hidden behind a wall right inside the Old Town; and the Slavica perched above sea cliffs just 1km west of Pile Gate. Programmes include Hollywood hits, art movies and children's films.
Much of Croatia's outdoor cinema network is coordinated by Split-based organization Kino Mediteran (www.kinomediteran.hr), which organizes programmes and arranges distribution.
Summer Film School Šipan (August 4 - 14) Along with the island's film festival, workshops are held for kids under the mentorship of distinguished film professionals. Kids from the island as well as visitors produce their own films each summer and screen them in the open theatre under the stars. We just might find the next Scorsese here!
5. Join the festival crowd
The biggest show in town is without doubt the Dubrovnik Summer Festival which runs from July 10 to August 25 and embraces theatre, dance, classical music and a lot more. There is more often than not a challenging mix of tradition and experimentation, with canonical authors like Shakespeare and Croatia's Renaissance playwright Marin Držić getting ruffled up by contemporary directors. The unique appeal of the festival lies in its choice of settings, with Old Town buildings and nearby islands providing some stunning backdrops to an unforgettable collection of performances. For schedules and tickets, refer to the festival website at www.dubrovnik-festival.hr.
The 75th Dubrovnik Summer Festival will be highlighted by three major drama premieres and some seriously exciting guest performances. The latter features soprano Sonya Yoncheva, tenor Joseph Calleja and classical violinist Renaud Capuçon. Elsewhere, the Luis Bonilla-directed World Jazz Orchestra of Musical Youth will perform, as well as the Cristina Aguilera Flamenco Trio. If that wasn’t enough, Croatia’s rich folklore dance and music heritage will be presented by the Linđo Folklore Ensemble and the Croatian Folk Dance and Song Ensemble LADO.
For classical music buffs, the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra take place in the atmospheric surroundings of the old town. The Rector's Palace also serves as venue for the Dubrovnik Musical Autumn (September 5 - October 30), when the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra gets to play with invited foreign soloists.
The city's Symphony Orchestra and jet-setting international guests also get to play side-by-side during the Stradun Classic Festival (August 26 - September 1), when the Old Town's main street is turned into a unique al-fresco concert venue.
Throughout the summer season there'll be an extraordinary series of chamber concerts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at St Saviour's Church. Under the title Concerts by Candlelight, these performances by outstanding local quartets and soloists will use the intimate historic interior of this church to the full.
After renovating the phenomenal location next to the remains of the 14th century St Orsula's Church in 2011, Dubrovnik gained a new stage for Summer at Orsula festival, which hosts various Croatian and international musical performers throughout the summer (June 29 to August 31). There is a gorgeous view overlooking the Old Town, all the way to Cavtat and the island of Lokrum from this amphitheatre, which holds about 500 seats and is set on a 200-metre cliff above the sea. It is a 25-minute walk from the Old Town or a short taxi ride. A perfect combination of location and excellent music puts this festival on everybody's to-do list!
The Ponta Lopud Jazz Festival is scheduled to take place as August ends, and we can’t think of a better place for professional jazz musicians to do their thing than the sumptuous surroundings of lovely Lopud. Masters from all over the world will perform over three days (August 29 - 31) at the festival, and the post-gig jam sessions promise to be electric.
DUFF - Dubrovnik Film Festival (October 17 - 20) is what we call a ‘hands on’ festival which features the works of entries aged between 10-20 years old and from Mediterranean countries. Future film makers are given support in creating their filming dreams through workshops, tech support, software and more. From animation to real life film, the festival is a stepping stone for future Spielberg’s. Films will be screened at Sloboda Cinema, Cinema Hall Visia and the Lazaret.
6. Make room for food and drink
There is no better route into the culture of a destination than through its belly. Luckily Dubrovnik is something of a gourmet paradise, with classic elements of the Mediterranean diet offered in all their forms - with fresh seafood and velvety local wines the stand-outs. Outside the city there's an extraordinary degree of culinary diversity, with each town and region offering unique specialities,.
You'll be able to sample many of these riches at the Good Food Festival in October, when the city's restaurants prepare special (and usually eminently affordable) festival menus. There's also a street food programme, and a luxuriant plethora of wine and craft beer to sample your way through.
There are also plenty of events celebrating the culinary traditions of the wider Dubrovnik region. Korčula's Wine Festival (August 2-3) focuses on a different town each weekend, with the vintners of Korčula, Čara, Smokvica and Blato each getting the chance to show off their unique contributions to the island's rich and varied viniculture.
The highly individual culinary culture of the Pelješac peninsula is celebrated in the Flavours of Pelješac Festival, a once-a-week event that will take over the centre of Ston every Friday in July and August. It will be a great opportunity to try the shellfish, hand-made pastas and desserts for which the town is famous; stalls will sell local deli products, herbs and wine.
Ston is also famous for its salt pans: no surprise therefore that it will host another edition of the Ston Salt Festival in September, when revellers will be able to taste and buy high-quality locally produced salt as well as sample all manner of local seafood dishes, with live music and Pelješac wine helping to keep the party swinging.
7. Browse around for traditional crafts
Pay a visit to Dubrovnik's Rupe Ethnographic Museum and you'll be treated to a visually stunning display of traditional textiles, with embroidery and lacemaking among the age-old crafts.
It's in the area south of Dubrovnik that these traditions are still practiced. Women from the Konavle region, which stretches from Cavtat to the Monenegrin border, still embroider their dresses, blouses, aprons and tablecloths with age-old geometric patterns rendered in red, black and green. You can see exquisite pieces on sale in Dubrovnik's Old Town and other places frequented by tourists.
What is less widely known is that Konavle is also a traditional centre for the manufacture of silk. Dependent on the cultivation of silk worms and the worm's favourite food source - the mulberry tree -it is no longer widely practiced, although the Croatian Ministry of Culture decided in January 2022 to undertake measures for the silk industry's nurture and protection.
Dubrovnik has long been known for goldsmithery and filigree jewelry and ateliers selling delicately wrought brooches and earrings can be found tucked away in the back-alleys of the Old Town.
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