One day in Kotor, Montenegro

One day in Kotor, Montenegro

hi my name is Tim and today I’m in cotor in Montenegro Couture is located on montenegro’s Adriatic coast and today I’m visiting on a cruise Excursion from cunard’s Queen Victoria we’re lucky enough to be docked just a short stroll from the Fortified walls of the old town you can book a cruise Excursion or take advantage of one of the tourist es but as the ship is docked so close to the center we’re exploring independently on foot after leaving the cruise terminal you take an escalator down through an underpass there are people trying to sell more excursions and boat trips but just a few steps further and you take the escalator up the other side as you come up the other side you carry on walking straight ahead it’s not far at all maybe only about 3 or 4 minutes walk and you reach the entrance to the Old Town the Fortified medieval Town sits in a secluded part of the Bay of Couture in a striking landscape with towering Limestone Cliffs providing a dramatic backdrop as you enter via the sea gate you’re walking into one of the best preserved medieval towns in the Adriatic and a double UNESCO world heritage site you arrive into a Piaza known as arms square with its Clock Tower directly in front of you there are several cafes and restaurants if you want to stop in the Square alternatively there are narrow side streets which take you deeper in the old town to explore further there are lots of monuments to the medieval architecture with ch churches Cathedrals palaces and museums it’s a maze of narrow streets squares and markets and a wonderful place to just stroll around and get lost and soak up the atmosphere of this medieval Old Town Couture’s most impressive building is the Catholic Cathedral dedicated to St Trion the cathedral was consecrated in 11 66 but reconstructed after several earthquakes when the entire Frontage was destroyed in 1667 the Barack bell towers were added and the left side remains unfinished as of today as you explore the narrow streets and squares you will notice a lot of stray cats but on closer inspection you’ll see that they are well- looked after and healthy with lots of bowls of food dotted around the old town they are regarded as as a lucky symbol and a much loved feature of [Music] Couture as you make your way to the other end of the Old Town you come to the southern gate because of its strategic importance to the defense of the Town it actually consists of a system of three gates it opens out to the stunning Bluey green crystal clear waters of the gdick spring it’s a great spot to stop and just take a few minutes to soak up the natural beauty of this stunning medieval old town if you leave the inner sanctum of the old town and cross the bridge and back onto the road you can walk around the outskirts of the city walls and see the moat when we were visiting following this route took us to a lovely Market selling a selection of fruit and vegetables and other produce there was a great choice of cheeses and meats some fantastic looking cherries and a big selection of olives back in the sanctuary of the city walls there are a lot more shopping opportunities with more markets clothes boutiques antique shops Jewelers and souvenir stores here you can see St Luke’s Church which was originally Catholic but became Orthodox in 1657 he hit a short rain shower but it didn’t detract from the natural beauty of the Town St Nicholas’s church is a Serbian Orthodox Church which dominates St Luke’s Square it’s a striking landmark that’s easily recognizable because of its domed Towers it’s a relatively new Building completed in 1909 after the original church was burnt down in a fire in 1810 the walls that surround the Old Town were built for protection and you can climb up and walk around for great views of the town and the surrounding area I got a good view of our cruise ship docked nearby you can see just how close it is to the Old Town the walls are 4.5 kilm long and provide a fun way to explore if you’re fit and able a great thing to do is to climb the ramp parts that lead up the mountain side to the Fortress at the top offering spectacular views over Couture and its Bay I’ve only got time today to climb the mountain side to the church at the Midway point but with more time and energy you can climb all the way up to the Fortress at the top when I was there it was €1 15 to climb the ramp Parts the steps are Steep and in some places quite slippery so you do need to be careful but the further you climb up the better the views get as you hike up the steep slopes of St John’s Mountain you get to enjoy beautiful wild flowers there are something like 650 steps just to reach the church at the Midway point it’s a similar number of steps again if you want to go all the way up to the bantine Fortress at the top it took me roughly 20 minutes to reach the Church of Our Lady of Remedy the church was built built in 1518 and belongs to the Roman Catholic dasis of Couture the small Church sits on a Ledge with a balcony Terrace with panoramic views the Bay of Couture is often referred to as a field but it’s actually an ancient river Canyon from the small terrorist in front of the church I could appreciate the sheer height of the Limestone Cliffs which to above the Old Town our crew ship looked Tiny from this height and even though I didn’t make it all the way up to the top to the Fortress I will remember these views for a long time one of the friendly cats of Couture provided the picture perfect shot it was time to take the winding path and steps back down to the Old Town back in the narrow streets I made my way to the third and final gate through the city walls known as the River Gate or sometimes called the north gate the gate opens onto a natural moat formed by the clear and bubbling Waters of the skura river the gate was built in 1540 to commemorate the attack the previous year by by the ottoman Navy if you follow the bridge over the river and turn left you can walk down and cross over the main road and it only takes a few minutes to reach a small Sandy Beach Couture has its own microclimate and can attract high levels of rainfall due to its geological configuration with the backdrop of high mountains when I visited in late may it was warm and sunny for most of the day but we did have a few light showers close to the cruise terminal there is a small Marina and a lovely Park area situated just behind it provides a nice walk along the water side in this part of Couture there are lots of boat trips on offer if you want to explore the Bay of Couture and its Islands my time in Couture was coming to an end and it was time to return to the ship it was so easy having the cruise ship docked so close to the Old Town there were other cruise ships visiting that day that had to dock out in the bay and were reliant on tenders to bring people in and out it was sad to be leaving Couture but we enjoyed an amazing experience sailing back to the Adriatic Sea through the winding 28 kilomet of the Bay with its pretty towns and small Islands the picturesque Waterside town of De brotes it’s just outside of Couture and it’s the area where a lot of the people who work in Couture reside you get a wonderful view of St Matthew’s Church which is the older of the two Catholic churches in the town it was built in 1670 with a Barack Frontage a well-proportioned dome and a tall steeple the church sits majestically on the waterfront and at certain times of the day you can hear its bells ringing out over the Bay of Couture we sailed further along the bay past the popular town of parast and came to one of the area’s most famous landmarks the tiny Island known as the lady of the Rocks Legend has it that local seamen found an icon of Madonna and child on a rock and over centuries they built the island up by throwing stones into the water the two tiny Islands provide the pitch a perfect end to this glorious trip to this part of Montenegro I’ve had a great day in Couture if you’ve enjoyed my video and would like to see some more of my travels please click subscribe until next time thank you for watching goodbye

Join me on a one day cruise excursion to beautiful Kotor in Montenegro.
Arriving on Cunard’s Queen Victoria, I spend a glorious few hows exploring the fascinating medieval old town. Located in a dramatic landscape, the old town sits below steep limestone cliffs on the bay of Kotor.
I explore the narrow streets of the old town, the three city gates, walk the fortified walls and climb to the Church high on the mountainside.
Its a beautiful cruise excursion with a dramatic setting and ancient history – as well as lots of cats!
If you enjoy my video and would like to see more of my travels, please click subscribe – its free!
Thank you for watching!
Tim

#guide #travel #holiday #vlog #kotor #montenegro #cruise