When people think of Dubrovnik, they usually picture medieval towers and sunset views. But the former Republic of Ragusa was also a centre of knowledge, curiosity and intellectual exchange. In 2026, the city celebrates the 400th anniversary of Marin Getaldić (1568 -1626), one of Europe’s leading Renaissance scientists and a contemporary of Galileo. A mathematician, physicist and experimenter, Getaldić travelled through London, Paris, Antwerp and Rome before returning home to Dubrovnik, where he famously transformed Betina Cave into a laboratory for optical experiments using giant mirrors and Adriatic sunlight.
His story reveals another side of Dubrovnik, elegant and intellectual, Mediterranean yet deeply connected to the scientific awakening of Europe. Throughout summer 2026, visitors can explore Getaldić’s legacy through a major exhibition at the Rector's Palace, as well as the monodrama A Wizard in the Cave presented as part of the Midsummer Scene Festival, alongside other cultural programmes and special events dedicated to one of the city’s greatest minds.Dubrovnik’s Contemporary Rhythm
Dubrovnik’s art scene unfolds through intimate galleries, historic houses and site-specific projects woven seamlessly into the city’s architectural rhythm and everyday life. Rather than a fixed institutional framework, it forms a layered cultural landscape where contemporary artistic practice meets heritage, local identity and broader Croatian and international conversations. Spaces such as Galerija Flora and the Lazareti – Art Workshop Lazareti / Galerija Otok offer direct, unpolished encounters with artists and curators, where exhibitions feel less like formal events and more like extensions of the streets, courtyards and slow seasonal pulse of the Old Town.What makes it particularly compelling is its permeabilit, the way artists, ideas and audiences move fluidly between Dubrovnik and the wider world. This summer, Saša Šekoranja introduces a special project within the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, bringing his recognisable visual language into the city’s historic fabric, while Dubravka Lošić, representing Croatia at the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, continues to anchor Dubrovnik within a broader international dialogue, reflecting how strongly the city resonates beyond its walls.
Within this setting, summer unfolds almost effortlessly through a series of exhibitions that invite slow discovery, places to step into between a swim, a walk or a long coffee in the shade.
This season highlights include Mediterranism of Pavo Urban (10 June – 19 July) at the Duličić Masle Pulitika Gallery, which revisits the early photographic gaze of Pavo Urban and re-reads it through Mediterranean memory and everyday life; Nives Sertić: Landscapes (18 June – 16 August) at the Museum of Modern Art Dubrovnik, transforming space into an immersive field of image, sound and perception; and Blues of Life by Vladimir Pandžić (23 July – 13 September), extending a painterly exploration of gesture, colour and emotional abstraction within the same institutional setting.
At the Marin Držić House, Marin Držić – First Act (until 31 October) marks 500 years since the earliest written record of Croatia’s greatest Renaissance playwright, centring on a key 1526 archival document that places him within the civic and clerical life of his time and reframes his beginnings as a kind of historical “first scene”.
In the atmospheric Bunić-Kaboga Villa, the Nikšić Collection (until 27 September) offers a quietly immersive encounter with heritage and private collecting inside one of Dubrovnik’s most elegant Renaissance summer residences. Spanning objects from the 17th to the 20th century from paintings and furniture to ceramics, porcelain, metalwork and textiles, the exhibition creates a subtle dialogue between domestic memory and architectural space. Open Thursday and Friday 10:00 - 16:00, and Saturday and Sunday 15:00 - 20:00, with free admission.
Live the Festival Moment
The Dubrovnik Summer Festival (July 10 – August 25) transforms Dubrovnik into one large open-air stage, where classical music, theatre and performance unfold across palaces, squares and fortresses. Dubrovnik Summer Festival is known for its refined balance of tradition and contemporary interpretation, bringing world-class artists into dialogue with the city’s unique historic setting.This year’s programme features violinist Joshua Bell performing with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields on 14 July at the Rector’s Palace, offering a standout evening of classical excellence in one of the festival’s most iconic venues. Pianist David Fray follows with a solo recital on 25 July, presenting an intimate piano programme in a historic setting.
A major highlight of the dance programme is the Slovene National Theatre Maribor Ballet with Svadba (Les Noces) & Rite of Spring, performed on 26 July, bringing powerful contemporary choreography into Dubrovnik’s historic atmosphere.
The theatre programme includes Shakespeare’s Richard III, staged at the dramatic Lovrjenac Fortress on 27 July continuing the festival’s tradition of reinterpreting classical drama in bold across the Old Town.
Open Air Film Nights
Dubrovnik and its surroundings offer a unique summer cinema experience that blends film culture with spectacular open-air locations. In the city itself, two of the most atmospheric venues stand out: Jadran Cinema, hidden within the Old Town, and Slavica Cinema, dramatically set above the cliffs just outside Pile Gate. Their programmes range from Hollywood blockbusters and art-house films to children’s screenings, forming part of a wider Croatian outdoor cinema network coordinated by Kino Mediteran (kinomediteran.hr).This cinematic spirit continues along the coast and islands. From 14 - 15 June, Slano Film Days – Family Weekend introduces relaxed seaside screenings in Slano, followed by the main Slano Film Days (16 - 20 June), a boutique film gathering focused on dialogue between filmmakers and audiences through screenings, talks and informal creative exchange by the sea.
A week later, the experience moves to the island of Lopud with the Ponta Lopud Film Festival (25–28 June), an intimate island event dedicated to contemporary cinema and creative conversation. The 2026 edition features a special musical-film tribute to Ennio Morricone, combining screenings, discussions and live performance in an atmospheric open-air setting.
