Dubrovnik, Croatia

Dubrovnik spent centuries as the Republic of Ragusa, an independent maritime state that stayed free by paying tribute to whoever was strongest and by being extremely good at diplomacy. The walls that made that possible are still complete: a 2 km circuit up to 25 metres high, walkable the whole way round.

Walking the walls is the thing to do here and it needs realistic planning. It takes 1.5 to 2 hours, there is no shade, the entry is one-way with limited exits, and in August it is brutally hot. Going first thing, before the ship’s excursions and the day-trippers, transforms it.

The city suffered badly in the 1991–92 siege during the Croatian War of Independence, taking hundreds of direct hits. The restoration was meticulous, and a map near the Pile Gate marks every shell strike — worth a minute, because nothing else in the Old Town suggests it happened.

Since Game of Thrones filmed here Dubrovnik has become extremely crowded, to the point where the city caps the number of cruise passengers ashore per day. That cap is why arrival times are staggered, and why an independent group that leaves early does noticeably better than one that waits.

Hot and dry in summer, 28–32°C in July and August. The city walls are white limestone in full sun with almost no shade — walking the circuit at midday in August is genuinely punishing.