15 Wonderful Things to Do in Kotor, Montenegro

Kotor, the stunning town in Montenegro, is, hands down, one of the most beautiful places you will find not only in the Balkans but in Europe. The charming old town, stunning location, and plenty of things to do in Kotor make it a great destination not only in the summertime.

I knew I will fall in love with Kotor even before visiting the place. All the Kotor pictures I’ve seen looked just too beautiful to be real yet that’s exactly how the place looks – mindblowing.

Kotor didn’t disappoint me. Quite contrary – I enjoyed the place so much that it quickly became one of my favorite destinations in the Balkans that I often return to (by now I’ve been there five or more times, I really lost count). It’s always a must in my Montenegro itinerary.

I hope this guide to Kotor with all the best Kotor attractions and travel tips will help you plan your perfect Kotor trip. I’m sure you will love the place as much as I did!

Best things to do in Kotor, Montenegro

No matter if you spend only one day in Kotor or you will be there for a longer time, you can easily enjoy these great things to do in Kotor. The central part of the town is very compact and you can see everything in a few hours.

But don’t limit yourself to Kotor Old Town only, use the rest of the time to see the surrounding area or relax on the Kotor beach. There are really more things to see in Kotor than it seems at first!

Below are the best Kotor attractions, in no particular order.

Wander around the Old Town

Kotor Old Town is the nicest part of the city and even if it’s rather small I guarantee you will spend there a big part of your time, falling in love with the place over and over again. The maze of narrow and winding lanes are perfect for wandering around and exploring the area aimlessly is the best way to enjoy the place. Leave the map behind so it won’t distract you and pay attention to the details. You might be surprised at how many charming corners or secret passages you might find.

Since Kotor was first mentioned in the 3rd century BC there is also a variety of architectural styles to admire: Roman, Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque. This is the historic, cultural and religious center of Kotor and you will find many attractions all over it (more about them later).

After you got to know the Old Town on your own I recommend hiring a guide or going for the tour. You will be surprised how much history and context is in that place, how many details you most likely have missed. For me seeing the Kotor Old Town with a guide was such a great experience, I was overwhelmed with all the interesting facts and had so many questions!

You can join the 1,5-hour guided tour (details here) or go for a private one (more info here).

The Old Town in Kotor is a very popular place, especially when the cruise ships arrive in the town (and there are days when there are a few of them at once). In the summer months, it’s better to avoid this part of Kotor between approximately 10 am and 4 pm – the place will be packed with people, and finding a free table at the restaurant might be impossible.

Visit the Old Town once the cruise tourists are gone (or outside of the season) and you will see how truly magical this place is!

And once you are tired of Kotor sightseeing head to Letrika bar – probably the best of the hidden places of Kotor Old Town, even though it is located a few steps away from one of the main squares. This is the main hangout spot in Kotor where during the day you can stop for a cup of coffee or lemonade and in the evening enjoy live music or party.

See all the beautiful churches

One of the most important landmarks of the Old Town are all the churches. There are many of them (especially considering how small the area is) and each of them is interesting.

The most impressive one is St. Tryphon Cathedral – a beautiful mix of Romanic, Byzantium, Renaissance, and Baroque styles. The cathedral was built in 1166 but was destroyed by earthquakes a few times hence the mix of styles. You might notice that one of the bell towers is slightly lower than the other – after the 1667 earthquake, there were not enough funds to rebuild both towers.

This is the most important church in Kotor, as St. Tryphon Cathedral is the seat of the Catholic Bishopric of Kotor. You will also find there relics of the city’s patron saint and protector – St. Tryphon.

Another important church is St. Nichola’s Church from the beginning of the 20th century. It is the main Orthodox church in Kotor and is different than the rest of the sacral buildings in the town but still really beautiful inside and worth visiting.

Other churches worth seeing are St. Luck’s Church, St. Anne’s Church or St. Michael’s Church. You will find all of them in Kotor Old Town.

Admire beautiful palaces

One of my favorite things to do in Kotor was finding all the beautiful palaces in the Old Town and learning more about their history. I think Kotor palaces don’t get as much attention as they should yet they complete the Old Town so nicely.

During the times of the biggest prosperity, between the 15th and 18th centuries, Kotor was inhabited by many noble families. The palaces they owned were built usually in Baroque or Romanesque style and are named after the families they used to belong to.

The most impressive one is the Pima Palace from the 17th century, a beautiful example of how those two architectural styles can work together. Many of the palaces don’t look pretty normal among the buildings in the Old Town but when you look closer you will notice all the details that show the real value of the place.

If you are wondering how life in such a noble palace used to look like you can stay in one of them overnight to get the taste of the old times.

I’ve stayed twice at Palazzo Drusko – a 600 years old building that used to belong to one of the great families of Montenegro. I can definitely recommend it. Staying overnight inside the Old Town is a great experience but staying in one of the old palaces makes it even better.

