The Walls of Ston

Ston stands where the Pelješac peninsula joins the mainland, and the Republic of Ragusa walled the whole neck to protect what it valued there, which was salt. Building began in the fourteenth century and produced a chain of wall and towers running from Ston over the hill to Mali Ston on the far shore, one of the longest defensive walls in Europe. Much of it has been restored and a long stretch can be walked, steeply, with the salt pans on one side and the bay on the other. The pans below are still worked by hand in their old rectangular basins, and the bay at Mali Ston is known for oysters and mussels.

What you actually see

• The wall walk - a stepped climb over the ridge between Ston and Mali Ston, with towers along the way.
• The salt pans - rectangular evaporation basins below the walls, still harvested by hand in summer.
• Mali Ston - the small port at the far end, with oyster and mussel beds out in the bay.
• Ston's old town - a grid of stone streets laid out inside the walls by the Ragusan republic.

When to go

Spring and autumn. The walls are open stone with no shade, and the climb at noon in July is genuinely punishing. Early morning or the last two hours before closing are the sensible windows. Salt harvesting happens in high summer. Oysters are eaten here year-round but are best outside the spawning months.

Honest expectations

The walk is steep, stepped and uneven, and one long section is a continuous climb with nothing to hold on to. Only part of the full circuit is restored and open. The ticket price has risen sharply in recent years. Ston itself is small and fills quickly when coaches stop between Dubrovnik and the peninsula, usually late morning.

Nearby

The Pelješac vineyards run up the peninsula, and Dubrovnik is about an hour to the south.