Montenegro: Budva, Cetinje and the Bay of Kotor

This morning is spent getting acquainted with Montenegro’s most popular coastal town, which makes up part of the beautiful Budva Riviera. Enclosed on three sides by lush, tree-covered mountains, Budva follows a gentle coastal curve to a charming harbour, where gleaming white fishing boats, sailboats and yachts line the walkways and jetties.

Just beside the harbour sits the medieval old town, which stands out from the shoreline like the jewel in Budva’s coastal crown. We’ll explore within the Venetian old town walls with a local guide, finding our way through the narrow streets to the seaside citadel, where the crumbling fortress walls drop dramatically into the Adriatic.

Early afternoon we head inland to the Šipčanik wine cellar which, hidden underneath a vast vineyard at a depth of 30 metres, is one of the most unusual wine cellars in the world.

What was once a secret underground aircraft hangar operated by the Yugoslav People’s Army is now a cavernous wine cellar, with rows of neatly stacked wooden vats storing around two million litres of wine. A tour around the vineyard and a tasting in the curious cellar completes the afternoon.

Today brings an epic journey through some of the truly spectacular scenery for which Montenegro is famous. From the coast we travel through the mountains into Lovćen National Park, where we discover Njeguši on the slopes of Mount Lovćen.

This cluster of old stone houses was the home village of the Petrović-Njegoš dynasty, the family that ruled Montenegro from 1696 to 1916, and the residents warmly welcome visitors with roadside stalls laden with colourful handicrafts, mountain honey and some of the country’s best ‘pršut’ ham and Njeguši cheese.

After a short stop in Njeguši we continue to Cetinje, the old royal capital of Montenegro and the first official capital city after Montenegro’s recognition as an independent country in 1878. What’s interesting about Montenegro’s intriguing ‘second city’ is that it retains a village feel, nestled within a green vale surrounded by Rocky Mountains, yet it boasts some of the country’s most important sights.

These include the pretty Blue Palace which, despite Cetinje passing the capital city baton to Podgorica in 1946, is still used as the President’s main residence, and the Royal Palace of King Nikola, which served as the seat of the Montenegrin royal family between 1867 and 1926. Elegant mansions and tiny cottages sit side by side to illustrate this contrast between rustic and regal.

A tour of the russet-red Royal Palace of King Nikola – which is now a museum with the Crown Jewels of Montenegro as its showpiece – precedes free time in the city, which you could spend walking neat-as-a-pin Main Street lined with quaint pastel-coloured houses, admiring the stoic stone complex of St Peter’s Monastery or visiting the four museums that form the National Museum of Montenegro.

After a tasting of local mountain produce including honey, ham, cheese – the local variety distinctively flavoured by the wooden ‘kaca’ pot in which it’s aged – and a delicious doughnut-style dish that’s typical of the region, we return to our hotel in Budva.

This morning we head inland to the town that was perhaps never meant to be. Stari Bar or ‘Old Bar’ is a fortified town that now lies in overgrown ruins on the shrubby foothills of craggy Mount Rumija. It has a long history of invasions, including takeovers by the Venetians, Serbians and Ottomans, before being reclaimed by Montenegro in 1878.

Alas, it was the land itself that put an end to this much foughtover town when the 1979 earthquake led to its abandonment by locals, who decided to establish a new port-city by the water – New Bar. A walk to the top of the crumbling hillside fortress will reward you with enchanting mountain and countryside views, although you might prefer to soak up the unique atmosphere over a coffee in one of the flower-draped cafes that line the cobblestoned climb.

After our short stop in Stari Bar, a scenic drive past the old farming villages that sit in the green and fertile low-lying countryside takes us over the Albanian border. Shkoder, our destination in Montenegro’s equally evocative next-door neighbour, was founded in the 4th century by the Illyrians, making it one of the most ancient cities in the Balkans.

As capital of the surrounding county, the centre of Roman Catholicism in Albania and the traditional heart of the Gheg cultural region, Shkoder is an important hub of history, religion and culture. You’ll see fascinating mosques and churches alongside one another.

