15/08/2026
Budva Old Town (Stari Grad) is the jewel of the Montenegrin coast, a compact walled town crowded onto a small rocky peninsula jutting into the Adriatic. One of the oldest settlements on the sea, with a history reaching back some 2,500 years, it has passed through Illyrian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Venetian hands, and it was the four centuries of Venetian rule that gave it the honey-coloured stone walls, the citadel and the tight weave of lanes and little squares that visitors love today. Carefully rebuilt after a severe earthquake in 1979, the old town remains a wonderfully atmospheric maze, ringed by ramparts on one side and by beaches and the buzzing modern Budva Riviera on the other.
What to See
Simply losing yourself in the pedestrianised web of narrow marble streets, past stone houses, cafés and tiny shops, is the chief pleasure. At the seaward tip stands the Citadel (Citadela), the old fortress whose ramparts and terrace give sweeping views over the Adriatic, the red rooftops and the island of Sveti Nikola offshore; inside are a small maritime museum and a library. Clustered nearby is a remarkable group of old churches — among them the Romanesque Church of St John with its tall bell tower, the little Santa Maria in Punta said to date back to the 9th century, and the Orthodox Holy Trinity Church — while excavations have revealed remains of a much older Roman and early-Christian town beneath the streets. The great fun, though, is to climb up onto the town walls and walk their length for the classic view back over the peninsula and out to sea.
How to Get There and Practical Information
Budva sits in the middle of Montenegro’s short but spectacular coast, about 20 kilometres south of the Bay of Kotor. Montenegro’s main airports at Tivat and Podgorica are both within easy reach by car or bus, and frequent buses connect Budva with Kotor, Cetinje and the capital; the old town lies a short walk from the main bus station and the seafront promenade. Within the walls everything is on foot, as the lanes are far too narrow for cars. Wandering the old town and the beaches around it is free, while the Citadel and the small museums charge a modest admission. Budva can be extremely busy at the height of the summer season, so mornings and evenings — when the day-trippers thin out and the stone glows in softer light — are the loveliest times to explore, and it makes a natural base for seeing the wider Montenegrin coast.
Weather in location: Budva Old Town, Montenegro
- Today 17°…21°
- Wind 8 km/h SW
- No precipitation now
