Herceg Novi in Montenegro. Should I stay here?

Herceg Novi is called the botanical garden of Montenegro. And this is true. Such a huge number of different plants, fruits and flowers are not found anywhere else. For example, in just a few hours we were able to find bananas growing right in the center of the city, cacti as high as a three-story house, many palms, flowers and exotic plants. Indeed, Herceg Novi is the greenest city of all that we’ve been able to see in Montenegro — sailors brought here a variety of plants from all over the world. In general, the nature here is really amazing.

We visited this city during an excursion to the Herceg Novi Bay. There was little time for a walk, and even less information to learn.

But still, we made up our impression of the city. We would advise you to come here for the whole day. You can use the bus schedule from Budva or from Kotor. If you wish, you can rent a car, but the roads in Montenegro are quite difficult — you’ll need significant driving experience.

The city of Herceg Novi is located in the luxurious Bay of Kotor (about 7 kilometers from the beginning of the bay, which stretches much further). The city is beautifully spread on the hills, which made it possible to create an amazing combination of various staircases, passages and fortress walls.

There’re not many beaches in the city, and they are mostly made of concrete. Therefore, most tourists prefer to get to the good options by boat — it usually costs up to 5 Euro. One of the most popular beaches is Zhanitsa — the former private beach of the President of Yugoslavia with amazingly clear water and a beautiful olive grove. Also, not far from Herceg Novi located the Blue Cave, the island of Mamula and Igalo — the world famous health resort of Montenegro.

In terms of prices for food or souvenirs, Herceg Novi is a very good option. Everything here is noticeably cheaper than at other popular resorts in Montenegro.

Now let’s try to tell about our own experience, with a detailed review about visiting Herceg Novi. The city is located literally on the side of a mountain and looks very beautiful from the sea.

We sailed in Herceg Novi on a small boat.

This is how the Herceg Novi looks like from the sea.

The town is very beautiful and green

The city was founded in 1382 and was originally called Sveti Stefan or San Stefano, but then it was renamed to Herceg Novi in honor of Duke Stepan Vuksic. And St. Stephen is now called a completely different resort located on an island not far from Budva.

From the sights here you can see the clock tower (it has many names: Sahat Kula, Sat Kula, Clock Tower, Torah), originally built by Italians, and then converted into a Turkish mosque. Please note that the tower is decorated with a unique “Black Madonna” bas-relief made of charred wood.

The Clock Tower has become the symbol of Herceg Novi. It was built in 1494, and the clock was installed in 1753.

The tower has many functions: it’s a fire tower, the tower was a kind of an entrance to the city while the city was owned by the Turks, and now it is one of the main attractions of Herceg Novi

The tower is beautifully illuminated in the evening and many people gather in restaurants nearby.

It’s also worth to pay attention to the Karacha water fountain in the city center. It was donated to the city by one of the wealthy local residents. The fountain is quite old and has remained from the times when the city was ruled by the Turks.

In fact, Karacha is not really a fountain – water flows only if you turn on the tap.

Cool drinking water flows from the Karacha fountain.

The fountain is located in the very center of Herceg Novi on Bellavista Square. Nearby is the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael.

Also on Bellavista Square (or Herceg Stefan Square) there is a large Orthodox church — the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael.

Despite the fact that the church looks very old, it’s only a little over 100 years. It was built in 1900.

The Church of St. Michael the Archangel is located on Herceg Stefan Square (the second name of Bellavista). In general, Archangel Michael is very revered in Montenegro. A cathedral and a monastery are also named in his honor.

The church, surrounded by green palm trees, fits very nicely and harmoniously into the architecture of the city.

For some reason, the main attraction of Herceg Novi is considered the former fortress and prison Kanli-Kula (Bloody Tower), built during the Turkish ruling. It looks more like a powerful castle, no one managed to escape from it. Now it’s fashionable to play weddings right in the premises of the prison. We don’t know how this will affect the strength of the marriage, there are no such statistics.

Kanli Kula is one of the main attractions of Herceg Novi.

It can be seen from almost anywhere in the city. The building was simultaneously used both as a fortress and as a prison for especially important and valuable prisoners.

The most beautiful view of Kanli-Kula opens from the embankment of the city.

Despite the name “Bloody Tower” in fact it’s a whole castle-fortress, reliably protecting the city during the war.

If you’re staying in Herceg Novi, be sure to try to climb the fortress walls of Kanli Kula. The pleasure isn’t free, but the view of the city is simply fantastic. Especially in the evening:

The whole city looks like a continuous interweaving of narrow streets and steps. You constantly have to go up.

