Things to do
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King Nikola's Palace
King Nikola's Palace keeps the only original wall painting left in any Petrović royal residence, so head upstairs to see it. About 600 square metres of flowers, birds, fish and deer came out from under later paint during the restoration.
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Stari Bar
Climb to the citadel at the top of this abandoned walled town. From its rampart you see the whole ruined town at once, with the Adriatic beyond.
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Church of St Jovan Vladimir
A large, new Orthodox church in the town centre, a few minutes' walk from King Nikola's Palace. Inside, it is far more colourful than the plain stone outside suggests. Dress for a working church, with shoulders and knees covered.
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Rumija
The 1,594 metre mountain behind Stari Bar, with Lake Skadar below one side of the summit and the Adriatic below the other. The path starts at Stari Bar and climbs about 1,300 metres through olive groves, forest and open meadow, four to five hours up and three to four down. In summer, start at first light and carry plenty of water for the open upper slopes.
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Old Olive Tree of Mirovica
Twenty minutes is enough here, best on the way to or from Stari Bar rather than as a trip of its own. Go for the trunk, scarred by fire and broken by age.
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Bar Market
Stalls under a concrete canopy in the town centre sell what the Bar hinterland grows: olives and oil from groves running up the hillside, figs, pomegranates, smoked ham and rounds of young cheese. Trading starts early and the best of it has gone by mid morning.
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Stari Bar Bazaar
Save a coffee in this lane for after the ruins. Its cafés sit between craft shops and crooked, brightly painted stone houses on the climb to the gate.
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Šušanj Beach
About a kilometre of pebble and coarse sand, a ten-minute walk north of the centre along the seafront promenade. Pine trees grow almost to the water, so there is natural shade even in July and August. Cafés and showers line the back of the beach.
