Dominican Monastery

The Dominicans arrived in Dubrovnik in 1225 and were given a site right next to Ploče Gate - close enough that the monastery's massive walls became part of the city's own defences. The complex you see today is largely 14th and 15th century, a fortress-monastery hybrid whose austere exterior gives no hint of the elegant Gothic-Renaissance cloister waiting inside. The friars here ran the republic's school, its dispensary of manuscripts and its most important religious festivals, and they still occupy part of the complex today.

The visit begins with an atmospheric flight of stone steps up from Stradun, decorated by a balustrade whose lower sections were deliberately walled up by prudish 15th-century friars. The cloister, designed by Maso di Bartolomeo in 1456, wraps around a small orange grove; along its walls hang the collection's masterpieces - works by Lovro Dobričević, Nikola Božidarević and a striking Titian of Mary Magdalene, plus the enormous Vlaho Bukovac painting 'The Baptism of Christ' commissioned to celebrate the arrival of electricity. The church itself, dark and vast, holds Paolo Veneziano's 14th-century crucifix hanging above the altar.

Half an hour to 45 minutes is enough. It sits right beside Ploče Gate, so pair it with a walk on the walls (whose Ploče entrance is 30 seconds away) or with breakfast at Kavana Dubravka. Come mid-afternoon when the cloister catches the western sun through its arches - the shot every photographer wants. The €4 ticket is the best value in the Old Town.

Hours & entry

Not free

Apr-Oct 9:00-18:00 · Nov-Mar 9:00-17:00 · Sunday services in the church at 8:00 and 11:00

What to see

• Titian's 'Mary Magdalene, St. Blaise and Tobias' — Museum room off the cloister
• The Gothic-Renaissance cloister by Maso di Bartolomeo — Central courtyard
• Paolo Veneziano's 14th-century painted crucifix — Above the main altar of the church

Tips from the ground

• €4 makes this the cheapest serious cultural sight in the Old Town.
• The balustrade halfway up the entry steps has the deliberately walled-up sculptures - look for the blanks.
• Combine with Ploče entrance to the walls, which is literally next door.