Budva

Surrounded by mountains, Budva has a bustling seaside promenade, plenty of beaches, a historic Old Town, and a happening nightlife. Considering all of these things, it’s no wonder that Budva’s the most popular destination in all of Montenegro. With a population of 14,000, it swells to 20,000 during warmer seasons when visiting tourists come to enjoy all the town has to offer.

Around 2,500 years old, Budva’s one of the oldest settlements along the Adriatic sea in Montenegro. Throughout its turbulent history, Budva was occupied by the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines, was later sacked by the Saracens, and reigned over by a number of Doclean kings and other Serbian and Zeta aristocrats. Later the Venetians arrived and ruled the city for around 400 years. To fight off Ottoman conquest, they built the three meter thick limestone walls that surround the old town, including several towers, a citadel, and several fortified gates. In 1797, control of the city fell briefly to the Habsburg Monarchy, Russia, and then France before being ceded to the Austro Empire. Their rule lasted until the end of WWI when Budva became part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. In WWII, the town was annexed by Italy, but after being liberated by the end of the war, it was consolidated into the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Montenegro finally gained independence in 2006, with Budva being the mainstay of the country’s tourism.