New York Times in its article entitled “6 Places in Europe Offering Shelter From the Crowds”, points out that some 60 miles apart, Dubrovnik, Croatia, and Kotor, Montenegro, are both striking walled cities on the Adriatic that were once ruled by Venice. But while the former is battling overtourism, the latter is still fighting for attention.
-At the end of the fjord-like Bay of Kotor and ringed with mountains, Kotor echoes Dubrovnik in its old quarter, a fortress built between the 12th and 14th centuries and filled with churches, cafes and homes with terra-cotta rooftops. In 2018, Kotor received nearly 140,000 tourists, a fraction of Dubrovnik’s. Instead of Dubrovnik, NYT suggests Kotor as a place offering shelter from the crowds.
Ingrid K. Williams, the author of the article “6 Places in Europe Offering Shelter From the Crowds” describes a rough stone staircase leads approximately 900 feet up St. John’s Hill, tracing a protective wall to St. John’s Fortress, a serene spot to watch the sun set over the bay.
NYT describes the best way to spend the end of the day in Kotor: “After sunset, ask for a table on the patio at Bastion beside the city’s north gate to dine on local seafood. Then make your way back toward the main gate through alleys and plazas where more cats doze, children play soccer and sailors drink Niksicko Pivo beer at outdoor tables.”