What to See in Kotor, Pearl of Montenegro!, Kotor, Montenegro

What to see in Kotor, a town considered the pearl of Montenegro? Kotor, or Kotor in Italian, is a town I have wanted to visit for a long time: during the Balkan bike tour (1398 kilometers, here the in-depth study) I had, finally, the chance to admire this wonderful town.

Kotor is small. Its old town is worth a day of sightseeing, but it is possible to take excursions around Kotor, which I will describe in this post.

Kotor is a medieval town, and was considered very important by the Venetians. Kotor, in fact, was part of the Venetian Republic from 1420 to 1797, that is, until the end of the Venetian Republic. The walls of Kotor are a remarkable historical legacy from that period. From the old town of Kotor it is possible to admire this fantastic human work, which had a considerable economic cost. At that time, in fact, there was a saying ‘It costs as much as the walls of Kotor’: it meant that it was a very expensive thing.

To get to St. John’s Castle you have to pay 15 euros and, in addition, walk uphill for about 45 minutes (about 300 meters of positive elevation gain). The views from the top are absolutely worth the effort!

To enter the old town of Kotor there are three gates: the Shkurde Gate, the Sea Gate and the Southern Gate. The Sea Gate is, in my opinion, the least interesting: entering through this gate, however, you can immediately admire the splendid Clock Tower and its adjacent square. On the other hand, the Shkurde Gate and the Gurdic Gate are magnificent: from the Shkurde (or northern) gate one can admire the might of the Kotor walls, while from the Gurdic (or southern) gate one can appreciate the beauty of the Gurdic Bastion. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).