​This week we will write about small but historical city of Cavtat.
Cavtat is a city founded in the 6th century by ancient Greeks and has been given various names throughout the history, such as “Epidaurum“, „Ragus Vecchi“ or „Zaptat”. Today, Cavtat is a city that breathes its beautiful combination of the royal blue sea and thick greenery through which they extract old stone houses. It is situated in between two small peninsulas south of Dubrovnik. Now that you know the details, it's time to start your sightseeing tour of the bigger picture.
#HOW TO GET TO CAVTAT?
To get to Cavtat you have more options. The first option is to go with the local Bus line number 10, departing from the Central Bus Station and will take you directly to the center of Cavtat. Also, bus number 10 picks passengers at the station in front of the Cable Car Station, just above the Old City. The price of a one-way bus ticket for adults is 25 Kuna (about 3.50 Euro), and for children younger than 6 the bus is free of charge. The other option is by sea. From the old city port, during the day-to-day season there are multiple offers of boats that can take you to Cavtat, so you can enjoy a pleasant sail along the Adriatic sea by traveling from the big Perl to the little Pearl Cavtat. The third option is if you are travelling with a car, you can also come to Cavtat by road. By the bus stop in Cavtat there is a car parking, charged 10 Kuna per hour.

​#GET TO KNOW ABOUT THE PEOPLE & HISTORY OF CAVTAT
Cultural and historical sights in Cavtat are famous artistic works of the past, which bear the style of the Renaissance period with traces of Gothic.
In the past, the Rector's Palace in Cavtat was the home of the guardian of Cavtat during the Dubrovnik Republic. The Rector's Palace also houses Lapidarium with excavations and monuments dating back to the oldest ancient times.

​Also, the Rector's Palace today houses works by Baltazar Bogišić. Baltazar Bogišić is a famous world scientist born in Cavtat in 1834. He was a member of many European academies and was elected president of the International Institute of Sociology in Paris in 1902. He was a great passionate collector and guardian of folk folklore treasures. The Rector's Palace in Cavtat keeps its rich cultural heritage: a library with more than 22,000 rare and old books, about 70 incunabula, a rich archive collection of enormous value, a graphics collection with more than 10,000 copies, a numismatic collection of ancient money and money of the Dubrovnik Republic (about 1500 copies), an old weapons collection, an ethnographic collection, etc.

Next to the Rector's Palace is the church of St Nicholas. The Church was built in 1484 and upgraded in 1737 when the bell tower was built. The Franciscan monastery houses the work of Dubrovnik painter Vicko Dobričević (15. St.) the famous polyptych of St. Michael,  and the cloister of the monastery counts among the masterpieces of Renaissance architecture.
The place we highly recommend to visit is Vlaho Bukovac's house. He was born in Cavtat in 1855 and was the most influential Croatian painter at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century. Without formal education, during his visit to America, he discovered his talent for painting. His Cavtat house looks like most houses with basic backyard. But when you step into the house, you'll feel like you've traveled back into the past. On the first floor, you will be enchanted by the completely painted walls. The entire first floor is a portrait and picture of an intimate environment and a good insight into the growth and change of artists in all its stages of creation. The second floor atelier represents all phases of artistic creativity - Parisian, Zagreb, Cavtat and Prague. Bukovac connected this athelier to the house all by himself. The athelier was the perfect place to create eternal works, who wouldn't have the inspiration if on one hand you had a magnificent view of the blue sea and on the other side a view of the garden?!

​#SLEEP, EAT, ENJOY, REPEAT
Now that we've introduced you to the historical places and artists of Cavtat, it's time to rest from sightseeing and absorb every murmur of the sea. Along the sea surrounding a large part of Cavtat there is a beautiful promenade and we certainly recommend you to walk through it. Tall pines and cypresses with wild mediteranian vegetation on one side and on the other a beautiful, blue colour, coloured crystal-clear sea. While you are walking, you will find many beaches where locals like to relax and play water polo. When you get hungry, we recommend top-quality restaurant Leut where there is always fresh caught fish on the plate. Or if you are not a fan of sea food, you can always grab lunch/dinner at many others restaurants. The night life in Cavtat is really great. Starting from pop rock music, Latin rhythms, to live music and Croatian klapa songs, something can be found that will suit all ears. 

