Instead of Dubrovnik: Kotor, the Montenegrin Fjord UNESCO Protected Before Tourism Arrived

Dubrovnik has become the poster child of overtourism: cruise ships unload thousands of people a day into a walled city barely the size of a neighbourhood, prices have exploded and the atmosphere is that of a medieval theme park. If you're looking for the same beauty — Venetian walls, crystal-clear water, white stone — without the pressure, cross the Montenegrin border.

Kotor sits at the far end of the Bay of Kotor, the only fjord in the Mediterranean: an arm of sea that winds between mountains nearly two thousand metres high, creating a landscape reminiscent of Norway but with the climate and colours of the Adriatic. The old town is encircled by walls that climb for over a kilometre up to the fortress of Saint John, at 260 metres above sea level: the ascent is demanding, but the view from the top is unforgettable.

The historic centre is a labyrinth of small squares, Romanesque churches and Venetian palaces that tell centuries of rule by the Serenissima. The Cathedral of Saint Tryphon, with its two asymmetric towers, holds relics and frescoes dating back to the ninth century. The Piazza d'Armi — the heart of the city — is an intimate space where cafés set out tables in the open air and the evening atmosphere is that of a drawing room.

The Bay of Kotor offers extraordinary excursions: the tiny island of Our Lady of the Rocks, built artificially stone by stone by the sailors of Perast; the village of Perast itself, with its baroque palaces lined along the water; Tivat, with the Porto Montenegro marina that has transformed a naval base into an elegant harbour.

Eating in Kotor is a Balkan-Mediterranean pleasure: ćevapi, grilled fish, shopska salad, black risotto with cuttlefish. Prices are still those of Montenegro: a full lunch with wine for ten to fifteen euros. A Nikšićko beer costs one euro at the bar.

Kotor is reached by bus from Dubrovnik in two hours (the border crossing is quick), from Tivat airport in twenty minutes, from Podgorica in two hours through a spectacular mountain pass. Montenegro requires no visa for EU citizens.

A word of warning: Kotor too is discovering cruise tourism. Go out of season (April–May or September–October) or in the late afternoon, when the ships have departed and the city returns to its residents.