Dubrovnik is the city of the highest historical and cultural value and of an outstanding artistic importance. The town fortifications, ramparts and towers outside the walls were built, reinforced and reconstructed in the period from the 12th to the second half of the 17th century. A number of constructors were involved in those works (Nicifor Ranjina in 1319, Michelozzo di Bartholomeo in 1461-1464, Juraj Dalmatinac or George the Dalmatian in 1465-1466, Paskoje Milicevic in 1466-1516, Antonio Ferramolino in 1538, Mihajlo Hranjac in 1617, etc.). The main wall is 1,940 m long (following the ring-corridor), 4-6 m wide on the mainland side and 1.5-5 m wide on the sea side, and up to 25 m high. It was reinforced by three circular and 14 quadrangular towers, five bastions (bulwarks), two angular fortifications and a large fortress called Sveti Ivan (St. John). Among the towers, the most monumental is the circular tower of Minceta, on the north-western co-rner of the ramparts. The reinforcement, along the main wall on the mainland side, includes one la-r-ger and nine -sm-aller semicircular ba-sti-ons, and the casemate fortress Bokar, the oldest preserved fortress of that kind in Europe. The town was also defended from two independent fortresses: Revelin, on the eastern side, built in the per-iod 1539-1551, and Lovrijenac, on the western side, situated at a 46-m high cliff above the sea. According to the chronicles, their construction started in 1050. Dubrovnik had four town gates, the two of them toward the port and another two (with bascule bridges) toward the mainland. The ramparts around the town have been preserved in their original shape. They may be reached from below Luza Zvonara or going along the church of St. Salvatore on Poljana, a work by Paskoje Milicevic. From the entrance below Luza Zvonara, the way on the walls runs above the Street between the Gate of Ploce (to the left-hand side are Sponza, the Dominican church, the church of St. Luke and the Annunciation; to the right-hand side are the town port and Revelin). Over the interior part of the Gate of Ploce the way goes up to the tower of St. James (to the left-hand side is a nice view on the town) and continues near the towers Drezvenik, Nad sv. Vidom (Above St. Vitus), Sveta Lucija (St. Lucy), Sveta Barbara (St. Barbara) to Minceta. From here, the way descends along the towers Gornji Ugao (Upper Corner) and Sveti Franjo (St. Francis) to the interior part of the Gate of Pile (this is the end of a visit of the northern section of the walls). The sightseeing tour of the southern part of the walls continues along the tower Puncijela (a view on Lovrijenac to the right) and Bokar (a view on the town to the left and on the open sea to the right), as well as along the towers Sveta Marija (St. Mary), Mrtvo Zvono (Dead Bell), Zvijezda (Star), Sveta Margarita (St. Marguerite), Sveti Stjepan (St. Stephen), Sveti Spasitelj (St. Salvatore), to the angular fortress Sveti Ivan (St. John; a view on the town port, Srd Mount and the eastern part of the town). The way leads farther along the town port above Duke Damjan Juda Street, above the Gate of Ponta, along the back side of the Duke's Palace, the National Theatre and above the Arsenal, where it descends below Luza Zvonara.

