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Adriatic Coast

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The old walled town of Budva with the Citadela in the foreground, Budva, Montenegro, Europe

Getty Images/Robert Harding World Imagery

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Overview

Beautiful places often get slugged with the tedious tagline, ‘The pearl of…’, and the southern coastline of Montenegro is no exception: in this case, it’s ‘…the Adriatic’. But this 80km stretch is less milky dewdrop than eye-popping opal; the malachite greens of the looming mountains and the intense blues of the reflecting waters are dazzling enough to cause hallucinations.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Old Town

    Old Town

    Ulcinj

    The ancient walled town overlooking Mala Plaža is largely residential and somewhat dilapidated, a legacy of the 1979 earthquake. This is part of its charm…

  • Stari Grad

    Stari Grad

    Budva

    Budva's best feature and star attraction is the Stari Grad (Old Town) – a mini-Dubrovnik with marbled streets and Venetian walls rising from the clear…

  • Kastio

    Kastio

    Petrovac

    Clamber up the steps of this small Venetian fortress for photogenic views of the beach and the dramatic diagonal stratification of the limestone cliffs…

  • MONTENEGRO-Bar: Stari (Old) Bar Historic Site (dates to 800BC)

    Stari Bar

    Adriatic Coast

    A small museum housed in a 17th-century customs building just inside Stari Bar's entrance explains the site and its history. From here, follow the green…

  • Panoramic landscape of coast Budva riviera:Sveti Nikola island and mountains at sunset. Dramatic evening sky. Balkans, Adriatic sea, Europe.
Landscape of coast Budva riviera:Sveti Nikola island at sunset. - stock photo

    Sveti Nikola

    Budva

    Known locally as ‘Hawaii’, Sveti Nikola is Montenegro’s largest island, stretching to nearly 2km. Fallow deer wander about on this uninhabited green spot,…

  • Clean sand and turquoise water on the beach of Drobni Pijesak.

    Drobni Pijesak

    Adriatic Coast

    Hidden in a secluded cove three minutes north of Rijeka Reževići, Drobni Pijesak is a 240m stretch of ‘ground sand’ (the literal translation of the…

  • Gradište Monastery

    Gradište Monastery

    Adriatic Coast

    Perched on a hill overlooking Buljarica Beach, Gradište Monastery is a tranquil collection of stone buildings facing onto a central courtyard. The…

  • Trg između crkava

    Trg između crkava

    Budva

    Literally the 'square between the churches', this open area below the citadel provides a visual reminder of the once-cosy relationship between Orthodox…

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