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Ninety seconds on Budva Old Town
Yes. The lanes and squares inside the walls are open to walk without a ticket. The walk along the town walls is a separate paid admission, open daily from April to November, and the ticket comes with a short printed history of the walls in three languages.
The old town itself never closes: it is a public quarter of streets with no gate times. As of 2026 the walls open daily from 10am to 8pm between April and November and stay shut from December to March. The City Museum inside the quarter closes on Mondays, opens 8am to 10pm Tuesday to Friday, and 2pm to 9pm at weekends.
Budva has stood for more than 2,500 years, which makes it one of the oldest towns on the Adriatic. The walls probably first rose in the early Byzantine period, between the 6th and 9th centuries, but their present shape is mostly Venetian work of the 15th to 18th centuries. They came through fires and the earthquakes of 1667 and 1979.
Yes, the Budva City Museum, at Petra I Petrovića 11, and around it four churches and the Citadel. The cathedral of St John traces its origins to the 7th century, Santa Maria in Punta dates from 840, St Sava from the 12th century and Holy Trinity from 1804. On the Citadel lie the 14th-century ruins of Santa Maria de Castello.
Tivat, about 20 km away. Podgorica airport lies about 60 km off, and Dubrovnik, across the border in Croatia, about 65 km. Tivat makes the short transfer to the old town; Dubrovnik adds a border crossing to a longer drive.
In the public garages and lots run by Parking Servis Budva, the municipal parking operator. As of 2026 its public garages are open 24 hours a day throughout the year, so a car left for an evening in the old town can be collected at any hour.
By the end of one short loop you have crossed a maze of stone lanes, stood among three churches on one small square and looked down on the roofs from citadel ramparts above the sea.
The old town is a walled quarter on a small point, a maze of narrow alleyways joining tiny squares. Church Square holds three churches. St John the Baptist has the 36-metre bell tower and keeps the Madonna of Budva icon.
Holy Trinity, beside it, is known for its blue and gold murals and Byzantine-style icons. Santa Maria in Punta, the third and smallest, is among the oldest churches on the Mediterranean.
The citadel closes off the seaward end. The largest building is an Austrian stone barracks, which separates the citadel from the town. Inside lie the ruins of Santa Maria de Castello, the church the fortress was first named after.
Within the citadel, steps climb to viewpoints over the old town roofs, one of the beaches and the coast. A small room holds model ships and ships in bottles, and a large collection of books lines the way out.
Once through the gate, the lanes twist between small squares, so give yourself time to wander on the way to Church Square. Look into St John the Baptist, Holy Trinity and Santa Maria in Punta there.
The citadel is the last stop and a separate ticket. You enter a courtyard, climb the steps to the viewpoints, then take the stepped passage down to the terrace cafe among the cannons. Pair it with the town museum if you want the history behind what you have just walked.
The wall walk is a second admission, reached by narrow stairs inside the old town.
A walking tour with a guide covers the old town in about 75 minutes, linking the Land Gate, the necropolis, St John, Holy Trinity and the citadel. It suits a first visit if you want the stories behind the buildings explained as you go.
Go on your own if you want a long stop inside the citadel.
The citadel terrace cafe tends to open around lunchtime, so if you want a drink among the cannons, save the citadel for the end of a late-morning walk.
The coastal path that leaves the old town toward Mogren Beach is dangerous in rough weather. Do not take it when the sea is up, and keep to the lanes and the walls instead.
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