Since the ancient times, the centre of public life has been Luza Square. It continues toward the west into the main artery of the town core, the so-called Placa (Stradun). On the northern side of the square is the Sponza Palace, and in the middle of it the Orlando's Column from the 15th century, with a knights's statue, carved in stone. This was the place where all public announcements and proclamations but also public punishments were taking place. The knight's right arm, from fingertips to elbow (carved also on the pedestal of the column) was the official unit of length (ell) of the Dubrovnik Republic. On the southern side is the Baroque church of St. Blaise (built by Marino Gropelli in 1706-1714); the gold-plated, silver statue of St. Blaise with a scale model of the town from the mid-15th century (on the main altar) and two stone statutes (St. Blaise and St. Jerome), works by the Brac sculptor Nikola Lazanic from the end of the 16th century, are originally from the old church of St. Blaise from the 14th century. The eastern side of Luza is enclosed by Luza Zvonara, the Town Belfry and the Main Guard House. The bells from Luza Zvonara (built in 1463) were used to mark the beginning of the council sessions and to call alerts. The construction of the Town Belfry was mentioned in the documents from 1444. The clock with two wooden human figures (so-called "zelenci", "greenies"), striking the hours, was made by Luka, a son of the admiral Miho (cast in bronze by an anonymous master in 1476). The present bell (from 1506) is a work by Ivan Krstitelj Rabljanin. The Town Belfry was completely restored in 1929. The Main Guard House was built in 1706-1708 by Marino Gropelli. In front of it, partly in the niche, is the so-called Small Onofrio's Fountain, whose figure decorations were made by Petar Martinov from Milan by the end of the first half of the 15th century. Next to it is the Town Hall, built in the Lombardian neo-Renaissance (1863-1864, according to the designs by Antonio Vecchietti). The National Theatre (called Bonda's Theatre) also belongs to the structural complex of that period. This was -also the original location of the buildings of the Upper Council (first mentioned in 1303, extended in 1489, destroyed by a fire in 1817) and the Great Arsenal (first mentioned in 1272, pulled down in the mid-19th c.; a part toward the town port has been preserved). Next to the Town Hall is the Duke's Palace, in the present form a Gothic-Renaissance structure, built according to the designs by Onofrio della Cava, on the location of a fortified palace from the 12th or 13th century, which was destroyed in a powder explosion in 1435. After another explosion of powder in 1463, the ground-floor portico was restored in Renaissance style by Petar Martinov from Milan. The palace was severely damaged by an earthquake in 1667 and the repairs (until 1739) were done by the constructor Jerolim Skarpa from Korcula. The interior of the palace features an atrium with arcades (on three sides on the ground floor and on four sides on the first floor). A monumental staircase leads to the rooms on the first floor. On the left-hand side is the entrance to the former archives (painted closets from the Rococo period). The atrium also keeps a bust of Miho Pracat (a work by P. P. Jacometti from 1637), the only monument of the Dubrovnik Republic to any citizen of merit. Above the gate to the former building of the Upper Council is the inscription: OBLITI PRIVATORUM PUBLICA CURATE (Having forgotten your private concerns, dedicate yourselves to public affairs). The eastern side of Po-ljana Marina Drzica is enclosed by the bishop's (former Sorkocevic's) palace. Along with it runs Duke Damjan Juda Street, all the way to the fortress of St. John (housing today the Aquarium, the Maritime Museum and the Ethnographical Museum). The church of Our Lady of Karmen is a Baroque structure (1628-1636). One of the paintings, attributed to C. Regio, represents the Sorkocevic summer mansion on Lapad. South of Poljana Marina Drzica is the old town part called Pustijerna (access below the arcades). Resticeva Street houses the Renaissance Skocibuha Palace (Bizzaro-Ohmucevic; built by Josip and Ivan Andrijic in 1549-1553, according to the designs by Anthony of Padua), the best preserved private structure built before the earthquake of 1667, and the Gothic Zamanjina Palace. Stulina Street features the ruins of the early Croatian, later reconstructed church of St. Stephen, mentioned already by Constantine Porphyrogenitus (around the mid-10th c.). The western side of Drziceva Poljana is enclosed by the monumental front of the Baroque Cathedral, built in the period 1672-1713 on the location of an earlier Romanesque cathedral, which was destroyed by the earthquake in 1667. The design was made by A. Buffalini and the constructors were P. Andreotti, P. A. Bazzi, Father Tommaso Napoli and Ilija Katicic, who finally finished the construction. The church keeps the paintings by Padovani, J. Palma the Younger, G. G. Savoldo, Parmigianino, Bordone and other. The main altar features the large polyptych of the Assumption of Our Lady (on the sides: Sts. Blaise and Lazarus, Sts. Nicholas and Anthony the Abbot), a work by Tizian and his assistants, created after 1552. The Cathedral Treasury (entrance to the left of the main altar) keeps a number of golden and silver reliquaries of various shapes. It also keeps a large wash-basin with a pitcher from gold-plated silver, which represents the flora and fauna of Dubrovnik (a work by W. Jamnitzer, around 1550). - Androviceva Street leads to the foot of the stairway Uz Jezuite (Near the Jesuits), designed in 1735 by P. Passalacqua. The stairway leads to Poljana Rudera Boskovica, with the Baroque Jesuit church of St. Ignatius (finished in 1725 according to the designs by A. Pozzo). The apse behind the main altar houses the wall paintings by G. Garcia (1737-1738), while the bell tower houses the oldest bell of Dubrovnik, cast in 1355 by Viventius and his son Viator. Next to the church is the Baroque building of the former Dubrovnik College (built in 1735 according to the designs by the Jesuits Ranjina and Canauli); the main entrance features a relief with an inscription from 1481. Strossmayerova Street leads to the stairway to the west. The former monastery of St. Catherine houses the Music School now; the foundations and crypt of the church of St. Peter the Great, the first Dubrovnik cathedral, with numerous fragments of "pleter" (interlacery ornaments), have been found in the former church. Farther from Strossmayerova Street, in the street called Od Rupa, is a large two-storey structure, the so-called Rupe (Holes); the former granary. It was built in the period 1542-1590 (restored in 1940); under the building are 15 large dry wells (capacity about 1,500 t), drilled in live rock, with a constant temperature of 17.5 °C. The building now houses the Rupe Museum. From there, through the street called Od Domina, one reaches Siroka (Broad) Street. The Domino church was built on the location of an earlier church destroyed by the earthquake in 1667. According to the crypt, the old church was a three-nave structure; one of the preserved aisles is now the sacristy. The palla of the main altar was made by A. Vaccaro. - The trading artery of the present Dubrovnik is the street called Od Puca. On its southern side is the church of St. Joseph, built after the earthquake in 1667 on the location of the destroyed church of St. James from 1299. Opposite of it is the Orthodox church (1877) with a cultural and historical collection and a collection of icons. To the east, the street continues to Gunduliceva Poljana, with a monument to the poet Divo Frana Gundulic (a work by I. Rendic, 1893).

On the northern side of Luza Square is the monumental Sponza (Divona, Fondik). It was built in the period 1515-1522, in the transitional style from Gothic to Renaissance, according to the designs by Paskoje Milicevic; stone-masonry was done by Nikola and Josip Andrijic. It was used as the customs house (therefore occasionally called Divona), mint, national treasury, bank and fondaco (office for goods evaluation). It was also the seat of Dubrovnik academies during and after the Renaissance. On the ground floor, in front of the façade is a Renaissance portico; the first floor has Gothic and the second floor Renaissance windows. The yard is enclosed by corridors with arcades. The front loggia (which today houses the original "Greenies" and the old clock works from the Town Belfry) bears the Latin inscription: FALLERE NOSTRA VETANT ET FALLI PONDERA - MEQUE FONDERO DUM MERCES, PONDERAT IPSE DEUS (Do not cheat or falsify the measures; while I am weighing the goods, God is weighing with me). The Sponza also houses the National Archives of the Dubrovnik Republic (comprising about 2.7 million written pages of various documents, agreements etc. from the 13th c. to the fall of the Republic). - The way to the town ramparts starts from below Luza Zvonara, along the Town Belfry. A passage