Herceg Novi and Savina Monastery by car from Tivat

Ivo Andrić came to this house in Topla with his wife Milica Babić and stayed here between 1963 and 1968. It was built in the early 1960s to a design by Vojislav Đokić. Its terrace and garden face the sea, making the house’s relationship with the Bay of Kotor part of both its appearance and the story of the writer’s life in Herceg Novi.

The permanent exhibition “Andrićeve novske staze, lica, predjeli” (“Andrić’s paths, faces and landscapes in Herceg Novi”) uses photographs to trace his time here and the people connected with him. The ground-floor rooms focus on those years in Herceg Novi. Upstairs, the library and study present Andrić as a writer, Nobel laureate and diplomat. The exhibits include replicas of his Nobel diploma and medal, rather than the original awards.

The house was restored through the Co-Co Tour project. The garden’s restoration also drew on Andrić’s surviving list of plants, helping visitors see the property as a former home with its own greenery. His bust in the garden is the work of sculptor Nikola Koka Janković.

Kanli kula dates from the Ottoman period, in the 16th century. Its name means “bloody tower”, and it is associated with imprisonment as well as its military role. On the rise above the old town, the ramparts enclose a space with clear views of the rooftops, coast and entrance to the Bay of Kotor. Later Venetian and Austrian alterations are part of the same structure, so its present appearance reflects more than one period.

One distinct part is the former cistern, which served as a prison. Its walls bear scratched drawings of ships, fish, crosses and coats of arms, along with inscriptions associated with prisoners. These marks preserve traces of people held within the ramparts, alongside the military history evident in the fortress’s position.

Today, the open interior contains a stage and an amphitheatre-style auditorium. Cultural events make use of the changes in level and the old fortress’s stone walls. During an ordinary sightseeing visit, this arrangement shows how a former military site and prison acquired a new role in the town.

Sahat kula stands above the passage between Nikola Đurković Square and the old town. Its position preserves its former role as a town gate. Beneath the clock, you pass from the livelier lower square into stone streets and higher squares. The tower also carries a relief of King Tvrtko, the town’s founder, installed to mark six centuries of Herceg Novi.

Belavista is the name of Herceg Stjepan Square, with a fountain and palms around the Church of St Michael the Archangel. The church was built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and consecrated in 1911. Made of pale stone from Korčula, it combines a Byzantine foundation with Romanesque, Gothic and Oriental decoration. Its domes, arches and stone details can also be studied from the square when the interior is closed.

Inside is an iconostasis of white Italian marble, made by master craftsman Bilinić of Split, with icons by Franjo Ciglar. Outside, the stone walls, fountain and tall palms around the church form a setting quite different from the fortress terraces above and below it.

Forte Mare stands on a rock above the sea, at the lower edge of the old town. Its oldest core is associated with the medieval foundation of Herceg Novi in the time of King Tvrtko. Later additions reflect the succession of Ottoman, Venetian and Austrian rule. Compared with the elevated Kanli kula, this fortress has a much more immediate relationship with boats, the waterfront and the approach to the town from the sea.

The surviving walls and steep stone stairways bear witness to its defensive role. Ottoman extensions gave the fortress much of its present size and its cannon openings. Venetian work and Austrian alterations added to the site, including the upper parts and the entrance from the town side. In the 20th century, the fortress was also used for film screenings and cultural gatherings.

From the ramparts, the view looks down over Škver, the boats and promenade, then outward across the sea and coast towards Igalo. After descending to the harbour, you see it from the opposite perspective, with the mass of stone now rising above you.

Savina Monastery lies east of the old town, on a green slope above the Bay of Kotor. The lower complex contains the Small and Great Churches of the Dormition of the Mother of God and the monastery lodgings, while the Church of St Sava stands separately on the hill above them. Tradition dates the monastery’s beginnings to 1030, but its foundation date has not been reliably established. A visit reveals how different periods left their mark on churches standing side by side.

The Small Church preserves several layers of wall painting. Lovro Dobrićević’s 15th-century frescoes depict the major feast days and the life of Christ, combining Byzantine and Gothic traditions in their style. Later painting and restoration added further layers, so the frescoes also tell the story of the changes the church has undergone.

The Great Church was built between 1777 and 1799 with the involvement of master craftsman Nikola Foretić from Korčula. Its architecture combines a Byzantine foundation with Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque elements. The dome, tall bell tower and stone decoration give it a recognisable appearance. Inside is an iconostasis by the painter Simeon Lazović and his son Aleksije, with woodcarving that complements the painted icons. Exploring the exterior architecture and the church paintings are therefore two distinct parts of the visit.

The Church of St Sava stands on the hill above the monastery courtyard, separate from the two churches of the Dormition. It was restored in the 15th century, and its entrance section was added in the 19th century. This stone church, with a bell-cote and a view across the bay, brings the visit to an end outside the lower complex. Its setting among the greenery lets you take in the Bay of Kotor beneath the monastery after focusing on the frescoes and iconostasis.