Stari Grad

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Old Town

The Old Town in Budva has many different tales and stories of its origin. Scholars and Historians believe it to be originally an island, which later joined the shore to form a sand isthmus. The Old Town, along with the city of Budva was said to have been discovered by a Greek sailor by the name of Boutoua. Eventually the Roman Empire took over the whole Montenegrin coast influencing it greatly.
Sveti Stefan, near Budva
Sveti Stefan, near Budva

Much of the architecture in the Old Town is of Venetian origin. Doors, hinges, windows, balconies and many other small but noticeable things seem to hold the Roman style of the Republic of Venice. There are also three main churches in the old town. The first is St. Ivan's which was built in the 7th century AD, second St. Mary's of Punta dating from 840 and the third, The Holy Trinity, which was built in 1804. The venetian walls of the Old town are a famous tourist attraction.
The venetian walls of Budua (Budva) in a 1900 postcard
The venetian walls of Budua (Budva) in a 1900 postcard

The Old Town is also famous for the earthquakes it suffered in 1979, where the whole town had to be rebuilt; it took 8 years (until 1987) for it to be completely finished.

Tourism

Budva is a capital of Montenegrin tourism. With over 250,000 guests in 2005 summer season, which made over 1,600,000 overnight stays, it is by far most popular tourist destination in Montenegro. Either because of 11,310 m of sandy beaches in and around Budva, or for its vast cultural heritage and beautiful architecture, Budva is attracting more and more foreign tourists every year. Coupled with vibrant nightlife, it makes Budva the most attractive tourist destination in Montenegro.

NIGHTLIFE- Budva is known for its vibrant nightlife. The nightclubs become full around 11:00 pm, and are known to close around 5:00 am (excluding the open-air nightclubs) Clubs in Budva include; Maltese, Rafaello, Trocadero, Trocadero Red, Maine, Ambiente, etc. If traveling to Budva, be sure to experience the nightlife- you won't regret it!

Budva's most famous beach is Mogren. Nestled in-between several large cliffs it is accessed by a 500m pathway from Budva's Old town. Other beaches within official city limits include Ričardova glava (Richard's Head), Pizana, Slovenska (Slav Beach), Guvance. Many other beaches are located just outside of Budva in smaller adjacent towns and villages such as Bečići, Jaz, Trsteno, Maestral, Miločer, Sveti Stefan, Pržno and Kamenovo.

Many would say that Budva is "colourful" because of the majority of buildings that have a distinct variety of colours. Since Budva is a city that is more focused toward new age architecture, much like Miami, the city outside its old town, does not hold many historical sights. In the near vicinity of the town of Budva there are exclusive resorts such as town-hotel Sveti Stefan and Miločer, places frequented by various celebrities as well as local businessmen and politicians.

However, there are a few drawbacks in development of tourism in Budva. The biggest is inadequate infrastructure of the town. The most quoted problem in Budva, as in all of Montenegrin coast, is shortage of tap water. Scarse watersheds around Budva became completely inadequate for growing town in the early 2000s, so taps in Budva become dry during daytime for most of the summer months. Recently, as number of tourists at peak times reach 100,000 in Budva, electricity shortages also became a commonplace.

The other significant problem is traffic and parking in and around Budva. As most of the beaches are located around Budva, tourists returning from beaches in the afternoon usually jam the roads along the coast, so the trip from Sveti Stefan to Budva, some 10 km, takes around an hour.

Car parking is also a major problem. Increasing number of tourists are coming to Budva with their own car, so there is overwhelming demand for parking space around the town center. Sometimes one has to wait in line to get a space on a parking lot up to an hour.

Hotels are usually spared from these problems, as they have privileges when it comes to water and electricity supply.