leads through the walls to the town port. Its construction started by levelling and filling up of the channel between the island of Lava and the mainland. In 1266 four towers were built and in 1305 the coast was arranged. Adaptations of the Arsenal (from the 13th c.) were made in 1489 by Paskoje Milicevic; in 1535 the Arsenal was extended; a part of it was pulled down during the construction of the theatre in 1863, and the other was converted into a town coffee-house in 1933. - Through St. Dominic Street one reaches the Dominican monastery and its church; the Dominicans came to Dubrovnik in 1225. The construction of the present monastery complex started at the beginning of the 14th century. The first known constructors of the church (1315) were Nicholas and George, the sons of the protomaster Lawrence from Zadar. The church was reconstructed on several occasions, especially after the earthquake in 1667, after the French occupation (when it was used as a horse stable and storage) and in 1883. On the right-hand side of the church are The Annunciation with a number of paintings from the history of the Dominicans in Dubrovnik (N. Bozidarevic, 1513), the exit to the street called Izmedu Vrata od Ploca (Between the Gate of Ploce) (the former main entrance to the church, the only Romanesque portal in Dubrovnik dating from the 13th c., supplemented with an outer Gothic frame in 1419), the altar of St. Vincent Ferrer with the saint's statue from the 15th century and the painting The Assumption of Mary with a vedutta of Dubrovnik (signature of an unknown master A. B. D., around 1648/1658). On the left-hand side are the altar with the palla of St. Magdalene between St. Blaise and Raphael the Archangel with the figure of a donator from the Pucic family (made by Tizian around 1554), the altar with a Baroque crucifix, the late Gothic stone pulpit from the 15th century, the altar with the painting Wonder of St. Dominic (Vlaho Bukovac, 1912) and the painting Descent of the Holy Spirit with the figure of the donator Skocibuha (A. Vaccaro, first half of the 17th c.). On the right-hand side, the sanctuary houses the chapel of the Lukarevic family from the 15th century, with a triptych by Mihajlo Hamzic from 1512, while on the left-hand side is the chapel of the Gundulic family (Luka Paskojev, 1536), with a triptych (Nikola Bozidarevic, after 1458). The main altar (from 1603) features the painting of Our Lady of the Rosary (a work by an anonymous painter from the 17th c.). Below the arch that separates the nave from the sanctuary is the painted cross by P. Veneziano from 1352. The sacristy was built in 1485 by Paskoje Milicevic; it houses a wash-basin (end of the 15th c.), a big crucifix (beginning of the 16th c.) and several tombstones. Above the sacristy is the four-storey bell tower with the lantern. Its construction was started by Cecho from Monopoli in 1390, and several local masters worked on it in the period 1404-1531. The bell tower has three old bells, cast in Dubrovnik; the first one from 1463 (Bartolomeo de Cremona), the second one from 1515 (Ivan Krstitelj Rabljanin; John the Baptist of Rab) and the third one from 1622 (Gaudencije Lastovac; Gaudentius of Lastovo). The monastery cloister has corridors with slender arcades (transition from Gothic to Renaissance); built by local masters according to partly changed designs of Masa di Bartolomeo. On the eastern side of the cloister is the chapter house with an altarpiece by Nikola Bozidarevic from 1513 and the tomb of the poet Dinko Ranjina (1531-1607). The museum keeps valuable exhibits of Dubrovnik goldwork. The collection of paintings comprises all periods since the 14th century (Tizian, Charonton, Lorenzo di Credi, Vasari). The monastery library keeps 217 manuscripts (among them also several illuminated codices), 239 incunabula, 16,000 printed volumes, the charters important for the history of Dubrovnik; the most valuable exhibits are the incunabula by A. Paltasic and D. Dobricevic, as well as Savonarola's speeches from 1497. Next to the Dominican church is the church of St. Sebastian (added in 1466-1469); during the French occupation it was converted into a prison, and thus underwent considerable changes. - The passage along the Baroque church of the Rosary connects the street called Izmedu Vrata od Ploca with the northern main street of the ancient Dubrovnik, Prijeko. To the left is the pre-Romanesque church of St. Nicholas, later supplemented by a Gothic nave; in 1607 it was extended and a late Renaissance front (inscription and date on the architrave) was added. The antependium of the main altar is a pre-Romanesque stone tablet with the motifs of "pleter" (interlacery ornaments). Uphill, through Zlatarska (Jewellers') Street, the way leads to Peline Street (which follows the northern section of the town ramparts to the Minceta tower). At the corner, in front of the former town gate of St. James, is the church of St. James on Peline, with Romanesque features; it was first mentioned in 1225. Zudioska (Jewish) Street descends from Peline to Prijeko, in the part of the town known as the Jewish ghetto, which existed in Dubrovnik as early as 1352. Here is also the synagogue from the 15th century (with the 17th c. furnishings), one of the oldest preserved synagogues in south-eastern Europe. In the street called Od Sigurate is the small early Croatian church of Sigurata its aisles and Baroque front were added later. Next to the church is the nun monastery which keeps the oldest votive painting representing a Dubrovnik ship, as well as the embroidery Washing of the Feet (according to the sketches by Niccola di Pietro, 15th c.). Celestin Medovic Street leads to the Placa. Next to the Gate of Pile is the Franciscan (Friars Minor) monastery with the church. The construction of the monastery started in 1317 in the Romanesque-Gothic transitional style. The church was probably finished in 1343 and the bell tower in 1424 (after the earthquake in 1667 the Gothic tip was replaced by a dome-shaped roof). The altar and intersections belong to the period of Baroque onwards, only the pulpit dates back to the 15th century. The church houses also the tomb of the poet Divo Frana Gundulic (1588-1638). The sacristy, which was not damaged in the earthquake, comprises the Gothic chapel of the Bunic family from 1472; the altar of the chapel has the shape of a triple relic repository, with paintings on wood. The late Gothic southern gate toward the Placa (in the lunette Pieta, Our Lord on the top, St. Jerome and St. John the Baptist on the sides) is a work by the sculptors Leonardo and Petar Petrovic, made in 1499. The oldest preserved part of the whole complex is the cloister, with features of the transitional style. The corridor is framed on all four sides by a line of double hexastyles, with various capitals which show a powerful impact of the Romanesque bestiary. The first builder and stone mason of the cloister was Mihoje Brajkov from Bar (in the southern section of the corridor is his tombstone). After his death (1348) the works on the cloister were continued by Miljen Radomislic (1367) and Leonardo Stjepanov from Florence (1376). Dilapidated parts were repaired in 1426 by Bozidar Bogdanovic and Radin Bogetic, and in 1433 the construction of the stone balustrade (banisters) on the terrace was continued by Ratko Brajkovic. The fountain in the middle of the cloister was built in the 15th century. On the eastern side of the cloister is the chapter house with seven chapels; it also houses a treasury. The monastery keeps the utensils (15th-17th c.) of the old monastery pharmacy, that existed as early as 1317. The monastery library comprises more than 30,000 volumes, including 22 incunabula, about 1,500 manuscripts, 15 illuminated chorales, mostly from the 15th and the 16th centuries, as well as numerous works of the ancient local music; an outstanding item is the martyrology from 1541, written and illuminated by Bernardin Orsat Gucetic from Dubrovnik. Opposite of the main entrance to the Franciscan church is the church of St. Salvatore, built in the Renaissance style (1520-1528, master Petar Andrijic). Among the paintings, the most notable is the Assumption, a work by Petar from Urbin (1527). Along the church is the way to the town ramparts. On the western extension of the Placa, on Poljana Paskoja Milicevica, is the Big Onofrio's Fountain, a sixteen-sided container with a cupola, as one of the ending points of the ancient waterworks. The designs for it were made by Onofrio della Cava in 1438 and the construction was finished in 1444; the cupola was made by Petar Martinov from Milan. The fountain was partly damaged by the earthquake in 1667. The southern side of Poljana Paskoja Milicevica is enclosed by the former monastery of St. Clare, which underwent a number of reconstructions in the 19th century. It was founded in 1290, along with the earliest church of St. Blaise (from the 12th or the 13th c.), which was later called the church of St. Clare (after the construction of the monastery).