The city’s most impressive sights include St Stephen’s cathedral – which, unbelievably, was used as a sports hall during Albania’s Communist era – and the striking, domed and turreted Ebu Bekr mosque, which lies just behind the city’s flower-adorned monument to Mother Teresa, perhaps the most well-loved Albanian.

The ruined Rozafa fortress that overlooks Shkoder, and its surrounding three rivers is also a prominent city landmark, although the legend of a female sacrifice being built into its stone walls adds a rather macabre perspective!

We make the short journey from Budva to the resplendent Bay of Kotor, which winds inland from the Adriatic, flanked by the limestone peaks of Mount Lovćen. The shores of this picture-perfect bay, which is a protected UNESCO World Heritage site, are dotted with sleepy fishing villages and charming old towns, and Kotor makes an ideal first stop.

This moated town is one of the many fortified coastal towns in Montenegro showing Roman influences, with Romanesque churches scattered around its medieval marble-pathed maze, including Kotor cathedral with its imposing twin towers.

We can also see reminders of four centuries spent as part of the Venetian empire, including a Venetian fortification system – featuring stone-carved ‘Lions of Venice’ – to defend the city from the sea. Enclosed by four gates, which punctuate the ancient city walls as they climb steadily up the craggy mountainside, Kotor is impressively well-protected!

The bustling daily market adds a splash of vibrancy, with locals bartering over stalls stacked with pots of flowers, boxes of fruit and vegetables, honey, cheese and colourful buckets brimming with olives – the mingling aromas, rainbow of colours and hum of trade truly invigorate the senses.

A little way around the bay we come to impossibly idyllic Perast which, like Kotor, benefited architecturally from Venetian rule. Traditional old stone buildings sneak up the leafy hillside from the water here, fronted by a well-preserved line-up of churches and palaces, with the spired tower of Saint Nikola’s dominating the scene.

Perast is renowned for its man-made island, crowned by Our Lady of the Rocks, an attractive, blue-domed church. The legend goes that the island was built by local sailors who, after finding an icon of Madonna painted on a rock, threw rocks into the lake after every successful voyage, eventually building the church to give thanks to Madonna for their protection. If you reach through a hole behind the altar, you can touch what’s said to be the original rock!

There’s plenty to see inside the church and museum – all donated by grateful locals – including a collection of paintings by Perast-born Tripo Kokolja, a 17th-century Baroque artist, and a dazzling tapestry embroidered by Jacinta Kunić-Mijović, who is said to have woven her own hair through the gold and silver threads! We follow a boat trip to Our Lady of the Rocks with a scenic drive around the beautiful bay, then a ferry brings us back across the water at the narrowest point of the bay for our return to Budva.

Today is a free day so what’s it to be?

A stroll along the beach promenade perhaps , to take in the views of the stunning bay with its small Venetian fortress built to guard against pirates! Or immerse yourself in the Montenegrin cafe-culture. It’s impossible to go wrong with a catch-of the- day lunch, washed down by a cool Nikšićko beer or a glass of the local wine from one of the waterfront restaurants.

This morning we drive the mountain road to the miraculous Ostrog Monastery. Set into a sheer elevation of the Ostroška Greda rock, some 900 metres above the verdant Zeta Valley, the Ostrog Monastery gleams like a pearl in the craggy cliff face. It’s so impossibly positioned that it’s difficult to imagine how a team of 17th-century builders could achieve such a feat – in fact, how it came to be remains a mystery.

Prepare yourself for a riot of colour inside, with frescoes and mosaics telling tales of religion from the walls, ceilings and columns. You can also join the pilgrims in paying your respects to Saint Basil of Ostrog, whose bones are carefully kept in the monastery’s shrine.

From the divine to the delightful, we now depart for Lake Skadar, the vast body of water that bridges Montenegro and Albania. After time for lunch at a lakeside village, we board a boat for a relaxing cruise. If you’re lucky you may spot a passing pod of pelicans or some of the other 260 species of bird that call this beautifully clean freshwater lake home.

With a glass of traditional fiery grappa in hand, we end our tour of magnificent Montenegro, surrounded by the breath-taking beauty of Lake Skadar National Park, where tree-covered karst mountains are reflected in the tranquil glassy waters.