Kotor Citywalk, the Adriatic Sea secret spot everyone’s talking about

Descending from the Kotor Fortress, you naturally enter Kotor Old Town for a Citywalk. Kotor Old Town is located at the end of the Bay of Kotor, where mountains meet the sea, forming a natural harbor. From Roman, Byzantine, Venetian to Austro-Hungarian empires, each era has left deep marks in Kotor. Walking through it feels like flipping through a three-dimensional history book. · Personally, I think the biggest highlight of Kotor Old Town is its well-preserved medieval city layout and the complete city walls and fortresses stretching from the seaside to the mountaintop. Unlike those ancient towns that are just for sightseeing, Kotor Old Town remains the heart of the city, where residents live, and restaurants, cafes, and shops are everywhere, full of vibrant life. · Besides the main streets, you must explore the unnamed small alleys in Kotor. Walking through the winding streets and the scattered alleys hidden among stone buildings gives a sense of time travel. You’ll discover hidden courtyards, walls covered with vines, and cats napping in the sunlight. After all, Kotor is famously known as the “Cat Town,” and this is the most authentic and charming side of Kotor. · This time, I wandered around Kotor Old Town from dusk until night and still felt there was more to see. Kotor Old Town is even bigger than I imagined. Below is my Citywalk route for reference, and I recommend setting aside 3-4 hours: Sea Gate → Square of Arms → Cats Museum → The Cathedral of Saint Tryphon → St. Nichola’s Church → Kotor Town Wall · 📸 Must-see: ✅ Sea Gate: The seaside city gate was built 500 years ago. Originally, the top featured a Venetian lion, later replaced by the double-headed eagle symbolizing the Habsburg monarchy. Now it bears the emblem of the former Yugoslav Tito era. The stone plaque is engraved with November 21, 1944, the day Tito’s army liberated the old town from the Nazis. ✅ Square of Arms: The largest square in the city, named after the 15th-century arsenal building located there. The iconic clock tower was built in the 17th century, but interestingly, it leans slightly due to an earthquake. The Pillory beneath the tower was once used to punish criminals. ✅ Cats Museum: Montenegrins love cats and believe cats saved Kotor. The museum is small, with only a few rooms, but densely packed. The owner has collected many cat-related oil paintings, stamps, postcards, seals, and more, full of vintage charm. ✅ The Cathedral of Saint Tryphon: Kotor’s most sacred building, built in 1166. Despite restorations after earthquakes, it retains its original Romanesque style. Inside, be sure to admire the magnificent gold and silver altar and precious religious relics, feeling its solemnity and splendor. ✅ St. Nichola’s Church: This Eastern Orthodox church in Montenegro belongs to the Serbian Orthodox Church and was built in 1909, so its exterior shows little sign of age. The double hexagonal dome structure on top reflects the Neo-Byzantine style. The interior is relatively simple, unlike most Orthodox churches covered in murals. ✅ Kotor Town Wall: The old town’s city walls are not fully intact and don’t form a complete circle, but the vantage points are relatively high, offering a different perspective of Kotor Old Town.