Almost the entire city is located on a steep hillside. There are a lot of stairs here. Bananas grow along this one, by the way.

All streets in the old part of Herceg Novi are paved with stone. They’re quite narrow, but very pretty.

Cats in Montenegro are called matzki. They respond to “matz-matz”. If you wave a piece of sausage in front of them, they will also come running to you.

You can wander around the city walls for free and, oddly enough, there are not many tourists here.

It was very pleasant to wander through this medieval labyrinth, where everything breathes with history.

There is a wide variety of fruits on the way. You can even see bananas here.

We first saw how bananas grow in Herceg Novi. They were, however, still green.

Montenegro is rich in various tropical fruits. There are many kiwi, pomegranate, green figs and limes growing here. Also bananas, oranges and tangerines.

Let’s add a photo of a banana tree in Herceg Novi.

In general, there are a lot of palm trees in Montenegro. There are several types: Very low, medium with a lush crown and thick trunks and high, consisting almost only of the trunk

A beautiful view of the bay opens from above. We wandered around the city a bit and found a very convenient observation deck.

Walking around the city we found such an interesting observation deck. It offers a fantastic view of the bay. There is also a church, a music school and an open-air museum.

The observation deck offers a very beautiful view of the city itself and the bay.

The sea is simply unrealistically blue, the sun is warm and not too hot, and the smell of flowers makes you feel a little dizzy

These cannons have survived since the days when Herceg Novi was an important defense point of the Herceg Novi Bay.

Open Air Maritime Museum. Here you can see old anchors and cannons

And this is how the old ship anchors looked. Montenegro has long been famous for its sailors.

There is also a small church on the square.

There is also an open-air maritime museum, a music school and a small church.

It’s very interesting to look into the courtyards of local residents. Everything here is so green, there are many flowers, huge palms or cacti grow taller than humans. I would like it to be just as beautiful in our courtyards.

As in almost every city in Montenegro, a lot of oleander grows in Herceg Novi. The most common ones are pink and white.

And these are the largest cacti of all that I’ve ever seen. They are taller than a two-story house …

Although Herceg Novi isn’t considered the main resort of Montenegro (even not everyone offers excursions here), but this is the most beautiful city of all that we’ve visited.

Almost every courtyard in Herceg Novi is hidden behind a low stone fence. And they are all amazingly green.

If you move a little from the old city, the houses will take on a slightly more modern look, but the courtyards will remain the same green and beautiful.

Shopping in Herceg Novi

In terms of shopping and souvenirs, Herceg Novi is a very good option. Prices are relatively low here, noticeably lower than the average for Montenegro. At the same time, the assortment is decent. Of all the Montenegro resorts where we managed to visit, it’s cheaper only in Podgorica (the capital).

What can be bought in Herceg Novi and in general in Montenegro?

• Serbian textiles
• Italian shoes and clothes
• Local olive oil, pršut (analogue of Italian prosciutto) or Negus cheese.

Let’s talk a little about what we bought. We didn’t have a goal to collect everything and more. And the money was not enough, but I wanted to bring something unusual for myself. Prices in shops near tourist attractions turned out to be unreasonably high, but as soon as we moved away from the main streets literally 100 meters, they became more decent and acceptable.

We didn’t have time to go through the shops (and compare prices), so we had to buy in the first available one.

In general, we were pleased with the prices — much cheaper than in our city or other resort cities of Montenegro. If you are planning to arrange real shopping, we recommend you to go to Podgorica. The choice is better there, and the prices are several times lower than, for example, in Budva.

How about accommodation in Herceg Novi?

We have two good articles about living in Herceg Novi:

• Rent of rooms in Herceg Novi hotels
• Rent a room or apartment in a villa in Herceg Novi

The city itself seemed to us quiet, calm and a little patriarchal. We were very pleased with the old narrow streets, along which it will be pleasant to walk both day and night. Prices for hotels are noticeably lower here than at large and well-known resorts. You can see for yourself:

Find hotels in Herneg Novi: from cheap to expensive ones

But we would still advise you to take a closer look at the apartments. It’ll turn out to be not much more expensive than a hotel, but much more comfortable: there will be own kitchen and you can immerse yourself in the life of the town.

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The main disadvantage of Herceg Novi is the lack of good beaches. If you’re traveling for a long time (more than a week), we recommend you to split your vacation into two resorts. First you may go, for example, to Budva and sunbathe on the beaches for a week, do some shopping, visit discos and bars. And after that, come to quiet and cozy Herceg Novi to rest, relax and allow yourself not to think about anything for a while.