The Walls of Liberty: A Tour of Dubrovnik's City Walls

(371 reviews)

Dubrovnik audio tour: The Walls of Liberty: A Tour of Dubrovnik's City Walls

This is a 1.1mi walking tour.

It takes an average of 90 mins to complete.

Dubrovnik

Croatia

$11.99

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About the Tour

Dubrovnik's stone walls have guarded the city for centuries, from Venetian sieges to a devastating earthquake. On this walking tour, you'll hear how this Adriatic city-state defended its independence against the greatest powers of Europe. You'll also learn how nature nearly destroyed what war never could.

The tour starts above Stradun, Dubrovnik's main thoroughfare, once a sea channel separating the island of Laus from the mainland. Walking counterclockwise along nearly two kilometers of fortifications, you'll pass the fortress of Lovrijenac, built in just three months to outwit Venetian invaders, and the bastion of St Margaret, overlooking Lokrum island's forests and legends. You'll hear how Ragusan diplomacy kept the Ottoman Empire at bay while Dubrovnik's merchant fleet traded as far as India. The tour ends near the Ploče gate, where an inscription once begged men of violence to keep away.

On this 90-minute tour, you'll have a chance to:

Hear the legend of the Lizard, a bronze cannon that vanished into the sea rather than fall into Austrian hands
See the ruins of Pustijerna, left untouched since the catastrophic 1667 earthquake that killed half the city's population
Pass St John Fortress and the medieval breakwater Kaše, part of one of the only preserved medieval harbors on the Mediterranean
Learn how Dubrovnik's carracks gave English sailors the word Argosy, a corruption of the city's old name Ragusa
Climb the Minčeta Tower, site of a tragic 1936 biplane crash caused by a pilot's daring romance
Discover how Napoleon's marshal dissolved the centuries-old Republic in 1808 with a single decree
Find out how Dubrovnik endured an eight-month siege during the 1990s Croatian War of Independence

By the time you reach the Ploče gate, you'll understand exactly why liberty remained Dubrovnik's most fiercely guarded possession for centuries.

Tour Producer

Marija Milovac

2 tours

Hi, I’m Marija Milovac, and I'm a professional licensed tour guide for Dubrovnik and the Dubrovnik-Neretva County since 2013, historian by education, and storyteller by calling.

For more than a decade, I’ve guided visitors through the layered history of my city, from its political brilliance as the former Republic to the everyday lives hidden behind its stone façades. In 2023, I completed my degree in the History of the Adriatic and the Mediterranean at the University of Dubrovnik, strengthening the academic foundation behind my work. I strive to combine careful historical research with narrative storytelling because I believe history is best experienced when it feels alive and meaningful rather than reduced to dates and facts.

I am also the author of the Haunted Dubrovnik storytelling project, through which I explore local folklore, myths, and lesser-known historical traditions. Alongside guiding, I have delivered lectures and performed at cultural events and festivals, sharing stories of the region’s history, witchcraft beliefs, and folklore heritage with modern audiences.

Here on VoiceMap, however, I invite you to experience Dubrovnik through a different lens: thoughtful, comprehensive, and carefully crafted audio tours. My tours are designed to give you depth, context, and atmosphere, not just information, but understanding.

When I’m not researching or guiding tours, I enjoy reading, collecting old objects, and spending time with my family, which includes two curious cats, two wonderful children, and a husband with whom I share a love for mystery and science fiction movies and series.

I hope you enjoy exploring Dubrovnik through my voice.

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Preview Location

Location 4

The Lizard

As we are about to climb, you'll see the ruins of St Andrew to your left that are a testament to the great earthquake of 1667. I'll talk more about it later.

For now, allow me to tell you more about Dubrovnik's defence.

The bulk of the existing walls and fortifications ... As we are about to climb, you'll see the ruins of St Andrew to your left that are a testament to the great earthquake of 1667. I'll talk more about it later.

For now, allow me to tell you more about Dubrovnik's defence.

The bulk of the existing walls and fortifications were constructed mostly during the 13 and 1400s. All the fortifications were armed, first with medieval weaponry, later with the firearms. In the 1500s, Dubrovnik had around 250 cannons. The biggest among them all was the beautiful cannon named the Lizard.

