Perast: The Baroque Jewel of the Bay of Kotor That Tourism Forgot

A stone stage on the water

Perast is one of those places that seems invented by a painter: a strip of honey-coloured palaces lined up along the most spectacular bay in the eastern Mediterranean. While Kotor draws the cruise ships and Budva stacks the sunbeds, this borgo of barely three hundred souls keeps living to the rhythm of the tides, with cats stretched out on palace steps and fishermen's boats rocking lazily in the harbour.

Getting there is simple: from Kotor, fifteen minutes by car along the coastal road, or a local bus that stops right on the main square. Those coming from Italy can fly into Tivat (half an hour away) or Dubrovnik (two hours), both well served by low-cost carriers.

The islands floating in the bay

In front of Perast, two islets dot the surface of the bay like gems fallen from a necklace. The island of St George, with its Benedictine monastery ringed by dark cypresses, can only be viewed from the outside: it belongs to the monastic community and is closed to visitors. But the true wonder is Gospa od Škrpjela, Our Lady of the Rock — an artificial island built over the centuries by the sailors of Perast, who threw stones and sunken ships around a reef where, according to legend, an icon of the Virgin was found in 1452.

Every year on 22 July, the tradition is relived in the fašinada: dozens of boats laden with stones file towards the islet to continue the work of consolidation. The church, rebuilt in the seventeenth century, holds a collection of sailors' votive offerings and an extraordinary canvas by Tripo Kokolja, a local painter who spent twenty-five years completing the cycle of sixty-eight paintings on the ceiling.

The boat ticket costs five euros and the crossing takes just five minutes. On the return, the view of Perast from the water — with the bell tower of the Church of St Nicholas rising above the red rooftops — is worth the journey on its own.

What to see in the borgo

- Bujović Palace: the most imposing of the noble palaces, today home to the Civic Museum with nautical charts, weapons, and period costumes.

- Church of St Nicholas: the fifty-five-metre bell tower is the symbol of Perast. You can climb it (for a fee) for a 360-degree view over the bay.

- Smekja Palace: baroque facade with wrought-iron balconies, one of the best-preserved along the waterfront.

- The seafront promenade: from one end of the borgo to the other in ten minutes, between oleanders, jasmine, and the peeling facades of palaces that still tell of the greatness of the Perast navy.

At the table: the sea on the plate

The cuisine of Perast is that of the Bay of Kotor: blue fish, octopus, and mussels farmed in the calm waters of the bay. The dish not to miss is buzara of mussels, cooked in white wine with garlic, parsley, and toasted breadcrumbs. At the restaurants on the waterfront — Conte, Bocche, Armonia — you eat with your feet almost in the water and the bill stays gentle: a full meal with local wine costs between fifteen and twenty-five euros.

Also worth trying: crni rižot, black risotto with cuttlefish ink, and palačinke (crêpes) filled with honey and walnuts for dessert. The local wine is Vranac, a full-bodied Montenegrin red, perfect with grilled fish.

When to go

Spring (April–June) and early autumn (September–October) are the ideal months. Summer can be warm and, although Perast remains far quieter than Kotor, the weekends of July and August see day-trippers arrive. In spring the wisteria blooms on the balconies and the bay takes on that blue-green colour that photographs cannot capture.

Practical tips

There are no large hotels in Perast, but a handful of apartments and B&Bs carved out of historic palaces. Book ahead in summer. Parking is extremely limited: better to leave the car in Risan and arrive by bus. The borgo can be visited in half a day, but spending one night here — when the day-trippers leave and the lights reflect on the bay — is an experience that changes how you perceive the place entirely.

From Perast you can easily explore the rest of the bay: the village of Risan with its Roman mosaics, the Luštica peninsula with its hidden beaches, and of course Kotor for those who haven't seen it yet. But the advice is not to rush: Perast works best when you slow down.