This coastal town in the very south of Croatia, located between rocky mountains of the Dinaric Alps and crystal clear water of the Adriatic Sea, attracts people from all over the world. Its Old Town is a masterpiece of medieval architecture, surrounded by one of the most impressive defensive wall systems you will ever see, preserving a fascinating history of over 1400 years. Since 1979 both are listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites. 

Besides UNESCO’s, it nearly makes every travelers bucket list such as Patricia Schultz’ „1000 Places to see before you die“. „52 Places to go in 2017“, a list titled less dramatically by „The New York Times“, ranked Dubrovnik 6th. Lord Byron, a leading figure of Britain’s 19th century Romantic Movement, named the city „The Pearl of the Adriatic“. Another great writer and Nobel Prize winner, George Bernard Shaw put it this way: „Those who seek paradise on earth should come to Dubrovnik.“  

I could go on and add sunshine and rainbows, dragons and princesses or flying pink elephants to its story (actually 4 out of these 5 have something to do with Dubrovnik, the other one was spotted under questionable circumstances) just to show you, that this city is special. But I won't. It is not because I don’t want to but it’s not that easy to explain. You owe it to yourself to find out what it is. Besides everyone will tell you something different. 

Some would say it’s the crystal blue Adriatic, where you don’t even need a mask to see what lies beneath the surface? Others love to get lost on the smooth cobbled streets of the Old Town, or enjoying local specialties in a cozy restaurant with a beautiful view. And yet others are just running from location to location to re-enact scenes from the HBO series „Game of Thrones“. Just a few perspectives out of many. The list goes on and on. In the end they’re all telling you the same. The difference is that the genius of Shaw and Byron put it in only one sentence.  

So I tried as well and „There’s something about Dubrovnik“ is all I came up with. Anyway, I’m sticking to it. 

Note:

Although this text praises Dubrovnik literally to the skies, the city has flaws too. Flaws easy to handle if you know how. But this is another story for another post.