One day in Dubrovnik

Start the day, as everyone else does, with coffee on the main drag of Stradun. The Cele Café at Stradun 1, is the perfect option, overlooking the historic square of Luža you can also order a more substantial breakfast if your hotel hasn't provided one. And if youíre an early bird, it opens from 7am, allowing you a take a leisurely stroll around the nearby Old Port after breakfast.

It's time for the first sightseeing stops of the day. The Rector's Palace is filled with artefacts relating to when Dubrovnik was Ragusa, a powerful medieval republic. Free to enter, the Sponza Palace was the former Ragusa mint and now houses the state archives - definitely worth a quick look.

Before the sun gets too high and too hot, it's time to scale the City Walls - there's a public entrance at the Old Port side of the Old Town. From here, you not only get a gorgeous view of the Adriatic, you also get a real sense of quite how powerful and canny the Ragusa republic was, fending off Venice and the Ottomans for centuries. It's up to you which direction you decide to walk in, but ideally you'll finish up at the Pile Gate at the opposite end of Stradun.

This brings you out perfectly for a visit to the Franciscan Monastery and Old Pharmacy Museum, a complex of medieval cloisters surrounding one of the oldest apothecaries in Europe which is still in operation today.

It's about time for lunch. Considering its location by the Pile Gate and pedigree as a meeting place for Dubrovnik intellectuals
a century ago, Dubravka 1836 should be more expensive than it is - plus you get a fabulous sea view.

Walking back the short distance to Stradun, maybe splashing your face along the way with water from Onofrio's Great Fountain that once supplied Ragusa, you head for Antuninska and a more contemporary sight: War Photo Limited. Originally created by an expat photographer who was here during the bombardment of the early 1990s, the gallery now encompasses in visual form various world conflicts. Itís a chilling visit but will give you some idea of how the Old Town looked only two decades ago.

As the heat rises, take the short, calf-crunching climb to the far side of the City Walls and the station for the Cablecar. As you rise up the hillside, the whole of Dubrovnik comes gloriously into view.

Take the cablecar back down towards the Old Town but skirt the City Walls by strolling down Hvarska then on to the main road of Frana Supila. Itís about a 15-minute walk, but worth it for a couple of hours on the city beach of Banje - it'll still be warm and slowly filling with locals who've finished work for the day. If it gets too hot, head inside Banje Beach Bar for a beer or cocktail.

As the sun is slowly sinking, it's the perfect time to head back into the Old Town, cross Luža and, stopping en route to admire the Cathedral, saunter round to one of the two Buža bars that are cut into the cliff face below the sea-facing City Walls. If you opt for the less polished Buža I, you can even take an early-evening dip in the Adriatic.

It's time for dinner. If youíre looking to splash out,then you should make a beeline for Restaurant 360 in the bastion of Sveti Luka for high-quality Mediterranean cuisine with a view. Take your time - this is once-in-a-holiday stuff.

If you're still up for it, Dubrovnik has plenty of places to party, and the
best DJ club in town is just nearby: the Culture Club Revelin. International DJs and a party vibe in historic surroundings should take you through until the early hours.