​As hashtag says, we really hope you enjoy the small town of Cavtat and experience its true charms.

​To experience an “easy going” day in Dubrovnik, we have created an itinerary, which might help you to get around.  So, let us begin...
#MORNING
Kick off your day by having a delicious breakfast at Dubravka restaurant, which is located at Pile gate. Enjoy the sound of sea beneath you, and the magnificent view of the City Walls and fort Lovrijenac in front of you. Simply relax while you are enjoying your morning coffee. When you finish with your breakfast we would recommend you to take a tour around our most known attraction. You are probably guessing which one are we talking about and yes you are 100% right! We are talking about the City Walls.

​Besides being Dubrovnik’s biggest attraction, the City Walls simply cannot be missed out. Not only because of the spectacular views that offer, but more because of its historical significance and beauty.
By the way don`t forget to bring a bottle of water with you. You can get free icy cold water on Onofrio`s Fountain right opposite of the entrance to the City Walls. Onofrio`s Fountain was built in 1438 with a purpose to supply the Old Town with fresh water. Believe it or not, at that time the spring water supply was 12 kilometres far. After the devastating earthquake in 1667 and the homeland war in 1991, the fountain still remained as a place where everybody gathers. Moreover, during hot summer days you can notice how tourists refresh themselves with cold water along with our city pigeons.

​#AFTERNOON
Take a walk between narrow stone streets where you will find some local stores offering handmade souvenirs, like different kinds of craft art and jewellery. Our office as well offers all sorts of handmade souvenirs; therefore feel free to check it out. Our wide collection of handmade souvenirs includes: necklaces, bracelets and earrings made of corals, as well as ceramics, numismatics and natural cosmetics.
Majority of products we offer, are designed and made in Croatia.

Fun fact: Did you know that corals are invertebrate animals belonging to a large group of colourful animals called Cnidaria? They lack a brain but have a simple nervous system called a nerve net. (Neither did we ;))
Once you get tiered from walking around take a seat in one of city restaurants and just take a break for lunch. Whether you like meat, fish, fast food or something else, you will definitely find something for your taste as Dubrovnik has a variety of delicious dishes. Our favourite restaurants are Trattoria Carmen and restaurant Proto, but pick whatever you like.
If you are not tiered after lunch, you will still have time to visit Rectors Palace, which was a legal- administrative body during the Republic of Dubrovnik. Today, Rector Palace is gorgeous gothic- renaissance museum.

​#EVENING
Finish your day by visiting the mount Srđ. There are several ways how you can visit mount Srđ. The first option is a cable car, which will take around 5 minutes. Second option is to take a local taxi, which would take around 20 minutes. Many taxi drivers offers a “Panorama Tour”, which basically means that on the way to the top of the hill you will have a chance to stop at some specific locations to absorb the beautiful view and to take a selfie along the way. At the top of the Mount Srđ there is a Restaurant Panorama. If you become thirsty or hungry we recommend you to grab a seat and get a glass of local wine or beer. If you decide to have a dinner there, make sure you make a reservation upfront. We can guarantee you that you will experience the most beautiful sunset ever and thus just sit down and enjoy the rest of the day.

​We truly hope that with our recommendations we have helped you planning your one-day stay in our city.

​The city of Dubrovnik also known as "The pearl of Adriatic " is an inspiring city surrounded by crystal blue sea and Mount Srđ. There are many amazing views, but we will list the ones that we think are the best. 

​Second best view you will find is a Lovrijenac fortress. This fortress has been built on a 37 meters high rock. Just like the walls, the fortress has its own history. Right on the entrance to the fortress you will see carved inscription: “Non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro“, which means: „Liberty is not sold for all the gold in the world“. But you're here for the view, right? Tourists may or may not enter the fort for the spectacular views. From the top of the fort you will have little bit more of bird perspective view, while from the entrance of the fort you will be blinded by the astonishing Bokar Tower, which merges with the crystal blue sea. Now try to imagine: yourself, view on Bokar Tower and view on the city walls, crystal blue sea and green surroundings with tall pine trees. What more could you wish for? 

