Kotor Viewpoints

Viewpoints around Kotor are concentrated on the Lovćen serpentine that climbs west out of the Old Town and along the bay road through Perast, Risan and Dobrota. The Lovćen road has more than two dozen hairpin turns, and the highest formal stops sit between the ninth and eighteenth bend, looking back over the Old Town, the harbour and the inner bay. The bay-road viewpoints by contrast sit at sea level and frame Perast, the islands of Sveti Đorđe and Our Lady of the Rocks, and the Verige strait.

Most viewpoints are unstaffed roadside stops with limited parking, often two or three vehicles. The Lovćen serpentine points are reached by car, motorcycle or bicycle, the inner-bay viewpoints can also be reached on foot from the coast road. There are no entry fees and no opening hours, but the Lovćen road has tight bends and limited crash barriers, so cyclists and tour vans are common in summer and patience is needed at the busier stops.

The Lovćen serpentine catches the best light in late afternoon, when the inner-bay shoreline is in shadow but the Old Town walls are lit from the west. The bay-road viewpoints work better in the morning. Cruise ships in the inner bay are visible from the upper Lovćen stops on most summer days, and the upper points clear the haze that often sits in the bay through the middle of the day.