Cavtat’s story is longer than almost anywhere else on the Croatian coast. This was Epidaurum, a Greek and later Roman settlement, before the Avars sacked it in 614 AD and the survivors fled north to found what would become Dubrovnik. Two millennia of layered history are visible in its archaeological museum, in the Baroque church of St Nicholas, and in the narrow lanes of the old town peninsula that juts into the Adriatic. The harbour promenade sweeps around the bay past konoba restaurants where lobster is kept in tanks by the quayside, past Baroque palaces converted into apartments, and around to the Račić Mausoleum, Ivan Meštrović’s great Art Nouveau masterpiece commissioned by a grieving Ragusan merchant family. The mausoleum sits high above the sea, its white stone gleaming, and the views across to the Elaphiti Islands are extraordinary. Because Cavtat lies just outside Dubrovnik’s famous walls, it has been largely spared the worst of the Old City’s summer congestion. The ferry to Dubrovnik’s Old Harbour takes around 45 minutes and runs frequently through the summer, meaning Cavtat guests can time their Old City visits for early morning or late evening when the cruise ship crowds have gone. This is the smartest way to do Dubrovnik: stay in Cavtat, arrive in the Old City on your own terms. The sea around Cavtat is exceptionally clear, and the snorkelling along the rocky southern shoreline is among the best on this stretch of coast. Boat trips to the Elaphiti Islands, sea kayaking around the old town headland, and sunset sailing excursions are all easily arranged. In the evenings, the harbour restaurants serve some of the freshest seafood on the Dalmatian coast, and the local Konavle Valley wines are a revelation.