The huge yard with double arcades of the former cloister is today used as a summer cinema and restaurant. The main artery of the old town, the so-called Placa (Stradun), 292 m long, connects the Gate of Pile with the Gate of Ploce; this is also the direction of the main sewer, since the passing of the Regulations on Hygienic Measures in the 13th century. On both sides of the Placa were shops. Paved with stone in 1468, the Placa was restored after the earthquake in 1667 (simple Baroque style, according to the suggestions of G. Ceruti from Rome). Some houses have preserved the old type of entrance into the ground-floor shops.

From Luza through the Street between the Gate of Ploce, along the Gate of the Fishmongers and the Dominican church on the right below the town rampart is the pre-Romanesque church of St. Luke, mentioned for the first time in 1245. It was extended on several occasions; the last time in 1787. Gothic statues above the door are probably works by Leonardo and Petar Petrovic, from the end of the 15th century. Next to it is the church of the Annunciation (so-called Nuncijata) with a nice portal. It was built in 1536 (in the Renaissance style with some Gothic elements) by Petar, son of Marko Andrijic; restored in 1910. The road leads through the inner part of the Gate of Ploce (beginning of the 14th c.); above the gate, in a niche, is the statue of the patron saint of Dubrovnik, St. Blaise, the oldest of numerous statues of that kind found in the town. The stone bridge leads over the town moat to the foot of the fortress Revelin. Its construction began in 1463 according to the designs of A. Ferramolino, but it got its present aspect in 1538. Close to the eastern top of Revelin is the outer part of the Gate of Ploce, the main entrance into the town from the east. The lifting mechanism of the bascule bridge has been preserved. The bascule bridge continues with the stone bridge from 1449. - The small square in front of the gate is the starting point of several roads and ways toward Gruz and Lapad, toward Bosanka and Zarkovica, as well as the connecting road with the Adriatic Highway. Going through the suburban part called Ploce, on the right-hand side one can see a deserted complex of buildings called Lazareti (Tabor; quarantine hospital) from 1590. Fairs took place here in the 19th century. On the left-hand side is the small old church of St. Lazarus next to it was the first leprosarium (mentioned as early as 1306). On the right is also the Emin Tower, the easternmost structure of Lazareti; behind it is a cove with the public beach of Ploce. The street known as Put Frana Supila bypasses the cove; on the left is the Art Gallery and on the right the hotels Excelsior, Orsula, Argentina and Villa Seherezada.

From Poljana Paskoja Milicevica the way leads through the inner part of the gate and an interspace to the outer part of the Gate of Pile, over the bascule bridge (lifting mechanisms have been preserved) to the square in front of the Gate of Pile. From here the one-way Put iza Grada (Way behind the Town) leads along the town ramparts, and the stairway Uz Post toward Zagrebacka Street. In the vicinity are -also the chapel of the Holy Cross on Posat (immediately behind Minceta Tower), the very old chapel of St. Felice and the church of St. Andrew (its apse is actually an early Croatian church, probably from the 9th c.). In front of the Gate of Pile, on the northern side of the square is the Baroque mansion of the Pucic family. The square called Brsalje with plane trees stretches toward the sea. In the middle is the fountain with the figures from Gundulic's pastoral Dubravka (work by I. Rendic, 1900); the colonnade offers a nice view on the fortress Bokar (left) and Lovrijenac (right). A stairway leads from Brsalje to the small port. The construction of the fortress Lovrijenac, on a high cliff above the sea, started in 1050 (according to the chronicles); it was mentioned in 1301 and reconstructed on several occasions, i.e. in 1418, 1464 and 1571. At some places the walls are up to 6 m wide. Lovrijenac has been used as one of the most attractive open stages since the very beginning of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival. The fortress bears the inscription: NON