The town of Perast – the shiniest jewel on the Montenegrin coast

The shiniest jewel on the Montenegrin coast is most certainly the town of Perast. This baroque-looking town represents a unique example of architecture and culture in this area. Perast is entirely built in stone, and most of its buildings come from the 17th and 18th century and are made of beautiful white stone from Korcula.

With its coast of just around 1 km and fewer than 300 inhabitants, this town can boast of numerous gorgeous palaces and churches from various periods of history. Perast never had a typical defense system made of extensive ramparts, like Kotor and Budva, but it had towers placed on its mere coast forming an interesting fortification structure with Holy Cross Fortress at the top, looking above the town towards the sea.

Looking directly at the passage Verige, the entrance into the bays of Kotor and Risan, this town has always had a fantastic strategic position. There is an interesting story surrounding the straits, and if you would book this tour, you could find out all about it and about many other stories and legends referring to this spectacular town.

The most significant advantage this town possesses is two islets just in front of its mainland. One of them is natural, named after the St George’s monastery, surrounded by beautiful cypress trees. And the other, a more popular one, is artificial and has a church dedicated to the Lady of the Rocks. A legend of two sailor brothers who found the icon of the Lady on a rock in the middle of the sea is probably the most fascinating and one of the most frequently told legends from this area.

A walk through this beautiful baroque town, a refreshing boat ride to the Our Lady of the Rocks, stunning views of Verige straits and a story about this town’s turbulent history and amusing customs should definitely be on your to-do list when visiting Montenegro.

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