Kotor
Get a glimpse of life in Montenegro’s UNESCO protected town
Visiting Kotor feels like travelling back in time. This fortifed town, tucked into a small inlet on Montenegro’s Adriatic coast, stands as it always has among the mountains. It’s a labyrinth of churches, museums, palaces and piazzas each cobblestoned street harbouring secrets from the town’s two millennia of existence.
BACK IN TIME
Kotor’s Old Town is the best place to start. Lose yourself among the UNESCO listed city walls each narrow alley packed with charming cafés where seating areas spill onto the streets. Every corner you turn reveals a glimpse of the town’s history the Cathedral of Saint Tryphon, first built in 1166 the Church of Saint Luke from the 12th century the Prince’s Palace from the 17th century and the Napoleon Theatre from the 19th century. Spend an hour at one of the pavement cafés or grab a krempita (a custard filled puff pastry slice) to go Behind the Old Town, you’ll find a hiking trail that zig zags up the mountains. This so called ‘Ladder of Kotor’ was once the only route connecting the town with Njegusi village and the old royal capital of Cetinje. From the 1200m high Castle of San Giovanni, perched en route near the top of the range, views sweep across the bay taking in the historic orange roofed towns, the glassy ocean and the rolling mountains beyond.
SETTING SAIL
It is on the water, however, that Kotor really shines. A boat ride into the fjord like Bay of Kotor, known locally as Boka (‘the bay’), reveals the region’s epic scenery. To the west stands Mount Orjen, and to the east, Mount Lovćen these two massifs of the Dinaric Alps circling the orange city below. When the sun shines, it’s as though the world’s saturation has been dialled right up. You can cross the bay to visit the small photogenic islands of Sveti Djordje (St George) and Gospa od Škrpjela (Our Lady of the Rocks) The latter has the distinction of being the only man made island in the Adriatic not that it looks View from the top (clockwise from this) The view across the Bay of Kotor the mountains and cobblestoned alleys of the Old Town artificial. It stands serenely on the water supporting a pretty church, home to 68 paintings by the Baroque artist Tripo Kokolja.
PARTY SEASON
Back on shore, Kotor has a host of exciting events. Every August, the Kotor Carnival fills the streets with masked dancers, colourful costumes and Mediterranean music with the celebrations continuing well into the night. There’s also KotorArt, a summer art festival that’s dedicated to preserving Montenegro’s traditional culture, with more than 200 performances of music, dance and theatre throughout the bay. But festival or not, with such a picturesque little city in such an idyllic mountain setting, it feels as though there’s always something worth celebrating.