Two weeks have passed by since our summer holiday in Montenegro and after filtering over 300 pictures, tonight, I am pleased to share a special postcard from our day trip to the medieval town of Kotor, and luxurious Porto Montenegro in Tivat. Arriving to Kotor around midday, we were greeted by a mesmerizing MSC cruise line just about to depart from the port. (For anyone who has not yet experienced an MSC cruise, I highly recommend you try it at least once in a lifetime, as the experience will completely blow you away. We have cruised the Mediterranean twice with them so believe me when I say, this is a must do!)
A bit of history first – Kotor is a coastal town located in the Bay of Kotor (in Serbian: Boka Kotorska), approximately 30 minutes drive from Budva. It’s rich history spans over 2,000 years being home to the Ancient Romans, Venetians, Austrians, Hungarians, Ottomans, Croatians and Yugoslavs. The picturesque and impressive landscape of Kotor is defined by the characteristic “monte negro” (black mountains) and of course the old port; the town’s geographical location on the Adriatic sea has played an important historical role throughout time. While there is no beach in Kotor, I highly recommend a visit to the fortress, which is the most famous landmark in this small town. At first sight from the port, the fortress is surrounded by a backdrop of dark mountains proving to be a mighty shield through time.
We spent the next few hours walking throughout the town, which has been built inside the fortress and admired the impressive architecture. It’s little streets and well maintained buildings are so charming and simply make you feel like you have fallen into a fairy tale. Kotor is home to an annual carnival which usually takes place in August and features impressive Venetian style costumes, parades, shows and fireworks – definitely worth to experience.
The fortress has plenty of restaurants with dining options for every taste as well as a post office, bank, exchange office, tourist office, theatre and a diversity of boutiques. A 2 hour hike up the majestic mountain will lead you to Kotor’s Castle of St. John, a beautiful monastery with a breathtaking view.
With so much history soaked in for one day and a 20 minutes drive from Kotor later, we arrived in Tivat, which is the heart of the coastline’s tourism and boasts a large nautical community. It’s deep water harbour served historical importance in the 19th century when it was transformed into an Austrian naval base and in later years served as the official base of the Yugoslavian and Serbian navy.
Today, a large section of the harbour is renovated to the picturesque waterfront called Porto Montenegro, a luxurious destination offering not only a majestic marina for the world’s most exquisite yachts, but also features a diversity of restaurants, cafes, apartments, shops and the Regent hotel.
After admiring the yachts, we opted for a light lunch at “One” – a stylish restaurant with a spacious terrace and an authentic Adriatic menu. We enjoyed local style fish soup, chicken salad with grapefruit and tangy sauce, and cold cucumber and mint soup – savouring every bite which oozed with fresh exquisite flavour. Not many words were spoken during our tranquil lunch as we fell into a meditative trance while admiring the sun’s rays reflecting on the blue water – a perfect moment indeed.
xo,
Marina
Visit information:
Kotor information – http://www.lonelyplanet.com/montenegro/coastal-montenegro/kotor
Excellent experience of Kotor’s Castle of St. John (and gorgeous photos) – http://www.grantourismotravels.com/2010/05/12/climbing-up-to-kotors-castle-of-san-giovanni/
Tivat information – http://www.tivat.travel/en/
Porto Montenegro – www.portomontenegro.com
Restaurant “One” -www.portomontenegro.com/en/village/restaurants-bars/one
Disclaimer: All views are my own and all photographs are © My Sweet Escapes.
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