Dubrovnik was a sovereign republic for 450 years, and it kept the paperwork: archives unbroken from 1022, a working pharmacy from 1317, quarantine law from 1377. These three days follow Ragusa from its Benedictine beginnings through socialist Yugoslavia to 1991.
Founded in 1317, the cloister's 120 twin columns were carved by Mihoje Brajkov of Bar. The pharmacy has dispensed without a break since 1317, third-oldest working in Europe, and the museum keeps 15th-century majolica jars. Open 9:00–18:00.
Begun in 1225 and built into the city walls as a defensive bastion, its late-Gothic cloister by Masi di Bartolomeo frames a museum holding Titian's St Blaise polyptych and Nikola Božidarević's Dubrovnik School panels of the 1490s.
Finished in 1522 as customs house and mint, and the only major public building to survive the 1667 earthquake intact. The archives inside run unbroken from 1022; the carved Latin motto warns merchants that God weighs alongside them.
Raised on a 37m sea rock in three months around 1050 to beat a Venetian landing party to the site. Its seaward walls are 12m thick, the town-facing side barely 60cm, so the Republic could shell it if a commander ever turned traitor.
Set up on Antuninska in 2003 by New Zealand photojournalist Wade Goddard. The permanent upper floor documents the 1991–95 Yugoslav wars including the siege of Dubrovnik; the lower gallery rotates other conflicts. Open May–October, 10:00–22:00.
Carved in 1418 by Bonino di Milano. The knight's forearm fixed the Ragusan ell at 51.2cm and the measure is still cut into the plinth. Laws were proclaimed from this spot and the Libertas flag flew here until Napoleon abolished the Republic in 1808.
A converted Gruž warehouse covering daily life under Yugoslav socialism: a reconstructed 1970s apartment, self-management propaganda, Tito memorabilia and a Zastava 750. Opened in 2019 by locals who grew up in it. Open 10:00–20:00.
Ten stone courtyards built from 1627 where traders and cargo arriving on the Ottoman caravan road were held 40 days before entering the city. Ragusa legislated quarantine in 1377, the first such public health law anywhere in the world.
A 1590 granary built over 15 rupe — dry wells hewn into bedrock, storing 1,200 tonnes of grain to feed a besieged city. The floors above hold Konavle embroidery, folk dress and olive presses. Open 9:00–16:00, closed Tuesdays.
In use on Žudioska street since 1408, the second-oldest surviving Sephardic synagogue in Europe, standing on the ghetto lane sealed off in 1546. The museum upstairs holds Torah scrolls carried from Spain and wartime deportation records.
Benedictines settled the island in 1023; the roofless cloister and refectory now sit beside the botanical garden and the 1859 residence of Maximilian of Habsburg, later emperor of Mexico. Boats leave the Old Port every 30 minutes, April–November.
The oldest surviving quarter, southeast of the cathedral. The stepped lanes of Ispod Mira and Braće Andrijića keep Gothic and Renaissance houses that outlived the 1667 earthquake, beside the excavated ruins of 11th-century St Stephen's church.