The bay here is most famously known for Tivat (home of the fabulous Porto Montenegro) and Kotor (with its fortress walls and stone-lined old town). We rented a car to get out and see a little bit more of the bay and we were not disappointed.
Perast was one of our main goals. Though the town is located right on the bay, there’s nowhere close to anchor and it’s a bit of a walk from Risan, so we never explored it when we were sailing up here. It was a long drive as there’s only one road around the bay and speed is limited to 50 kph max. However, I was remembering how to drive stick shift after 8 years and the local drivers are a bit unpredictable, so I was happy to take it slow.
For a town that can be walked through in under an hour, it packs a punch with history. Settled in Neolithic times and formally founded by the Illyrians, it came into its own courtesy of protection from and free trade with Venice in the 18th century. The fortress walls that had been constructed in the 1300s were now joined by twenty baroque palaces and seventeen churches (a few of each remain, the palaces now high end resorts or restaurants).
There are three statues of famous locals in the town center. One of them was Trip’s namesake, it turns out he was a famous local painter. Trip was a bit disappointed that it wasn’t one of the other statues, that of Marko Martinovic, an extraordinary local ship’s captain.
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