It was common back then to name the cannons after animals or fantastical creatures. This cannon stood proudly on the fort of St Lawrence. The Lizard probably got its name after the green patina of the bronze, out of which it was made. It was a masterpiece of the renown caster of cannons and bells, Ivan Baptist from Rab who worked here at the time.

The Lizard was very efficient in chasing away the enemies. After the great earthquake in 1667, two Venetian galleys began to disembark on this section which was the most damaged part of the walls. The commander of Lovrijenac - Pero Ohmučević - reacted and ordered the firing towards the Venetian galleys. After firing from the Lizard, the enemies retreated and sailed away.

Upon their arrival in 1806, the French registered 133 bronze cannons. They started to take them down and cut them to use the material, and the Austrian army, who arrived in 1814, continued to do so.

Upon their arrival, the Austrians wanted to get the Lizard in one piece so that they could take it to Vienna and place it in the museum as a masterpiece of antique artillery.

As the Lizard was so big that it couldn't go through the entrance of the fort, they tried to drop it down with ropes to a raft at sea. As it descended, the rope cord snapped, supposedly it was deliberately cut by some Dubrovnik people, and the cannon fell into the sea. All the attempts to locate it have remained without result, so the Lizard moved into the realm of myths and legends of the city.

Keep following the wall.

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Major Landmarks

Pile Gate
Dubrovnik City Walls
Stradun
Franciscan Church and Monastery
Bokar Tower
Fort Lovrijenac
Lokrum
St Johns Fort
Lazareti
Ploče Gate
Fort Revelin
Fort Imperial
Tvrđava Minčeta

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
Dubrovačke Gradske Zidine, Ul. Ispod Minčete 9, 20000, Dubrovnik, Croatia
Total distance

2km
Final location
Kunićeva ul. 5, 20000, Dubrovnik, Croatia
Distance back to start location

25.58m

Directions to Starting Point

Our tour starts on the walls, just above Pile Gate. This means that the first thing to do, if you haven't already, is to buy an entry ticket for the city walls.

When you enter the old city through Pile Gate, and when you find yourself on the main street Stradun, you should see the entrance to the walls in the corner to the left. Before you can climb up, you need to show the ticket to the person at the entrance. Across the street, in the opposite corner, next to the orange trees, you should find the office of the Society of Dubrovnik's Antiquity where they sell the tickets. After you buy the ticket, enter and climb the walls. When you are directly above the entrance, and you can see the main street in front of you, then you can start your audio tour.

Important: this tour only works starting from Pile Gate entryway!

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

Along the walls, you'll have several opportunities to stop for a freshly squeezed juice, a coffee or an ice cream, just be advised, some prices can exceed your budget, so it's better to check the prices first.

A big recommendation is a visit to the Maritime Museum. It is located in the Fort of St John, which offers a peek into the maritime history of Dubrovnik with its vast collection of ship's artefacts, models of ships, old maps, coins, documents, paintings and portraits, underwater findings and more.

One more tip I wanted to include: your ticket for the walls is also valid for the Fort of St. Lawrence that is outside of the stone belt so you cannot access it from the walls, but you have the option to visit it at another time. Currently, you can visit both, the walls and the Fort within three consecutive days.

Best time of day

I recommend visiting the walls first thing in the morning, especially during the tourist season. In the summertime, there are more reasons to do it earlier than later - you avoid the crowd from the cruise ships, and you avoid the heat. In the summer, another option would be to enter the walls an hour before closing, before or at sunset time.

If you are here in the low season, then you can go whenever you want, but keep in mind the much shorter working hours of the walls.

Precautions

There isn't much shade on the walls, and the bright stone reflects the sun rays, so it is easy to get sunburns during hot summer days. Wearing protection in the summertime is of the greatest importance: hats, sunglasses, sun protection creams and a bottle of water are a must!

Attention: the walk around the walls may not be suitable for persons with walking disabilities, as there are numerous steps along the way.

Be prepared; wear comfortable shoes.

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“Great app. walk around at your own pace, stop where you want, move on or speed up when you want. Read the script before you go or during the commentary, speed it up or replay it. Repeat the tour whenever you like.”