Click here to see the reviews, current prices, and availability of Palazzo Drusko.

Climb to the fortress

Kotor fortification (or the view from them, to be exact) is on top of my Balkan highlights list. This was the reason why I visited Kotor for the first time – I saw the picture online and I knew I just have to see this stunning landscape in real life.

Now, all these trips to Kotor later, it still take my breath away (and that’s not because of all the stairs up). In fact, this is one of the most mind-blowing places I’ve ever seen!

St. John’s Fortress was built between the 9th and 15th century, to protect the town from the invaders. To get to St. John’s castle on top of the fortification you need to walk up 1350 stairs, some of them are a bit shabby so be sure to wear comfortable shoes.

On the way to the top, you will pass the Church of Our Lady of Remedy from the 16th century.

The round trip should take around 2 hours. Have plenty of water with you as all that climbing can be tiring and a bit challenging, especially in the summertime.

You don’t need to go all the way to the top to admire the incredible views (but of course the higher you get, the better panorama you will see). More or less halfway there is a small square from where you can already enjoy the beautiful landscape of Kotor Bay and surrounding mountains. When I’m too lazy and don’t have much time this is where I end my climbing as this view is already amazing enough for me.

There are two entrances to the fortifications, both located in the Old Town. Follow the signs to find them.

The entrance is 8€ but if you go early enough or in the afternoon it should be free. When I visited the Kotor fortress in March or December it was free of charge too.

In the summertime, I recommend going up the fortifications either in the morning or in the late afternoon – not only you will avoid the heat but also crowds from the cruise ships that slow down the hike.

Walk along the Kotor Bay to Dobrota

If you are tired of the crowds in the Old Town go for a walk along the Kotor Bay towards Dobrota. The town is located some 5 km away from Kotor and it makes a perfect getaway from the hustle and bustle in the Old Town.

The old road goes directly next to the water and along the way you can enjoy a fresh sea breeze which is very much welcome especially on the hot days. The views are pretty amazing too and changing every few minutes, showing how truly amazing this area is. Be sure to look back every few minutes too to see Kotor behind.

Along the road you will also find a few of the old palaces, sadly some of them are in the ruins now.

You can walk as far as you like and then either walk back and go to the main road to catch the Blue Line bus to Kotor – they don’t really have the schedule so you might need to wait up to half an hour for it.

Visit Perast

One of the biggest attractions of Kotor Bay, beside Kotor itself, is Perast – a small town located a short drive away from Kotor. Despite its size, it offers a variety of attractions – you can visit museums and churches, see even more beautiful palaces from the 17th and 18th century or wander around the place and enjoy stunning views of the Kotor Bay.

In front of the town, you can see two small islands in the middle of the Kotor Bay – visiting one of them, with Our Lady of the Rocks church, is actually the main reason why most of the travelers visit Perast.

This is the only artificial island on the Adriatic Sea, made in the place where two local fishermen found on the rocks the painting of St. Mary. The church was built there in the first half of the 17th century and is decorated with baroque paintings and silver plates from the ships – a gift after the safe return back home. There is also a small museum you can visit.

But the biggest highlight of the trip to the island is yet again the view, you can admire the spectacular Kotor Bay from another perspective and it will take your breath away for sure.

Getting to the island is very easy, most likely you will be approached by local fishermen offering the return trip, the price should be around 5€/person.

To reach Perast from Kotor you need to take the local Blue Line bus, you can catch it outside of the Old Town walls. Buses run every 30-60 minutes and the ticket should be around 1€. If you go by car there is a parking lot at the end of Perast (when arriving from the direction of Kotor).

You can also visit Perast on a tour from Kotor. Here are the recommended options:

• From Kotor: Half-Day Private Tour of Perast & Kotor
• Kotor: Perast Old Town and Our Lady of the Rocks Boat Tour
• Kotor Boat Tour: Our Lady of the Rocks, Mamula and Blue Cave

Go for day trips

Perast is the most popular side trip from Kotor but you can actually go to some of the most spectacular places to visit in Montenegro as a day trips from Kotor. I’ve done a few such trips (both organized and independently) and as much as I loved all of the places, I always felt an utter joy when I was returning back to Kotor (so it was a win-win situation really). Kotor is such a great base to explore Montenegro (or even surrounding countries).

During one of my trips to Kotor, I used the local agency 360Monte and went for two day trips with them: Great Montenegro Tour and North Montenegro. I could finally see some of the best places to visit in Montenegro that have been on my bucket list for ages but that are not accessible by public transport, such as Rijeka Crnojevica, Ostrog Monastery, Mausoleum in Lovćen National Park or Đurđevića Tara Bridge

Another time, together with a friend we rented a car, based ourselves in Kotor and traveled around. We’ve managed to see a big part of Montenegro as well as visited Croatia (Kupari and we drove through