Buža Cafe

Buža is the name Dubrovnik gave to the hole its citizens knocked in the sea-facing city wall so they could climb down to the rocks and swim. In the 1980s someone put a folding chair and a beer cooler down there; a few decades later there are two cafes, Buža 1 and Buža 2, stepped down the cliff on wooden platforms bolted to the rock, serving drinks to anyone who finds the right unmarked doorway in the wall. It is the single most photographed cafe in the country and yet it still feels like a secret.

You order at a small bar - beer, wine, coffee, a slice of lemon cake - and take it to a plastic table on the terrace inches from a 15-metre drop into the sea. There is a marked spot where locals jump; guests do it too, though the climb back up is via a metal ladder that has seen better decades. Sunset here is a rite of passage. The place has no address, no phone, and no reservations - just walk south from Gundulić Square, follow the signs marked 'Cold Drinks' painted on the wall, and go through the hole.

Free to enter. A beer is €7, a glass of wine €8, an espresso €3. Cash preferred. Come one hour before sunset for a table, or midday for a swim break from the walls walk (buy your ticket first - you cannot re-enter). Not for anyone with vertigo, small children, or a fear of ladders. It is the place the site's owner would take a friend to explain what Dubrovnik is at heart.

Hours & entry

Free to enter · drinks paid

May-Oct 9:00-2:00 · Nov-Apr shortened hours, weather permitting · Closed in strong bora

What to see

• The sunset from the lower terrace — Buža 2, western platform
• The swim jump-off rock — Below Buža 1, marked
• The painted 'Cold Drinks' signs — On the wall approach from Gundulić

Tips from the ground

• There is no menu - prices are on a chalkboard. Cash is easier.
• Bring swim gear if you go before 17:00; the jump-off is real and safe if you know how.
• Sunset seat requires arrival by 18:30 in high summer.