Tourist compass of Budva Turn - turn, everything revolves around love. It started when the supreme ancient Greek god Zeus created a ruckus and kidnapped the Phoenician princess Europa. In search of his sister, Cadmus traveled a long way from the oracle of Delphi to slaying the dragon. Because of his mythological sin, he was banished from his hometown of Thebes, along with his wife and daughter of the gods - Harmonia, in ancient times. Butoe (Budva) got its name from the oxen that pulled the cart of the legendary couple to their new, fateful destination. So says the myth. The harmony of the traces of over 2,500 years of tangible history and the even older nature in which it developed, says that there was some divine work after all.

Old town - Budva According to archaeological data from the 4th century BC, the Old Town of Budva, as a Hellenistic colony, ran straight towards the Adriatic with its ramparts. To this day, the city walls have remained literally buried in the sea, with which the local residents made the longest alliance in their long history. View of the sea from the Old Town

City ramparts The sea was and remains the richest field from which they collected fruits and the widest road that leads to the world and brings it to Budva. Guardian of the city. It used to be used by conquerors and merchants, today it is used by tourists. And the most beautiful view of that sea from the Old Town shoots straight from the city walls - precisely directed by stone loopholes. They used to be used to make sure that the enemy did not attack the city, and today they are convenient places for romantic meetings, walks and solitude of all kinds. The ramparts extend into the Citadel, once a powerful military fortress, which in the summer still sometimes manages to disguise itself as the stage of the "City Theater" festival.

City ramparts Theatrical performances are also held on a smaller stage "between the churches" which is protected by saints of different confessions - St. Marija "in punta" (840), St. Sava (XII-XIII century) and St. Trojica (1804). Thus, the tradition of the theater continued with the tradition of religious processions and masquerades that developed and lived together with the city. The cheerful and relieving spirit of the masquerade is still defended by Budva's "Festivals".

St. Maria in Punta Under the plateau in front of the church of St. Ivan (it is assumed that it was originally built in the 7th century), the Roman public baths (thermae) from the 3rd and 4th centuries AD are hidden from view. Parts of the Roman streets also lead to the current building of the Museum of the City of Budva. After many centuries, in the multi-story Budva City Museum building, the traces of life left behind by the Illyrians, Greeks, and Romans are exhibited: terracotta dishes from which the inhabitants of Butua ate as early as the 5th and 4th centuries BC; stone jars from which they enjoyed slow and smooth Mediterranean wine; amphorae for storing ducats of golden and valuable olive oil. Well, urns, jewelry, money, hairpins, escajg, medical instruments and miniature, multi-colored glass containers for collecting scented liquids and tears, to be at hand for the ladies when the sailors go to sea...

The remains of the former ancient city gate, through which those same sailors may have returned home, are displayed in the surroundings of a nearby boutique, where today you can also find somewhat more modern objects from Rome. Outside the walls of the Old Town, in a part of one of the popular cafes, there are framed remains of Roman mosaics. That's how they live together yesterday and today. Outside the stone defenses of the Old Town, today it still leads and offers various types and forms of entertainment for everyone's taste - hotels, restaurants, discotheques, children's parties and cafes stacked like sardines. The coast, with numerous sandy beaches, is still overseen by “St. Nikola" – the only island nearby.

Island "St. Nikola" (view through the loophole) In the meantime, following its mythical conqueror, Budva is still looking for Europe. He hopes to meet her again. Tourist compass of Budva Written by: JELENA VOJNIC