Bay of Kotor & the Budva Riviera: the back story

The coast from Herceg Novi to Ulcinj packs walled towns, royal palaces and a sailors’ garden into a short drive. Here is how the bay and the riviera came to look the way they do.

From arsenal to marina

Tivat has long looked to the sea. Its city park, laid out in 1892, grew from plants that local sailors carried home from distant voyages. The old naval base has since become Porto Montenegro, a marina of more than 500 berths for yachts up to 250 metres, joined seamlessly to the Pine, the promenade where the town comes out to walk.

Walls, towers and palaces

Kotor’s old town, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1979, fills a triangle between bay, river and mountain. Across the water at Herceg Novi, the Ottomans built Kanli kula in 1539. Budva is said to be more than 2,500 years old, while at Bar King Nikola raised a seaside palace in 1885 for his daughter, Princess Zorka.

The far south

Inland from Bar, Stari Bar crowns a sheer rock four kilometres from the sea, a ruined city of churches, a hamam and a clock tower among ancient olive trees. Further south, Ulcinj’s old town stands on a headland; the national tourist board tells of its years as a pirate base from 1571 and the legend that Cervantes was held captive there.

Tivat’s city park was laid out in 1892 with plants that local seafarers brought home from their voyages.

Our advice: walk Tivat’s Pine promenade at sunset, then carry on along the Porto Montenegro waterfront.