Herceg-Novi Things to Do

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Fortress Spanjola dates back to the 16th Century and is perhaps the best preserved (although certainly not the best kept!) of Herceg Novi's fortresses.

As the name suggests, it was the Spaniards who began to build this fortress (in 1538), although it was the Turks who eventually completed it

It is quite a walk from the town to the fortress...and an uphill walk at that! Not only that, but it is difficult to find and is not very well signposted. There is a signpost on the main road of Jadranski Put to inform visitors that they are heading in the right direction, but after 30 more minutes of strenuous walking we hadn't seen any further signs for it. We passed through residential areas and we were convinced that we had missed the turn off for the fortress. We eventually decided to take a chance and head off down a narrow tree-lined street. There was no signpost to indicate that the fortress was that way, but fortunately a waiting taxi driver confirmed that we were in fact heading in the right direction.

The map in our Bradt guidebook was of very little help; the scale was completely wrong and it seemingly missed out many of the roads between the town and the fortress.

Anyway, we got there in the end. For anybody wanting to visit the fortress my advice would be to either undertake the walk outside of the hottest hours of the day or pay a few Euros and find a taxi driver who knows exactly where the fortress is located.

Having reached the fortress, we were initially a little disappointed. The gate was open, but there were no signs explaining what we were visiting. The grounds were overgrown with vegetation and weeds and the only way to get further into the fortress was through a graffiti covered door that was slightly ajar and gave the impression that it could just as easily lead us into a den of drug addicts as a ruined fortress. We warily made our way through the door and found more ruined walls, overgrown weeds and steps leading up to the top of the walls.

We were initially put off from climbing up the walls as there was a group of local youths running around the perimeter with a large, barking Alsatian dog. We waited until they left and then made our way up to the top. The views were excellent. We could see Kanli Kula fortress which we had visited earlier in the day, the seafront fortress of Fortemare (which we never got to visit as it was being renovated), the buildings of Stari Grad and the coastline from Igalo to Kamenari. Behind us, the views were almost as impressive; the imposing, cloud topped mountains that give Montenegro its name.

There is no entrance fee for visiting Fortress Spanjola and consequently there seems to be little effort in its upkeep or in promoting it as a tourist site.

Fortress Spanjola: it's difficult to find, but it's free to get in and the views are great even if the fortress itself is a mess!

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Kanli Kula (which apparently translates as "Bloody Tower") is a ruined fortress and former prison built by the Turks in the 16th Century.

We visited Kanli Kula on our first morning in Herceg Novi in May 2012. It is a fairly steep climb to the fortress from Stari Grad. From the central square of Trg Nikole Durkovica, there is a steep flight of steps that leads directly to a side entrance of the fortress. Or alternatively, as we did, you can walk up the stairs that pass beneath the town's famous Clock Tower, on to the picturesque Trg Herceg Stjepana square and from there follow the signs that lead up the steps to the fortress's sea facing entrance. If you are less mobile, the rear entrance of the fortress can be reached by car, bus or taxi.

It only cost us 1 Euro each to enter Kanli Kula – and it was worth the admission fee for the views alone. Standing on the front walls of the fortress afforded us breathtaking views over Stari Grad and along the coast towards Igalo in one direction and Kamenari in the other. The view over the rooftops of Stari Grad, interspersed with tall palm trees, was probably my favourite view in the whole of Herceg Novi.

The fortress itself didn't impress me all that much. It provided us with a short walk around the walls and a few photos of the cannons, stone towers and small windows protected with iron bars, but the main attraction was undoubtedly the panoramic views.

Kanli Kula also features rows of seating set amphitheatrically around a stage area that is set against a backdrop of the blue sea. I imagine it is a great venue for watching an outdoor concert or theatrical performance.

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The name itself Kanli kula is of Turkish origin and it means a bloody tower. It is situated in the north part of the old town in Herceg Novi. With its size and position the tower dominates over the town (the height is 85 meters above the sea level). Kanli kula in fact used to be a complex fortification system. In the written documents Kanli kula is mentioned for the first time in XVII century. Over the time it suffered significant changes and destructions, so the exact time of its construction can not be determined precisely. The final shape the tower got during the time of Turkish reign while the Venetians, immediately after taking over Herceg Novi, made some remodeling. Today Kanli kula is mostly used as a summer stage.

Take a boat that takes you to Zanjice beach. There's plenty of boats going there, price is around 5-6 eur for the return trip. You won't regret it.

If you're of adventurous kind, once at Zanjice, take a road to Miriste. There is a fine restaurant there with fresh fish and you can walk all the way to the Arza fortress. You can climb on top of it and the view is spectacular.

The clock tower, built in 1667, is Herceg Novi's most famous piece of architecture. It rises above a gate in the old city walls at the top of a flight of stairs rising up from the main square in the old part of the town.

The church of the Archangel Michael is a small orthodox church that sits in the middle of Belvista Square (also known as Herceg Stijepan) in the old section of Herceg Novi. The church was only built a little over 100 years ago, but looks older due to its classical architecture.

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The town is spread from the seashore up to the hills To explore it you will have to use numerous old, narrow, romantique staircases. Some of them are very steep so it can be pretty tough to climb. Comfortable shoes are the must if you want to have a proper look around.

They can get complicated but fun to use, unless you are in the hurry, but why should you be, you are on holiday!
Some of them end nowere, should I say blind alley? I supouse it happened due to the housbuilding . It is realy a shame.