It's been just over a week since we've been back from Dubrovnik in Croatia and I think it's fair to say that I left a piece of my heart out there. We visited Dubrovnik for our 30th birthdays, just Adam and I, whilst Adam's Mum came to ours and kindly took care of our boys. It was actually Adam's parents that recommended it to us after they visited a couple of years before and as big Game Of Thrones fans and knowing that so many of the show's scenes were filmed there as well as Dubrovnik's Old Town actually being Kings Landing in the show, we were really excited to go and spend a few nights there. What I didn't expect for, was just how much we'd both fall in love with the charm of the city.
Old Town (Or Kings Landing if you're a Game Of Thrones fan!):
Stepping into Dubrovnik's Old Town or Walled City is like stepping into another world. Inside those walls, there really is a charm to be found like nowhere else. Following the many alleyways and narrow streets off of the main walkway and going up and down the different steps and levels leads to you to discover new and exciting places that you don't expect for. Exploring this city is so much fun, there are so many spots tucked away and hidden gems to find. It's like stepping back in time, but in the best way possible. There's so much history in Old Town and picturesque spots. It's truly hard to put Old Town's beauty and charm into words.
Where we stayed:
We decided that rather than staying in Old Town, we were going to book somewhere just outside that wasn't too far of a walk or bus ride and we found an amazing hotel through Expedia called Bellevue Hotel that looked really modern, clean, had stunning beach views and had incredible reviews on Trip Advisor. It was pricier than some of the other hotels we could have booked, including some in Old Town, but when we go away we really like to have a nice hotel as it just adds to the holiday and experience for us.So we went ahead and booked with Bellevue and I got in touch with them to arrange a few birthday surprises for Adam as we were due to arrive on his actual birthday. They were so helpful in helping me to arrange some things to be left in the room. They said they'd add a small cake, flowers and a card to his room free of charge and then they helped me to select some wine to purchase for our room also.
On arrival, they had upgraded us to a room with a balcony overlooking the sea and the beach below which was absolutely amazing. Our room was spotless and the staff at the hotel when we were there went out of their way to make us feel welcome and help us with anything we needed. The cocktails from the bar are probably the best we've ever had - we ordered one each on arrival whilst waiting for our room as we'd arrived quite early, and we sat on the terrace looking out over the breathtaking sea views, it was the perfect start to our break.
Another amazing thing about this hotel is the indoor pool area that's included in your stay. It's the perfect spot to spend some time relaxing on a rainy day or when you fancy a rest. The pool area looks out to the sea view and it's so picturesque it's like you've jumped right inside of a page from a fancy magazine. There are lots of lounge beds to relax on to read or to have a snooze. We spent most of our last day whilst waiting for our transfer to the airport, in there as it was raining on our last day.
Where we ate:
There are many, many lovely places to eat at. Our favorite being the small restaurants just off of the main walkway down the alleyways. There was something about sitting outside down one of the alleyways with a candle on your table or fairy lights above you, a bottle of wine on the table and good food in front of you that felt so charming and cosy.
We ate at a lovely little Italian style restaurant on Adam's birthday where we had the nicest tortellini and another time we ate an all Vegan restaurant called Nishta (which it's advisable to book the day before as it's very popular) where we had an amazing curry platter. At both restaurants, the staff were so friendly and cheerful, making us laugh and feel relaxed.
There is so much choice when it comes to places to eat, my only advice would be to find somewhere to eat that is off of the main walkway in Old Town as it's much cheaper and in my opinion, a lot cosier and nicer too!
The Game of Thrones Tour: If you're a fan of the show this is a must! Our airport transfer driver told us not to waste our money as we'd probably recognize the places anyway, but I have to say he was wrong. I guess the filming locations are easy to recognize if you're a local, but as first-timers in Dubrovnik, the tour was an excellent way to see some of the filming locations from the show as well as a great way to see some more of the city. We opted for a two-hour tour, which was for us, perfect, as I wouldn't have liked to do much more walking without a rest after that. We got to see so many spots that HBO have used in the show and our tour guide even threw in some of Dubrovnik's own history too. The guide turned out to have been an extra in Game of Thrones which was so interesting - he was so knowledgeable about the show, really engaging and funny. It helped that our group wasn't too big also! 
