When you come to Dubrovnik for the first time, already while flying over the city, before your plane lands at the Dubrovnik Airport, the view of that old town and its massive stone walls will leave you breathless. Approaching the Old City, you will feel the atmosphere of the sea and ancient history, ancient times and old Rome, from which time we have the oldest remains of settlements in the territory of the today's city.

Passing through one of the two entrances into the Old City, you will return to the past. Those huge metal doors were protecting the residents of Dubrovnik from the Slavs, Avars, Arabs and Venetians.

Inside the walls, you can find real treasure in every little corner; remains from the Hellenic and Byzantine times, an early Medieval

Dubrovnik had skilled builders and architects which were, already many centuries ago, creating wonders that could hardly be executed even today.

Unfortunately, the City became most interesting to enemies which did their best to break through the walls. While you walk around the city, you can still feel the spirit of togetherness among its inhabitants.

They participated in building of the walls and fortresses around the City. Everybody coming to the City would bring along a stone for their construction, and the only purpose of the walls was to defend them from conquerors eager for richness. At the time, the future was much more uncertain than today, people depended on each other more.

Commanders of fortresses were rotating every month for the purpose of avoiding treason, which is in a way evidenced by the inscription above the entrance into the Lovrijenac fortress: ''Non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro'', which means: ''Freedom is not sold even for all the gold of the world''.

But, the residents of Dubrovnik were not engaged only in trade, diplomacy, sailing and politics. The city is most proud of its cultural heritage. It gave birth to many famous names known in the world, such as writers Marin Držić and Ivan Gundulić, scientists Ruđer Bošković and Marin Getaldić, Benedikt Kotruljević and the composer Luka Sorkočević.

Throughout the year, you can enjoy in numerous exhibitions, concerts of classical music, theatrical performances and festivals. In the summer time, many shows are performed in the open, within the city walls and on squares.

Such an ambience brings a special atmosphere to them, under the evening sky, with warm breeze from the sea. The best-known is the Dubrovnik Festival and the performance of Hamlet in the Lovrijenac fortress.

Numerous places offering gastronomic pleasure under the walls, in the city port and high up in fortresses are also unavoidable.

You can try numerous domestic specialties, fruits of the Adriatic Sea and supreme wines of autochthonous grape species for which the Konavle valley and the Pelješac peninsula are famous.

To experience the Old City in full, take a walk along the city walls and climb up Srđ, a hill overlooking the City, where you will have a grandstand view of it, and feel a part of what Ivan Gundulić described in his verses: