SER

BIA

& M

ON

TEN

EGR

O

w w w . l o n e l y p l a n e t . c o mSER

BIA

& M

ON

TENEG

RO

w w w . l o n e l y p l a n e t . c o m

like a small castle, and endless views of the sea. The restaurant downstairs has a spa-cious terrace where you can guzzle and swill. Breakfast/half board/full board is €3/8/10.

Albatros (%423 266; s/d from €22.10/34;s) Among pine trees, this pleasant holiday hotel is 1km up the hill from Mala Plaža. Guests have access to a sauna, fitness room and swimming pool.

Tomi camping ground (hMay-Sep) A camp-ing ground under the trees, located east of Milena and adjacent to Velika Plaža.

HTP Velika Plaža (%413 145; www.velikaplaza.cg.yu; Ada road) Further towards Ada, this holi-day camp has a variety of accommodation from €19 to €23 per person or €35 to €100 for an apartment, full board.

EATING & DRINKING On the seafront is a string of restaurants specialising in seafood.

Marinero (%423 009; Mala Plaža; meals €5-9; h7am-late) The owner was once a ship’s cook and ship’s cooks don’t last long unless they’re good. Seafaring mates gather, speaking three or four languages, so for a coffee or rakija you’ll get the history of the town and tales of the sea. Come for a slap-up seafood meal.

Bazar (%421 639; 26 Novembar bb; meals €5-8; h8am-late) A great place if you want to have some seafood in a quiet spot during the summer bustle. Lignje na žaru (grilled calamari) is the restaurant’s speciality and finger-licking good.

Gallo Nero (%315 245; 26 Novembar bb; meals €5-12; h10am-late) Friendly service and a good Italian menu draw the crowds to this place. You can snack or feast, it’s your choice.

Bella Vista (%067 315 266; 26 Novembar bb; meals €4-8; h7am-late) If you don’t have breakfast included in your accommodation, this is a good place to come and feed yourself. Equally, you can drink late here. Or just stay the night, since the owners also have accommodation (half board from €25).

Rock (26 Novembar bb; h8am-late) An attempt at an Irish pub with some of the atmos-phere, and live music on the weekend. If that pint of Guinness ain’t available, there are plenty of other beers to replace it.

GETTING THERE & AWAY Many minibuses ply the road to Ada (and Velika Plaža) from the marketplace for €1.50 in season.

Bay of Kotor (Boka Kotorska ) Бока КоторскаKOTOR КОТОР%082 / pop 22,500 Imagine a place at the head of southern Europe’s deepest fjord, with a fortified old town nestled at the foot of a high cliff, labyrinthine streets where bars, pizza joints, churches, shops, hotels and restaurants sur-prise you on hidden piazzas, and you start getting the idea of Kotor. It’s probably the most beautiful place on the Montenegrin coast, and its setting couldn’t be more dra-matic. Brooding mountains protect the bay and the sea is a moody indigo blue.

Kotor attracts a fair amount of visitors during July and August, so it’s best to avoid it during these times, if you can. If not, remember that during these months party-ing is a priority, so if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.

Orientation The western flank of the funnel-shaped Stari Grad (Old Town) lies against Kotor Fjord (Kotorski Zaliv). An 18th-century gateway off Jadranski Put, which runs along the waterside, leads into the city and Stari Grad, where Kotor’s places of interest lie. The bus station (%325 809) is 1km away on the Budva road.

Information Euromarket Bank (%323 946; Trg Octobarske Revolu-cije; h8am-8pm Mon-Fri, 8am-4pm Sat, until 8pm Sat Jun-Sep) Cashes travellers cheques, has a Visa ATM.IDK Computers (%301 046; Stari Grad; per hr €2; h2pm-midnight summer, 5pm-midnight rest of year)Information booth (%325 950; western gateway; h9am-1pm & 5-8pm Mon-Sat) Information on the town and private accommodation.Opportunity Bank (Trg Octobarske Revolucije) Has a MasterCard ATM.

Sights The best thing to do in Kotor is just let yourself get lost and found again in the mazy streets. You’ll soon know every cor-ner, since the town is quite small. But there’s plenty to see and many coffees to be drunk in the shady squares. If you have the energy, climb the 1500 steps up to the old fortifi-cations on the mountainside above Kotor. The views of the fjord are stunning and you get a good idea of the town below.

