ADRIATIC COAST and suppingthelocalvinoinoutdoorcafes betweentheoleanders. of Haj-Nehaj,StariBarandSva and,mostevocatively,residences thelonelyandmysterious withinUlcinj’sfortifications ruins shops ofBudva’sOldTown,thesurreal glamourofSveti Stefan’s theramshackle villageresort, fied theirsettlementssinceancienttimes. That legacycanbeexplored inthelively barsand and fishingvillagestoexplore. crammed intoit.Avoid thosemonthsandyou’llfinda charismaticclutchofsmalltowns brethren Orthodox the entire Serbianworldandafairchunkofitsnorthern canbefound has focusedfirmlyonthisscant100kmcoastalregion. InJulyandAugust itseemsthat ous stretch leadingtotheAlbanianborder. ’s shoreline hasdeveloped intosandybeaches,culminating ina12kmcontinu- Withoutthebuffer ofCroatia’sislands,more of small area thecountryitself). (abitlike water’s even clearer. thebayit’salessclosed-in,sunniervibethat’sengenderedalthough unlike here andthe ofmountainsandseathatsendsthespiritsoaring, the BayofKotor,it’sjuxtaposition surely block-voting backtheeastern Adriatic–andnotjustbecauseofBalkan either. Like If coastlinescouldenter anequivalentoftheEurovision would SongContest, thebookies Coast Adriatic 94 © LonelyPlanetPublications Living onthefaultlinebetweenvariouscivilisations,peopleofcoasthave forti- Unsurprisingly, muchofthenation’sdetermination toreinvent itselfasatouristmecca Croatia mayhogmostofthecoastbutMontenegro’s packs alotintovery tinysection

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ADRIATIC COAST COAST ADRIATIC History History From the 4th century BC the Ancient Greeks Greeks From the 4th century BC the Ancient Byzantine culture. The Avars were eventually were The Avars Byzantine culture. in the 6th century with only Budva (at the time called Butua) holding out as a bastion of most of it within the Greek-influenced eastern eastern within the Greek-influenced it most of (Byzantine) half. to split the in two, the border- Roman Empire to split the line crossed the coast, leaving this section of benefited from its position near the centre of of from its position near the centre benefited When the decision was made empire. a great 168 BC, into their was incorporated the region it 500 years over and for of province coast, such as Bouthoe coast, such (Budva). Once the smashed in Romans had completely lonelyplanet.com set up colonies along the Illyrian-controlled