Hit the Vlaho Bukovac trail
Born and raised in Cavtat, Vlaho Bukovac (1855-1922) was one of the most gifted and prolific Croatian artists of the modern period. Both a brilliant portraitist and a master of the impressionistic landscape, his work was in demand across Europe and he ended up as a professor at the academy in Prague. Best place to get to grips with Bukovac's world is at the Bukovac House in Cavtat, a charming and intimate introduction to the artist's life and times. There are valuable collections of his works in the Museum of Modern Art Dubrovnik, while his serene Miracle of St Dominic hanging on the wall of the Dominican Monastery Church just inside the Ploče Gate.Get in step with the folk ensembles
Dubrovnik's folklore troupe Linđo has been treading the boards ever since 1965 and enjoys an international reputation for its presentations of traditional music and dance. Their repertoire covers the whole gamut of Croatian folklore, but has a natural bias towards Dubrovnik and the surrounding region. The ensemble gets its name from a local hop known as the linđo, which is danced in couples to the jolly accompaniment of a screeching archaic lyre. During the summer, the Linđo Folklore Ensemble performs traditional dance shows every Tuesday and Friday at 21:30 in Lazareti.One particular tradition for which the Dobrovnik County is famous is the group of archaic sword dances performed on the island of Korčula. Best-known of these is the Moreška from Korčula Town, a highly stylized narrative dance in which a Black King and his followers attempt to abduct a maiden known as the Bula. The Moreška is performed twice a week from the beginning of May to the end of September, outdoors in the town's open-air cinema or - in case of bad weather - in the local House of Culture.
From Symphony Halls to Sea Cliffs
For classical music buffs, the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra brings performances to some of the city’s most atmospheric historic venues throughout the summer season, combining world-class musicians with the unique backdrop of Dubrovnik’s Old Town. Tickets and the full programme are available at dso.hr.Among the highlights in the coming months are pianist Jasminka Stančul, performing in a chamber concert on 26 May and again as soloist with the orchestra on 29 May under conductor Mateo Narančić; celebrated Croatian cellist Kajana Pačko, opening the June programme on 4 June with a performance of Tchaikovsky conducted by Ivan Skender; and violinist Roman Simović, concertmaster of the London Symphony Orchestra, appearing with the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra on 28 July under the baton of Valentin Egel.
The summer programme also includes the traditional Tino Pattiera International Festival of Opera Arias, beginning on 3 July at the Rector’s Palace and bringing leading opera soloists to one of Dubrovnik’s most elegant open-air stages.
Summer at Orsula festival, which hosts various Croatian and international musical performers throughout the summer (June 12 to August 22). There is a gorgeous view overlooking the Old Town, all the way to Cavtat and the island of Lokrum from this amphitheatre, which holds about 500 seats and is set on a 200-metre cliff above the sea. It is a 25-minute walk from the Old Town or a short taxi ride. A perfect combination of location and excellent music puts this festival on everybody's to-do list!
Island Culture Trails
For travellers exploring the southern Dalmatian islands, summer 2026 offers a compact but rich cultural programme that blends contemporary art, living heritage and open-air music all within easy reach on day trips or island stays.In Korčula, the Wi-Fi Gallery siva) (zona presents City Visures: Dubrovnik by Dorinda Bulić-Čotić (12 May – 16 July), a digital exhibition experienced on-site at St. Mark’s Square by connecting to the “siva) (zona” network. The work turns everyday urban details into a reflection on tourism, identity and the changing face of historic cities. At the same time, visitors can catch the traditional Moreška sword dance every Monday and Thursday in June and July, one of the island’s most distinctive cultural experiences.
On Mljet, Marija Braut: Faces of Landscape (1 May – autumn 2026) unfolds across Goveđari and Babino Polje, offering a poetic photographic journey through sea, stone and light, deeply rooted in the island’s natural atmosphere.
Music flows between the islands with the Last Minute Open Jazz Festival (16 - 21 July), bringing six nights of free open-air concerts. Highlights include the Marin Jerkunica Trio (Orebić, Korčula, Mljet) and the Ratko Divjak Trio with Joliette Anžlovar (Viganj, Korčula, Mljet), creating intimate seaside performances designed for relaxed summer evenings and island exploration.
Browse around for traditional crafts
Pay a visit to Dubrovnik's Rupe Ethnographic Museum and you'll be treated to a visually stunning display of traditional textiles, with embroidery and lacemaking among the age-old crafts.It's in the area south of Dubrovnik that these traditions are still practiced. Women from the Konavle region, which stretches from Cavtat to the Monenegrin border, still embroider their dresses, blouses, aprons and tablecloths with age-old geometric patterns rendered in red, black and green. You can see exquisite pieces on sale in Dubrovnik's Old Town and other places frequented by tourists.
What is less widely known is that Konavle is also a traditional centre for the manufacture of silk. Dependent on the cultivation of silk worms and the worm's favourite food source - the mulberry tree -it is no longer widely practiced.
Dubrovnik has long been known for goldsmithery and filigree jewelry and ateliers selling delicately wrought brooches and earrings can be found tucked away in the back-alleys of the Old Town.
Thank you and safe travels
At Dubrovnik Airport (Ruđer Bošković Airport), young travellers can spend time in Ruđerov kutak, a playful, interactive space inspired by Dubrovnik-born scientist Ruđer Bošković. Designed for children aged 4 to 10, it offers simple hands-on activities that turn waiting time into discovery, from building the Earth to exploring space.More than a play area, it’s a final cultural touchpoint before departure a small reminder of curiosity, heritage and place that travellers carry home with them. You’ll find it on the second floor of international departures.
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