Things to Do in Dubrovnik Old Town: 2-Day Guide

By the time we rolled into Dubrovnik, we’d already ridden and ferried our way through most of the story: out of Split, a ferry over to Korčula, a ride across the island into Korčula’s old town, another ferry to Orebić, then the ride down to Ston for a few quiet nights, and finally the ride into Dubrovnik itself. It was meant to be the grand finale — the city that greets you with red rooftops and massive stone walls rising straight out of the Adriatic. It’s no secret destination, and it’s easy to see why people are drawn here — there’s a real pull to getting lost down the narrow lanes, catching glimpses of the sea between buildings, pausing for gelato while church bells ring somewhere close by.

But here’s the honest centerpiece of this post: rolling into Dubrovnik didn’t feel like arriving at a triumphant ending. It felt like arriving tired, with a list of logistics to get through before we could actually enjoy anything — returning the bikes, sorting out our forward-transferred luggage. This is where Mark genuinely shines, the mission-critical stuff is exactly the kind of thing he locks onto and just gets done, calm and on-target until it’s handled.

After the quiet, unhurried magic of the days between Split and here, Dubrovnik hit us as a little overwhelming, almost disorienting. We’d poured so much planning into the riding days that we’d sort of forgotten to plan for Dubrovnik itself, and by the time we got there, Split already felt like it had happened ages ago — not because of the distance, but because of how much we’d lived through in between. Neither of us are really “hustle and bustle” people, and Dubrovnik, for all its beauty, is a hustle-and-bustle kind of place. We were glad we saw it. It just wasn’t the highlight of the trip — and by the end of this post, I think you’ll understand why we were actually relieved we hadn’t budgeted more time here.

Things to Do in Dubrovnik Old Town

We had two nights in Dubrovnik, which gave us about a day and a half to explore. In hindsight, that was probably about right for us — although not necessarily because we saw everything. We absolutely didn’t.

Dubrovnik is one of those places where you could spend days working your way through churches, palaces, museums, restaurants and little side streets, but after arriving already a little worn out from the riding and ferrying we’d done to get there, we weren’t particularly interested in proving that we could see it all.

Instead, we focused our one full day around the things we most wanted to see: the city walls, the Old Town itself, a couple of museums, the Game of Thrones locations that happened to be along the way, and sunset from outside the walls.

If you have two full days, I’d spread things out a little more. If, like us, you have about a day and a half, this is how I’d prioritize it.

Day 1: City Walls, Old Town & Dubrovnik’s History

Start With the City Walls

If there’s one thing I’d recommend doing as early as possible, it’s the city walls.

This was the actual highlight of our time in Dubrovnik, and going right at opening gave us a brief window where we could actually enjoy them before the crowds caught up with us. The heat was already climbing, so getting up there early made a difference for that reason too.

The wall walk gives you a completely different perspective on the city. From above, Dubrovnik becomes this complex, contained, multi-level maze of stone buildings, scattered church domes and a sea of terracotta rooftops. Then you turn a corner and suddenly it’s nothing but Adriatic — cliffs, little bays and open water stretching away from the city.

We stopped constantly for photos and views, which meant our “early start” advantage didn’t last forever. By the time we’d made our way around, we could see the crowds noticeably filling in behind us.

There are also a handful of cafés and bars along the ocean-facing side, with umbrella seating and genuinely premium views if you want to stop for a drink. At one point we passed a section that was mostly rubble — the foundations of a building, thick with overgrown foliage — and watched a few cats hunting and playing through the leaves, completely unbothered by the tourists walking past.

Honestly, that might be one of my favourite Dubrovnik memories. Very dramatic medieval city walls, very expensive views, and a couple of cats treating the whole thing like their backyard.

Tip: buy the Dubrovnik pass. Plan for: 1.5–2 hours, longer if you’re stopping constantly like we did.

Wander Down Into the Old Town

Once you’ve finished the walls, head down into the Old Town and give yourself some time to simply wander.

Walking through the gates and down a few flights of stairs to reach the main level is actually part of the experience. The buildings seem to tower higher above you with every step down, and suddenly you’re surrounded by the narrow lanes that make Dubrovnik feel so different from the open coastal roads we’d spent the previous days riding.

The alleys are narrow — genuinely too narrow for a typical car — with laundry strung between buildings, window boxes of plants reaching for whatever light they can get, and a constant obstacle course of parked bikes, strollers and the occasional restaurant table spilling into the lane.

You can see straight down one alley and it’s the same scene repeating into the distance.

It’s beautiful, but it’s busy. And squeezed in tight. And, at times, it makes you feel a little like a sardine.

After several days of cycling through quieter parts of the Croatian coast, it was quite an adjustment.

Take some time to walk along Stradun, the main pedestrian street running through the heart of the Old Town, but don’t feel like you need to stay on the main thoroughfare. The side streets are where you start to get a better sense of the city’s layout — and where you’ll find plenty of the historic buildings and smaller corners that make wandering worthwhile.

Stop at Onofrio’s Fountain

You’ll likely pass Onofrio’s Fountain while exploring the Old Town. The circular springwater fountain dates back to 1438 and is decorated with ornately carved stone masks.

