The most desirable holiday destination
Croatia is the European country with the most UNESCO protected cultural and historical heritage and intangible cultural elements.
Dubrovnik, or as Lord Byron named it,"Pearl of the Adriatic", was added to UNESCO's World heritage list in 1979 and since then has been a top summer destination for tourists from all over the world.The old city is surrounded by impressive city walls that are up to 25 m high and were used for centuries as a protection from Turkish and Venetian invaders. Made famous by their historical significance the impressive city walls are the most valuable part and symbol of the city.
There are three ways to enter the old city and they are all connected to Stradun, the main street from where one can spot most of the sights such as the Sponza palace and the church of St. Vlaho, guardian of Dubrovnik. Interestingly, almost every year Stradun ranks among the top 10 destinations for New Year's Eve.
The walls of Dubrovnik were built continuously for seven centuries, until 1660, when the last fort was built, the bastion of St. Stephen. There are a total of 16 fortresses, but the most prominent ones are located on each of the four main points of the fortress - Fort Minčeta, Fort Revelin, Fort St. Ivan and the most famous Fort Lovrijenac, built on a steep cliff reaching 37 m above sea level, which may also be recognised as the Red Keep from Game of Thrones.
A splendid film set
Today Dubrovnik is known worldwide as a filming location for King’s Landing and Qarth, fictional cities in Game of Thrones, the famous television series based on the series of fantasy novels “A Song of Ice and Fire”. Passionate fans of the series will be amazed how well the city is integrated into the setting of the series. No special measures were necessary for scenery or special effects in order to play the fortified port city of King’s Landing, a stronghold of the Lannister family. Filming grandly exploits the large outer walls, fortifications built over time by human hands, as well as the narrow streets of the old town where several scenes happen during the course of the episodes. Additionally, Robin Hood and a Star Wars film were also filmed in Dubrovnik.
Filming the series in Dubrovnik brought Croatia such popularity that it became the most desirable destination in 2016 by Google statistics.