BENE PRO TOTO LIBERTAS VENDIAURO (Freedom is not to be given away for all treasures of this world.). - Ante Starcevic Street ascends gradually and on the right-hand side one can see Hotel Imperial. To the left is a branching road toward the park Gradac and the Dance peninsula. On Dance is a votive church from 1457 (the main altar features a polyptych by Lovro Marinov Dobricevic from 1465, and the side altar a triptych by Nikola Bozidarevic). Next to it is one of the old Dubrovnik cemeteries. The nun monastery is partly the former quarantine hospital. - On the left side of Starcevic Street, next to the permanent stage of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, is the Crijevic mansion (later Pucic) with a Renaissance chapel, park and colonnade. On the left are the General Hospital and the Boninovo vista point; on the right is the way to the cemetery called Three Churches, named after three ancient, later reconstructed churches of St. George, St. Clement and St. Hilary. Behind the cemetery, the way continues uphill, to the most beautiful Dubrovnik summer mansion, Skocibuha-Bonda (1675-1688). From Boninovo one way leads to Lapad, below the slopes of Petka. Another one, leading through the Gruz field, ends in the Gruz Bay. On the left is a branching road toward Lapad. Along the coast in Gruz are numerous former aristocratic summer mansions. The Bunic-Pucic-Gradic mansion has the Renaissance ground floor and the Gothic first floor, and a Gothic-Renaissance chapel on the large terrace. The Renaissance summer mansion of the Bunic family, with the storage for smaller ships - the so-called "orsan" - and a terrace, was reconstructed in the 19th century. The Renaissance summer mansion of the Gundulic family (built by the constructors from Korcula in the 16th c.) has a chapel and a pavilion above the former "orsan". The Renaissance Dominican monastery close to the pier was established in 1427. It was reconstructed in the 19th century and destroyed during bombardment in the Second World War. The Renaissance mansion of the Natali family has a portico with arches on the ground floor and the angular loggias on the first floor; in its immediate vicinity is a Renaissance chapel, formerly within the mansion complex. The late Renaissance church of St. Nicholas (patron of the shipbuilding guild) was built in 1527; the main altar palla (its lower part represents a part of the Gruz port) has been attributed to C. Regio. The Adriatic Highway descends to the coast in Gruz, runs along the coast and continues into Rijeka Dubrovacka near Cape Kantafig. - From Batala the road runs along the western coast of the Gruz Bay. In Batala are the summer mansions of the families Majstorovic (with the Renaissance ground floor and the Gothic first floor) and Getaldic-Gundulic (with a chapel and an "orsan").

Farther along the coast is the mansion of Petar Sorkocevic from 1521, with Renaissance arcades on the ground floor and Gothic monoforia and triforia on the first floor. The back, newer part on the first floor has an open loggia with Baroque wall paintings. The large garden comprises a pond, a chapel and a large terrace. The restored mansion houses the Institute of History of the Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences. The mansion of Luka Pucic has the Renaissance ground floor, while the first floor features Gothic monoforia and triforia. The back side is adorned with arcades. Above the Lapad field is an old mansion, a large Renaissance structure with a terrace and a chapel; a wall encloses the terraced park. In the immediate vicinity are the ruins of the Franciscan coenobium of St. John with a small church, built for the purpose of defence. In the middle of Lapad is a very old church of St. Michael (first mentioned in 1290) with a cemetery. Closer to the sea is also the old church of Our Lady of Charity (reconstructed in the 17th c.). Above it, on the location of Gorica, is a small church of St. Blaise, reconstructed at the end of the 19th century. - In the Sumartin Cove, at the end point of the roads from Dubrovnik and Gruz, is one of Dubrovnik recreational centres with a number of hotels and rest homes. In front of the westernmost cape of the Lapad peninsula, Baterija, is an islet called Daksa.