I woke up feeling excited as I will be spending the whole day exploring the Old Town and making good use of the pre-purchased Dubrovnik Card. Started the day with a good breakfast at Hotel Dubrovnik Palace before hopping on the next bus to Old Town. I can’t wait to check out the Pearl of Adriatic Sea in daylight glory.

As I need the bus to reach Old Town, it make sense to buy a 1 Day Dubrovnik Card at 135 Croatian Kuna (S$27) that features unlimited bus rides (a return trip cost 24 Croatian Kuna) plus free entrance fee to City Wall which cost 100 Croatian Kuna. A visit to the museums included (40 Croatian Kuna) and it’s money well spent. Buy the card online to save 10% off the usual 150 Croatian Kuna and then pick it up at Tourist Board Office near Pile bus stop.

Back to the Pile Gate on a very windy day and I was hoping it will not rain, not fun being caught in the rain with few sheltered places around the Old Town.

Near the entrance and at the start of Placa Street (Stradun) is the Big Onofrio’s Fountain. An impressive domed fountain with more than dozen of water taps in the design of masked faces. This ancient fountain still receives water supply from a nearby spring in Sumet and it’s free for all. It should be safe to drink since I saw many people doing that and I follow suit.

Right at the other end of Placa Street and next to the Bell Tower is the elegantly designed Small Onofrio’s Fountain.

Can you read the time on the Bell Tower?

It’s good to reach the Old Town during early morning where the tour groups are still missing in action. In exchange, I get to see the locals going through their daily activities.

Another way to see the Old Town is to explore the alleys that sprawl off the main Placa Street. It’s like a visit to the backstage where you see more stuff going on behind the scene.

St Ignatius Church

I visited St Ignatius church located on an elevated ground at the southern edge of the Old Town. One unique thing about this church is that it has an artificial cave dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes.

Rector Palace

Also visited the Rector Palace (need to make the worth of my Dubrovnik card, remember? LOL) which is now a museum that presents some history of Dubrovnik through the exhibits on display. This is where the Rector would reside during his one-month mandate and venue for important meetings back in medieval Dubrovnik time.

The original Dubrovnik bronze Jacks sculptures are safe-keep in Rector Palace.

The uniquely designed hand railing and some cool looking treasure chests.

Maritime Museum

The next place that I used the Dubrovnik Card is the Maritime Museum located at St. John Fort. Similar to Rector Palace, the exhibits here present an overview of Dubrovnik maritime trade and shipbuilding history.

The Dubrovnik Card covers the entry fee for 5 other museums like Art Gallery Dubrovnik, Dulčić-Masle-Pulitika Gallery, Marin Držić House, Natural History Museum and Rupe Ethnographic Museum.