It’s also one of those Dubrovnik sights that feels oddly familiar, even if you’ve never been here before — at least if you’re a Game of Thrones fan. The fountain appears in the series, along with a frankly ridiculous number of other corners of the city.

Use Your Museum Ticket

We bought the combo ticket for the city walls, which bundled in several museums, so we made a point of visiting some of them rather than treating them as an afterthought.

The Maritime Museum was a particular draw for Mark, who’s always been interested in machines, engineering and anything involving transportation. It also fit neatly with Dubrovnik’s history as Ragusa, once a genuinely powerful maritime trading city-state whose wealth and influence were closely tied to the sea.

The museum also included an exhibit on the relatively recent war, with photographs showing the destruction to buildings and the toll on people. I found that one quietly affecting. I was just a child when the war happened and never really understood much about it beyond knowing that it had happened. Seeing the photographs of the damage in a city we’d just been walking through made the history feel much less distant.

The other museum we visited was more focused on traditional life, with clothing, furniture and recreated home interiors. It was a nice counterpoint to the maritime history and gave us a glimpse into a much more everyday side of Dubrovnik’s past.

Plan for: 1–2 hours depending on how many museums you visit.

Evening: Sunset Outside the Walls

After a full day inside the Old Town, I’d get out of it for sunset.

For the best view of Dubrovnik itself, head toward the area around West Harbour and Fort Lovrijenac, just outside the walls. From here, you can actually see the city rather than being surrounded by it — which, after spending hours squeezed into those narrow streets, was a welcome change.

The city’s sandstone and red-roof colour palette is already warm in daylight, but the evening sun deepens it further. We watched it shift from orange to pink and eventually toward a deeper purple as the light faded.

It’s a good reminder that Dubrovnik is spectacular. Even if, by that point, I was also very ready to sit down.

Grab dinner afterward and call it a day. You will have earned it.

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Day 2: Historic Corners, Game of Thrones & Wine

If you have a second full day, this is where I’d slow things down. You don’t need another checklist of major sights. Use the morning to revisit the parts of the Old Town you liked, see a few of the historic buildings you missed on day one, and then build the rest of the day around whatever interests you most.

Follow the Game of Thrones Trail

If you’re a Game of Thrones fan, Dubrovnik gives you plenty to look for without necessarily needing to book a tour.

The Old Town and surrounding area stood in for King’s Landing, and filming locations are scattered throughout places you’ll likely walk past anyway:

• The Red Keep — Fort Lovrijenac (St. Lawrence Fortress)
• Cersei’s Walk of Shame — the Jesuit Staircase
• The Walk of Punishment & Blackwater Bay — around Pile Gate and West Harbour
• House of the Undying — Minčeta Tower, the highest point on the city walls
• Qarth — Lokrum Island, just offshore
• The Palace Gardens of King’s Landing — Trsteno Arboretum, about 20 minutes outside the city

You can absolutely make this into a dedicated Game of Thrones tour if that’s your thing, but if you’re only mildly interested, you can also just pick out the locations that overlap with the rest of your sightseeing.

That was more our approach. We didn’t come to Dubrovnik specifically because it was King’s Landing, but once you’re there, it’s hard not to notice how much of the city made its way onto the screen.

See a Few More Historic Sights

We didn’t try to see every church, palace and historic building in Dubrovnik — partly because we only had a day and a half, and partly because after a while, beautiful stone buildings start to blur together.

But if you have the time, a few are worth adding:

• Rector’s Palace — one of the city’s most important historic buildings and former seat of the Rector of the Republic of Ragusa.
• Franciscan Monastery & Pharmacy — just inside Pile Gate, with a historic pharmacy dating back to the 14th century.
• Jesuit Staircase — the grand Baroque staircase leading up from Gundulić Square to the Church of St. Ignatius.
• Dubrovnik Cathedral — an easy addition while exploring the eastern side of the Old Town.
• Stradun — worth walking at least once, even if the side streets are where I found the city more interesting.

This is also a good time to duck into any churches, shops or little corners you skipped on day one rather than trying to march through another list of attractions.

Visit the Wine Museum

One of my favourite stops on our second day was a wine museum and tasting space just outside Pile Gate.

It walks through the history of Croatian winemaking and the country’s more recent resurgence before finishing with a terrace tasting. And this was where something finally clicked for me.

We had just spent days riding through the Pelješac Peninsula, passing century-old vines along the roads. We’d known the landscape felt special — it was too beautiful and too obviously shaped by generations of farming for us not to notice — but we hadn’t really understood how significant the area was for Croatian wine.

Standing there with a glass of Croatian wine and the context to connect it all together made the cycling route we’d just completed feel even more interesting.

It’s one of those travel experiences I like because it isn’t just another attraction. It gave us a little more context for something we’d already seen.

Finish With Another Sunset — Or Don’t

If you missed sunset around West Harbour on your first evening, go back. If you’ve already done it, this is the point where I’d give yourself permission to stop sightseeing.

Dubrovnik is beautiful, but you don’t get extra travel points for exhausting yourself trying to see every square metre of it. Find somewhere to sit, have a drink, watch the harbour, or simply wander without having somewhere else you need to be.

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