Introduction to Dubrovnik

Hollywood's most creative designers would struggle to build a set as perfect as Dubrovnik. This "city made of stone and light" is as dazzling as the sunlight and moonbeams that ricochet off its 14th-century ramparts.

Serb shells devastated this UNESCO World Heritage Site during the 1991-92 sieges, but the walled city is remarkably whole. One of the few telltale reminders of those violent days is the brighter shade of orange sported by new terra-cotta roof tiles on buildings blasted in the war. You might find a tiny bullet scar if you are looking for marks of hostility, but by and large the "Pearl of the Adriatic" is as lustrous as it was 5 centuries ago when Dubrovnik was a major sea power bustling with prosperous merchants and dripping with Renaissance grandeur.

Dubrovnik (née Ragusa) began as a Roman settlement. From the Middle Ages on it was a prize sought by Venice, Hungary, Turkey, and others who recognized the city's logistical value as a maritime port. But Libertas (Liberty), the city's motto, has always been uppermost in the minds of Dubrovnik's citizens, and through the ages their thirst for independence repeatedly trumped other nations' plans for domination.

In 1667, another kind of assault leveled Dubrovnik when an earthquake destroyed almost everything except a few palaces and church buildings in Old Town. The city was quickly rebuilt in the Baroque style of the time, only to be shattered again during the 1991-92 sieges. Croatia's war with Serbia destroyed the tourism industry throughout Croatia, but Dubrovnik was especially hard hit. Not only was the city physically scarred, but it also was economically crushed. Happily, crowds are once again flocking to this charming city nestled between the Adriatic and the Dinaric Alps, and Dubrovnik has regained its status as a vacation destination par excellence.

Inside protective walls, the pedestrian-only Old Town is bustling with an international crowd. Here you will find almost all the area's sights worth seeing -- historic churches and public buildings; designer shops and homey restaurants; ancient sculptures and modern galleries; fountains and bell towers; monasteries and gardens; and the ancient city wall itself.

Outside the Old Town walls, Dubrovnik's suburban districts are packed with hotels, restaurants, parks, and campgrounds, all focused on the hordes of tourists clamoring to bask in the city's Mediterranean magic and revel in its citizens' devotion to Libertas.