A tiny republic that bought its freedom, abolished slavery in 1416, and invented one of Europe's first quarantines — then became King's Landing on screen. Meet Dubrovnik, the walled city on the Croatian coast.
The city that bought its freedom
For four and a half centuries Dubrovnik was the Republic of Ragusa — a small, fiercely independent maritime state that survived by wit rather than force. Its merchants played the Ottomans and Venice off against each other, and its motto said it all: 'Non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro' — liberty is not sold for all the gold in the world.
Ragusa was startlingly modern for its time. It abolished the slave trade in 1416, ran one of the world's earliest organised quarantine systems, and built an orphanage and public water supply while much of Europe went without. Lord Byron dubbed it 'the Pearl of the Adriatic', and George Bernard Shaw wrote that 'those who seek paradise on Earth should come to Dubrovnik'.
Walls you can walk
The old town is wrapped in nearly 2 km of medieval walls up to 25 m high and 6 m thick — never breached by an invading army. Walking the full circuit, with the terracotta roofs on one side and the Adriatic on the other, is the city's signature experience.
Guarding the western approach is Fort Lovrijenac, perched on a 37 m cliff and nicknamed 'Dubrovnik's Gibraltar'. Inside the gates, the main street — the Stradun — is paved in limestone polished to a shine by centuries of footsteps, bookended by the domed Onofrio's Fountain, the outlet of a remarkable 15th-century aqueduct.
Older than you think
Tucked inside the Franciscan Monastery is one of the oldest continuously operating pharmacies in Europe, dispensing since 1317. Just offshore, the wooded island of Lokrum carries a monks' curse and the ghost of a botanical garden begun by Archduke Maximilian, later the ill-fated emperor of Mexico.
For the view, a cable car climbs Mount Srđ, where a fort houses a sober museum about the city's most recent trial.
Scarred and rebuilt
In 1991–92 Dubrovnik was besieged and shelled during the break-up of Yugoslavia; more than two-thirds of the old-town buildings were hit. The city was painstakingly restored to UNESCO standards, and if you look closely from Mount Srđ you can still pick out the brighter, newer roof tiles that mark what had to be replaced — a quiet reminder beneath the postcard beauty.
King's Landing and a galaxy far away
Fans will recognise it instantly: Dubrovnik's walls and Fort Lovrijenac became King's Landing and the Red Keep in Game of Thrones, the Jesuit Stairs staged Cersei's 'walk of shame', Gradac Park hosted the Purple Wedding, and the nearby Trsteno Arboretum played the Red Keep's gardens.
It's not only Westeros: Star Wars – The Last Jedi turned the Stradun into the glittering casino city of Canto Bight, and Robin Hood (2018) filmed here too. Guided 'GoT' walks now thread all these spots together.
When to go
Ferries fan out to the green Elaphiti islands and to Lokrum for a swim away from the crowds. Aim for late spring or September: the sea is warm, the light is golden, and the cruise-ship crush of high summer has eased.