​ 
It has been already two months since everything was shut down due to Corona virus and it is time to look back and to evaluate its impact on tourism industry in Dubrovnik. It is important to know that tourism as an industry in Croatia is the main economic segment and generates best part of annual revenue for the entire country. Majority of local people work in this branch and therefore many other services directly or indirectly depend on tourism. Thus, we could say that Croatian economy and social stability is higly dependent on this industry.
 
The newest information regarding Covid-19 in Dubrovnik reports that there are 42 active confirmed cases, out of 115 in total. Until today 65 successfully recovered, while 8 people died. This data covers City of Dubrovnik as well as entire Dubrovnik-Neretva County. According to the Croatian Health Ministry the situation so far has been under the control. The total number of infected people in Croatia at this moment  is 2.125 from which; 1.641 fully recovered and 86 died. Clearly, only 398 active cases have been reported this moment.
 
But what does this all mean for tourism in Croatia?
 
Even though the health situation in Croatia is being stable and well handled, but yet this does not mean that Croatian tourism and the entire country’s economy will not suffer significant consequences of this pandemic for quite some time. It is already visible that decrease in tourist arrivals for the season is unpredictable, as all of the EU countries are trying to maintain their citizens within their borders for most likely until the end of this year.  

But let's point out some of the information about tourist arrivals in Dubrovnik for the following period. Major part of Dubrovnik's strategic plan for tourist arrivals depends on flight connections. In comparison to other Croatian destinations, Dubrovnik is very far for travellers whose main transportation is car or bus and for those visitors who arrive from nearby European countries. On contrarily, region of Istria is much closer to reach by car or by bus for Austrians, Italians or Hungarians, while Dubrovnik is located far south and maintains to be highly dependent on airline connections.
 
Furthermore, Covid-19 pandemic has already shown its impact beyond the health effects. It has significantly transformed everything we used to know as “normal life”.  The flight connections for Dubrovnik are entirely cut off in response to this pandemic and it is not yet clear for when the flights will be rescheduled. We are hoping that at least majority of the flights will be rescheduled within next few months so that we can at least have some hopes for peak season in October instead of August this year.
 
Anyhow, it will take some time to recover and to get back to regular daily routines, but it is important to remain patient, hope for the best and to keep an update on global situation.
 
We will try to keep you posted on latest news and tourist information regularly

Brett Evans, a journalist at American motoring portal Motor1, wrote an article about which road to take on your first trip after quarantine.
He made a list of 10 most interesting roads in the US, but also added one road in Croatia, precisely on Peljesac Peninsula, in the area of Dubrovnik.
We've been driving down this road many times, and all we can say is: Brett, we couldn't agree more!

The BBC published an article today about the rapid response of Croatia and Greece to the fight against coronavirus, adding that now both countries have to act quickly and save the tourist season.
BBS writes that Greece has always been proud of its sunny weather, islands and beaches, and that everyone who knows the coast of Croatia knows and what a challenge was to find a place for a towel on its beaches during peak summer months  in the previous years.

There is no doubt that the coronavirus has threatened tourism, a key economic factor for both countries but it is also important to note that Croatia successfully prevented the spread of the virus.
Dubrovnik area had a total of 112 confirmed cases while there are only 49 active today. This is an excellent result and it will hopefully help to promote Dubrovnik as corona-free destination.

Great article by Daily Telegraph about 48 hours in Dubrovnik. Very well explained with all the information for tourists and visitors.

Interesting article about Dubrovnik's implementation of quarantine during medieval times:

Sometimes it seems this quarantine will never end, but on the other hand it looks like we've all been sleeping for a while. Most interesting news today however, was that utility workers started working with lawn mowers inside Dubrovnik Old City walls. They started mowing grass on the streets, to be more precise. Since there has been no tourists for quite some time in Dubrovnik, the grass started to grow from almost every crack.
We won't be writing about COVID-19 in Dubrovnik. Everybody is tired of all the headlines lately. We will be writing about life coming back to Dubrovnik, sincerely hoping things will soon come back to normal.