48 Hours In: Dubrovnik

WHY GO NOW?

May is the best month to enjoy the city as the locals do, without having to squeeze your way down the narrow back streets and without parasols obscuring the squares. This Unesco-listed city is now so popular with cultural tourists and gargantuan cruise ships that from June onwards it is packed solid, especially once the annual summer music festival (00 385 20 326100; www.dubrovnik-festival.hr) starts up in July. Next month there is still plenty going on, with regular concerts in the Rector's Palace (1) and candlelit recitals at St Saviour's Church (2) plus the annual international film festival (www.dubrovnikiff.org) from 31 May to 4 June.

TOUCH DOWN

British Airways (0870 850 9850; www.ba.com) flies daily from Gatwick, and on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday from Manchester. Croatia Airlines (020-8563 0022; www.croatiaairlines.com) flies from and to Manchester, but only on Tuesdays.

From Cilipi airport, 17km east of the city, the easiest way into Dubrovnik is by taxi (Radio Taxi Dubrovnik, 24 hours; 00 385 20 970); the 25-minute journey costs about 200 kuna (£20). A bus service operated by Croatia Airlines costs 35 kuna (£3.50) to the bus station outside Pile Gate (3); it operates in conjunction with the airline's flights, but these are frequent, at least from and to Zagreb.

Whether you take bus or taxi, make sure you sit on the same side as the driver. That way, you will get a wonderful, bird's-eye first impression of Dubrovnik.

GET YOUR BEARINGS

The walled city is divided by the main east-west thoroughfare, known both as Stradun and Placa. It was once an inlet dividing the two rocky outcrops on which Dubrovnik was built. Now paved over in polished white limestone, it is also the main shopping street. At its east end lies the Ploce Gate (4), St John's Fort (5) guarding the harbour, the bell tower (6) that chimes every five minutes and the Dominican monastery (7) (00 385 20 321423); open 9am-6pm daily, admission 15 kuna (£1.50). At the west end lies the Pile Gate (3), the Onofrio Fountain (8) and the Franciscan monastery (9) (00 385 20 321410); open 9am-5pm daily, admission 20 kuna (£2). The Tourist Office (10) is next door; it opens 8am-8pm daily (00 385 20 321561 www.tzdubrovnik.hr).

Most of the squares and public buildings used for festival events lie on the southern, seaward side of the Stradun. The city's strength lies in its defensive wall, built by the Venetians, but its heart is in the square (11) outside St Blaise's Church; the statue of Roland here is the focal point for celebrations that open and close the annual festival.

CHECK IN

Once a great trading republic, Dubrovnik now relies heavily on tourism, which means there are plenty of excellent hotels close to, or even inside, the city walls. All the prices quoted here include breakfast. In the city itself, the Pucic Palace (00 385 20 326222; www.thepucicpalace.com) is a 22-room boutique hotel on Gundulic Square (12) that opened in the 1870s and was completely revamped by the new owners in 2002. Doubles start at €300 (£215). Newly reopened and top of the range is the 147-room Hilton Imperial (00 385 20 320320; www.hilton.com) on Marijana Blazica Road next to the Pile Gate (3) which has spent a fortune reinventing itself as the chic modern option. Doubles start at €128 (£91). In the best position, outside the Ploce Gate (4), but looking a bit frayed now, is the 164-room Excelsior (00 385 20 353353; www.hotel-excelsior.hr), which has a splendid quayside from which you can dive straight into the Adriatic; but the cramped lobby has a very 1960s Communist Party Congress centre feel to it. Doubles from €199 (£142).

TAKE A HIKE

The 2km of Dubrovnik's 10th-century walls demand to be walked. You can gain access at kiosks near the Pile Gate (3), St Luke's Chapel (13) and the Maritime Museum (14) but you have to pay for the privilege. The walls are open 9am-6pm daily, admission 50 kuna (£5). The walk takes a leisurely hour if you stop from time to time to enjoy the vista.

TAKE A VIEW

Your city walls ticket includes admission to the Fort of St Lawrence (15) which sits on a fierce-looking rock outside the Pile Gate and is used for performances during the Summer Festival - locals still remember Daniel Day Lewis's Hamlet opposite Judi Dench in this very Elsinore-esque castle. The view from the top of the 252 steps takes in the whole city, the mountains beyond and the island of Lokrum. It is open 8am-noon daily.