Within the town itself, the Maritime Mu-seum (%325 646; Stari Grad; admission €1; h9am-5pm Mon-Fri, to noon Sat) shows Kotor’s formerly high position as a Mediterranean naval power and how important the sea is to the town. The displays show a proud history and tell that in the 18th century, the Bay of Kotor sent out over 400 ships to sail the world’s seas. Note the brightly painted bottles reading ‘For My True Love’ and ‘Think of Me’, probably given to the sailors by their sweethearts upon departure. A leaflet in English is available.

The St Tryphon Cathedral ( Trg Ustanka mor-nara), originally built in the 11th century, has been reconstructed several times since due to damage by a number of severe earthquakes. The entire western front was destroyed in 1667 and the replacement stone bell towers add a baroque aspect to the building. The interior is a masterpiece of Romanesque-Gothic architecture with slen-der columns thrusting upwards to support a series of vaulted roofs. The gilded silver-relief altar screen, in the form of an iconos-tasis, is held to be the most valuable exhibit in Kotor. There are 14th-century frescoes

which were discovered in the last few years, but the experts can’t decide whether their painters were Greek or Serbian. Some of the remains of St Tryphon, Kotor’s patron saint, are held at the reliquary chapel as well as parts of the Holy Cross.

The Church of St Luke (Trg bratstva i jedinstva) is a 12th-century Romanesque building with original frescoes remaining. The church became a place of worship for Orthodox Christianity in the 17th century, and a hun-dred years later a chapel to St Spiridon was built alongside it with a baroque façade. The church was restored to its original 12th-century form in 1979 after the strong earthquake that shattered so many of Mon-tenegro’s coastal towns. One of the most interesting things about this church is that it has two altars: a Catholic one and an Orthodox one, showing the historic close-ness of these two faiths and the religious tolerance of the Kotor area. Confusion was avoided by the simple practice of holding Mass at separate times.

Breathe in the smell of incense and beeswax in the plain and unadorned 1909

�

�

������������

���������

�������������������������1

3

2

DBA C

Cetinje (47km)

To Perast (18km)

Station (500m);To Bus

F j o r d

K o t o r

Š k u r d a

ChurchSt Mary's

Clock Tower

GateNorth

Southern Gate

GatewayWestern

Jadranski Put

Jadranski Put

UstankaTrg

mornaraOslobo‹enja

Trg

PaštrovnicaTrg

jedinstvaTrg Bratstva i

KinaTrg od

RevolucijeTrg Oktobarske od muzeja

Pjaca

1234

678

5

9

111213

10

14

1615

171819

INFORMATION

SIGHTS & ACTIVITIES

SLEEPING

EATING

DRINKING

C2C1B2C2

C2C1C2

C1

D1

C1C2C2

C1

D1

D2C2

C2B1C2

Euromarket Bank........................IDK Computers...........................Information Booth......................Opportunity Bank......................

Church of St Luke......................Maritime Museum.....................St Nicholas Church.....................St Tryphon Cathedral.................Steps to Viewpoint.....................

Hotel Marija.............................Hotel Rendez Vous...................Hotel Vardar............................Meridian Travel Agency...........

Bastion Restaurant...................Kantun.....................................Piazza......................................Pizzeria Giardino....................(see 15)

Cesare.....................................Forza........................................Portabello................................

1234

678

5

9

111213

10

14

1615

171819

INFORMATION

SIGHTS & ACTIVITIES

SLEEPING

EATING

DRINKING

C2C1B2C2

C2C1C2

C1

D1

C1C2C2

C1

D1

D2C2

C2B1C2

Euromarket Bank........................IDK Computers...........................Information Booth......................Opportunity Bank......................

Church of St Luke......................Maritime Museum.....................St Nicholas Church.....................St Tryphon Cathedral.................Steps to Viewpoint.....................

Hotel Marija.............................Hotel Rendez Vous...................Hotel Vardar............................Meridian Travel Agency...........

Bastion Restaurant...................Kantun.....................................Piazza......................................Pizzeria Giardino....................(see 15)

Cesare.....................................Forza........................................Portabello................................

96

17

16

1118

13

8

147

15

519

2

12

10

14

3

KOTOR STARI GRAD (OLD TOWN) 0 100 m0 0.1 miles

Kotor Stari Grad (Old Town)

316 M O N T E N E G R O • • C o a s t a l M o n t e n e g r o M O N T E N E G R O • • C o a s t a l M o n t e n e g r o 317