More than 60% of the total cultural treasures of Montenegro are located here, in Boka Kotorska, in a small area of ​​the old town, between a vertical mountain (St. Ivan / San Giovanni) with ramparts up to 20 meters high (east), the sea (west), the short river Škurda (north) and the underwater (!) freshwater source Gurdić (south).

Inside the generally triangular Old Town - if Kotor is viewed from one of the high surrounding mountains or from postcards, or via Google Earth! - it can be seen that the streets do not respect the old rule of Roman architecture - according to which the streets must always intersect at right angles. It's just not like that in Kotor. The streets here are building a real labyrinth!

Over time, the locals became real connoisseurs of that labyrinth, and good guides. Everyone knows how to say, in many languages ​​(preferably English and Italian, recently also Russian), how from the main Square of Arms, for example, you can find the beginning of the street that turns into a staircase that leads to the top of the besieged city, to the Fortress at 260 m above sea level.

Tourists in a group usually have one guide, a shortened route, and little time for sightseeing, and those curious singles or couples have maps of the Old Town. Maps can really be bought everywhere. In numerous souvenir shops, and at the very entrance to the Old Town.

The briefest introduction to Kotor concerns its main urban components, squares and streets. And what is found in stone baroque palaces.

Kotor has three city gates, North, South and West. The western ones are the main ones. It is also called the Gate of the Sea, and it is about 1 m lower today compared to the time when it was built (1555), due to tectonic disturbances, which means catastrophic earthquakes, first the one from 1667, and the one that is still remembered, from 1979.

When you enter through the Sea Gate, the first thing you see is the stone relief of the Virgin/Madonna, the patron saint of sailors. The pyramidal Pillar of Shame is immediately visible, as is the Clock Tower, with a clock (1602) that still accurately measures time today. From the city's largest square, the Square of Weapons, you can enter the labyrinth in four ways. If you go to the extreme left through the Square, you will get to the Citadel, from where you can reach the South City Gate (12th century) along the passable ramparts, with a view of both the City and the Riva.

If you go left on the square, to the first street (Ulica Istok - Zapad) that leads into the fabric of the City, you will reach the Orthodox Church of St. Nikola and to the Square of St. Nicholas (or Luke), where the Orthodox Church of St. Luke from the 12th c. If you continue straight, you will reach the church of Blessed Ozana (Mary of Rijeka), behind which, near the oldest pharmacy in the Balkans (from the 14th century), there is a passage to the Walls.

If you turn right on the square, past the baroque palaces of Byzantium and Beskuća (17th century), you pass through the Flour Square, past the Pima Palace, all the way to the Cathedral Square, with the dominant cathedral of St. Tripuna from 1166. From there, tourists usually do not enter further into the labyrinth, but turn left, towards the truly necessary wealth - towards the Baroque palace of Grgurin, converted into a Maritime Museum. The museum is worth a visit. Curators are experts. Full of exhibits like a pomegranate, the Maritime Museum at geo-address 42?25`29.86``N, 18?46`18.16``E, may be the maritime heart of the city of Kotor.

The fourth way of entering the urban labyrinth of Kotor mainly serves as a shortcut for Kotor residents, and leads, in one way or another, to the square of St. Nikola, or to Cathedral Square. It is mostly invisible to tourists.

Must see & visit: Maritime Museum, Cathedral and Treasury of St. Tripuna, church and treasury of St. Nicholas, the church of St. Ports, city ramparts from the Citadel to the South Gate, the fortress on top of the hill of St. Ivan/Jovan (San Giovanni), the church of Our Lady of Health, halfway up the mountain road...

Every day, especially on Saturdays, the City Market offers quality cheeses, meat products, local olives, olive oil, wine, brandy, quality fish, seasonal fruits and vegetables. It is a Mediterranean edible colorful that must be tasted by the palate. Otherwise, he did not visit Kotor with his tongue and stomach, it should be kept in mind.

We also suggest going to the parts of the city that the tourist guides don't mention. To Trg od Salata, or to Trg od drva. Why? Because in those inner squares there is Kotor within Kotor. Someone is drying laundry above his window. Uninterrupted, daily life is evident in some parts of the old town of Kotor (Montenegro).

Around every corner of the city there are cafeterias, bars, restaurants, pubs... Nightlife takes place everywhere within the old town's urban labyrinth, especially inside the Citadel fortress, where a modern discotheque is arranged in an ancient atmosphere.

After leaving the club, at night, you can meet fishermen on the bridge near the South City Gate. And caught eels. Along the Riva - caught cipoli. Fish don't mind that they live under the most expensive yachts, anchored in the harbor. During the summer, there are numerous boats that take guests to see coastal towns and popular bathing spots.

From Kotor, you can also go uphill to Njeguš, the mountain village where the Crogorski bishops were born, and to Cetinje, the royal capital. Judging by car registrations, the whole world flocks to Kotor, especially in the summer.