LUNCH ON THE RUN

The Arsenal Wine Bar (00 385 20 324747) in St Blaise Square (11) has just opened, and is very strategically placed behind the statue of Roland, in what was Dubrovnik's covered boatyard in medieval times. A salad will cost you 50 kuna (£5), a beer 20 kuna (£2) and a pizza 35 kuna (£3.50). Low lighting inside makes for a great view of the harbour through two ancient arches. For more good value, try anywhere along Prijeko (which runs parallel with Stradun), such as Moby Dick (00 385 20 321170), which is run by some very cheery folk from the wine-producing island of Korcula.

CULTURAL AFTERNOON

The Rector's Palace (1) (00 385 20 321497; www.mdc.hr/dubrovnik) was built by Onofrio de la Cava in 1435 and was the seat of government during the many centuries of Dubrovnik's independence. Nowadays it's a museum and art gallery housing paintings by the Venetian and Dalmatian masters. It also houses coins minted in the city in the five centuries leading up to 1805 (which is when it lost its independence), and mannequins dressed in the rector's red silk togas. It opens 9am-6pm daily, admission 20 kuna (£2).

To encounter the more immediate past, visit the Sponza Palace (00 385 20 321032), just opposite St Blaise's Church (11). The first room on your left is a memorial to the 200-plus volunteer defenders killed during the war of 1991-92. Images of destruction play on a widescreen TV, while on the walls hang photos of all the dead. Above them are photographs of Dubrovnik in flames taken by Pavo Urban and Miro Kerner, both of whom were killed during the siege. A picture of a shell landing in the Stradun was taken by Urban at the moment of his death. The venue opens 10am-10pm daily, admission 15 kuna (£1.50).

WINDOW SHOPPING

Fifteen years ago, the Stradun was in flames during Yugoslavia's disintegration. You wouldn't guess it now. Stroll down each side and take in clothes shops such as Diokom Novi and Marella, Bonbonniere Kras (for sweets), Candle Kingdom Dubrovnik and two fine bookshops: Algebra (00 385 20 323217) and Algoritam (00 385 20 322044), which sell a wide range of books about Dubrovnik and Croatia.

AN APERITIF

Labyrinth (00 385 20 322222) inside the fortifications on St Dominic Street (16) lives up to its name but has great rooftop views of the harbour and comfortable seating when you get up there. Drinks are expensive by Croatian standards (gin and tonic 50 kuna/£5, 20cl glass of wine 40 kuna/£4), but just look at the view. Less expensive is Razonada (00 385 20 326222) in the back street known as Od Puca (17) which is small, with the leathery atmosphere of a refurbished wine cellar; local beers from 18 kuna (£1.80).

DINING WITH THE LOCALS

Nautika (00 385 20 442526; www.esculap-teo.hr) is the former naval academy on Brsalje (18), the old artillery battery just outside Pile Gate. It specialises in local fish and gorgeous evening views - but make sure you get a place on the terrace. Expect to pay 350 kuna (£35) per person, excluding wine; this is the most expensive restaurant in Dubrovnik. Specialities include a seafood risotto and lobster medallions.

Proto (00 385 20 323234) off the Stradun on Siroka Street (19) is also renowned for its seafood and has a terrace overlooking the back streets of Dubrovnik. Local oysters from Maliston Bay and the shrimps Dalmatica are both excellent; 250 kuna (£25) excluding wine.

SUNDAY MORNING: GO TO CHURCH

Deeply religious, Dubrovnians devote the whole of Sunday morning to church-going. Services at the Cathedral (20) start at 10am, and those at the Franciscan (9) and Dominican (7) monasteries at 11am. St Blaise's Church (11) has a family service at noon. Church is a very sociable event; you'll see people in their Sunday best dropping into cafés on their way to mass.

Alternatively, visit the Jewish Museum (21) (00 385 20 321028) in Zudioska, housed in the second-oldest Sephardic synagogue in Europe. Somewhere in there is a covering for the Torah that was donated by Queen Isabella of Spain, but no one is certain which it is; open 10am-6pm daily, 10 kuna (£1).

OUT TO BRUNCH

Café Festival (22) (00 385 20 321148) on the Stradun is housed under the offices of the Summer Festival. It serves continental breakfast from 10am to 10pm on Sundays for 48 kuna (£4.80) - possibly the longest-running breakfast in Europe.

A WALK IN THE PARK

Head west out of town to the promontory of Gradac, thought by many to be the site of the original city of Ragusa. Here there are lawns to picnic on, not to mention a fine view of the cruise liners arriving in Dubrovnik; the bells of the Convent of Madonna d'Angelo welcome each ship with a peal.

ICING ON THE CAKE

Indulge in an Italian ice cream from Dolce Vita (00 385 20 321666) in Naljeskoviceva (23) - only 4 kuna (40p) for a very generous cone.

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