Pretending to be Sansa Stark and Petyr Baelish from Game Of Thrones.
The famous 'walk of shame' steps
The GoT tour we were on took us up to this fort. 
Walking the walls of Old Town: For us, walking the walls of Old Town Dubrovnik was the highlight of our trip. I actually have a fear of heights that I've had since a child, but in Dubrovnik I managed to overcome some of this fear and I honestly had the most incredible experience for doing so. We took our time with our walk and took in all of the breathtaking views along the way. We even accidentally managed to time it so we were up at the highest point just in time for the sunset which was utterly magical. The views up on the walls are hard to put into words, but if I had known how special it would be, walking the walls of Dubrovnik is something that would have sat firmly on my travel bucket list. 
Sunset cruise and dinner on board the Karaka: Whilst in Dubrovnik we booked a sunset excursion with dinner on the Karaka ship and it was such a magical, unique experience. We had two hours of cruising around the Lokrum Island and Old Town, a welcome drink of champagne, an extra drink of our choice, a buffet-style dinner (though they made us our own very tasty vegetarian risotto) and also the most incredible views of the sun setting. We've never done anything like it before and it was so romantic and a really special experience. It's not cheap, but considering you get the cost of dinner and a drink included and it's a magical experience, I am so glad that we did it!
Hidden gems: There are so many hidden gems in Dubrovnik, but some of the things that we loved include:- Candlelit string quarter concert - We accidentally stumbled upon this on our first day and it was the perfect ending to a perfect day. The candlelit concert is inside of the church to the left as soon as you enter Old Town. There is a placard outside announcing the concert times. Tickets go on sale at 8pm and seating is open at 8:50pm with the concert starting at 9pm which lasts about 50 minutes. The musicians are so talented, they were utterly mesmerising to watch. My top tip would be to get in the queue for seating as soon as possible and sit in a chair as the church pews are not very comfortable. We sat right at the front and it felt like our own personal concert. We loved it!
- Cat garden - There are stray cats and kittens all over Dubrovnik, especially in Old Town, which for me as a cat-lover was lovely especially so as all of the cats seem to be really well looked after and fed by the locals and the tourists. About halfway around the city wall walk, we came down to the use the toilet and get a hot drink and we stumbled upon a little garden area with plants and a seating area with a table just outside a coffee shop that was nice little area for some of the cats. There were quite a few of them there and there were bowls of food left out for them. There was also a box for donations to help feed the cats and a book left out to sign if you wanted to. I asked in the coffee shop if they were the ones looking after the cats and they told me that it was a local lady that came and took care of them.
- Old Town's Christmas shop - In Old Town there is a shop totally dedicated to all things Christmas open all year round. It's a lovely shop with some beautiful festive things available to purchase.
- Dubrovnik Cable Car - For some of the best views in Dubrovnik you can head up Mount Srd or Srd Hil as it's also known, in a cable car. I have a fear of heights and couldn't see myself doing this at first, but the trip up and back down is really quick and mostly quite smooth, it's really not too bad. The views at the top are outstanding (though for us, we prefered the views from walking the city walls for some reason). Among other things, there is a war museum at the top, a shop and a really lovely looking Panorama restaurant and bar. I would have loved to sit and have a cocktail from the top, but we were worried about time and the queue coming back down looked quite long so we came straight down after taking some photos. Though we found out after that the queue actually moved really quickly as you can fit quite a lot of people into the Cable Car.
- Hidden romantic spots and places to get a drink - My best advice would be to just have fun exploring Old Town. On the first night, we found ourselves exploring towards the back of Old Town, we were trying to find a spot near the sea to watch the sunset and we went through some double doors and found a lovely bar hidden away where we could sit on the rocks and enjoy the sunset. It's actually where we first spotted the Karaka ship sailing toward the sunset.
Dubrovnik is a city I am so, so happy I got to visit, I want to recommend it to everyone. It's so hard to describe how much of a good time we had there, it was the perfect way to celebrate turning 30 and we made memories there that will stay with us for a lifetime. A huge thank you to my amazing mother-in-law for making this trip for us as a couple possible, by looking after our little boys and also a huge thank you to my wonderful Husband, who is my favorite person to see the world with. ♡
Thank you for reading. Alex xo
