When planning our trip to Montenegro, we chose Perast as our final destination. In this place we decided to quietly spend the last few days of our vacation and take a little break from relaxation - active travel from place to place and constant change of impressions also, in the end, tire you, you must admit.

We chose Perast not by chance. First of all, because of its history, we didn’t want to relax at a typical seaside resort.

Perast was once a large medieval seaport, part of the Republic of Venice, an ancient haven of pirates, an example of Baroque architecture... It is a town with a special character, which, without a doubt, must be visited and in which - I say this from my own experience - it is worth staying for a few days to experience how slowly and peacefully time can pass in this corner of the world.

If you are planning a trip to Montenegro, I strongly recommend that you include this idyllic city in your itinerary. I am sure that he will conquer your heart - just like he conquered mine.

How to get there

Perast is located on the shore of the Bay of Kotor, directly opposite the bottleneck of the Verige Strait, where ocean liners squeeze through several times a day, going to Kotor and back.

By plane

Planes do not fly to Perast - the town is tiny, and the entire town itself could fit on the territory of some large airport.

The closest international airport to Perast is in Tivat. A ticket from Moscow, if you fly during the season and purchase it in advance, can cost from 16,000 RUB - it all depends on your foresight and luck with special rates and promotions. Of course, the closer the travel date and the more comfortable the season, the higher the ticket prices.

Since public transport in Montenegro is not great, I highly recommend renting a car right at the airport and moving freely around the country.

You can explore other ways to get to Montenegro.

By bus

Once a large trading city and port, now Perast is just a picturesque town, which is not so easy to reach by public transport.

For example, from Tivat, Budva or Kotor you need to take a bus going to Herceg Novi, but even in the official schedule of stops along the route, Perast is not listed. The presence of a stop can be assumed by the travel time of the bus from point A to point B - those flights that take the longest stop in many settlements, including Perast. A bus ticket will cost approximately 2–3 EUR, depending on the carrier.

In general, I once again urge you to rent a car and have a carefree vacation.

By car

So, a car is the most convenient means of transportation in Montenegro.

The cost of renting a small car per day ranges from 25 EUR to 35 EUR, depending on the number of rental days and the company providing the service. Again, booking a car in advance is significantly cheaper than renting it upon arrival.

By the way, I do not recommend saving in this matter. Take a car from a reputable rental company and be sure to supplement the standard insurance with a package that fully covers all damages. If you do not have such an extension, upon reception your car will be examined like a bride in a Caucasian village, and if even the slightest scratch is found, the consequences will be disastrous for you. For example, a scratch that can be easily removed by simple polishing cost us 300 EUR. And this is in a decent European office.

Hotels- don’t forget to check prices from booking sites! Don't overpay. This !

Rent a Car- also an aggregation of prices from all rental companies, all in one place, let's go!

Anything to add?

One of the most beautiful cities in Montenegro is Perast, located on the shores of the Bay of Kotor. Many tourists want to get to this city on their own from other parts of Montenegro, including from Kotor, on their own. Often tourists vacationing in Budva, Bar and other cities south of the Bay of Kotor want to get to Kotor on their own, and then go to nearby Perast. How to get from Kotor to Perast? We will talk about this below, but we will immediately note that there are still few options.

Distance from Kotor to Perast

Situated on the shores of the same bay, the cities of Kotor and Perast are 9 km apart. But this distance is direct, so when driving along the road the distance will be noticeably greater - approximately 15 km. When traveling by water, the distance from Kotor to Perast will be approximately 11 km.

Bus Kotor - Perast

You will need only 1-2 euros to travel by bus from Kotor to Perast. Almost all buses that run from Kotor to Herceg Novi pass through Perast, and this is more than 20 buses daily, which run every 20-30 minutes. The bus ride from Kotor to Perast takes approximately 25 minutes.

Taxi Kotor - Perast

You can also get from Kotor to Perast by taxi, and the cost of such a trip will be relatively low. As a rule, you will have to pay about 15 euros for a one-way trip. Late in the evening and at night, the cost of a trip from Kotor to Perast by taxi is unlikely to be less than 20 euros.

(Serbian Perast, Croatian Perast, Italian Perasto) is an ancient city in Montenegro. Located on the shores of the Bay of Kotor, a few kilometers northwest of Kotor. Like many Montenegrin coastal towns, Perast is located on a narrow strip of land, sandwiched between the sea and St. Hill. Ilya (873 m), on the cape that separates the Bay of Risan from the Bay of Kotor (which, in turn, are integral parts of the Bay of Kotor), directly opposite the Verige Strait, the narrowest part of Boka.

Perast reached its peak in the 18th century, when it had at least four shipyards and a fleet of hundreds of ships. At that time, there were 1,643 permanent residents living in the city. Nineteen Baroque palaces, seventeen Catholic and two Orthodox churches were built in the city mainly during this period. Nowadays only pleasure boats can be seen in the bay, but once upon a time hundreds of ships glided along the water surface.

The entire city consists of several dozen houses stretching along the embankment, from which quiet streets climb up the mountain. Cars drive only along the embankment and on the road above the city. The map shows the most important landmarks, which include the houses of the twelve noble families of the city (something like patrician brotherhoods, which were named after their founders, and their heads were usually elected by members of the city council) and churches.

The city reached its greatest prosperity in the 17th – 18th centuries, when hundreds of Perast ships plied the seas. Thus, many admirals emerged from Perast who received recognition among the great naval powers. On the embankment there are three busts of natives of Perast: two of them are sailors, and the third is a painter.

In Perast there was a famous nautical school, where, on the recommendation of the Venetians, Peter I sent the sons of Russian nobles to study maritime affairs. The mentor of the Russian midshipmen was the famous navigator Marko Martinovich (he is in the center), on whose ship at the end of the 17th century. 17 Russian princes sailed. Another famous native of Perast is Matija Zmaevich (his bust on the left), who became famous during the Northern War. The future admiral of the Russian fleet, Matvey Khristoforovich Zmaevich, was forced to leave his homeland after participating in a duel. Having entered the service of Peter I, he commanded a galley fleet. He took an active part in the Battle of Gangut, which in calm weather was won by an attack of 20 Russian galleys under the command of Commander Zmaevich, for which he was awarded a gold medal. The career of the newly made Russian subject was going uphill. They even received forgiveness from the Venetian Doge for the crime committed (the Russian Emperor himself petitioned for this). But after the death of Peter, he was slandered and served far from the capitals. The ancestral house of the Zmaevichs has been preserved in Perast. The third person in the company on the embankment was Tripo Kokolya (Trifun Kokolić), a painter, one of the most talented masters of the Baroque style of the Eastern Mediterranean of the 17th century.

The city has its own museum, which is located in the building of the Bujovica Palace (Bujoviceva palata) - this is almost the edge of the town (in the previous photo the building on the left with a portico). Here you can see a collection of weapons, ancient manuscripts, historical paintings and photographs, cups and products from silver, ancient jewelry and costumes, compasses and seascapes, flags and ship's diaries, nautical charts and much more.

On the embankment is the Cathedral of St. Mark (unfortunately, was closed).

At the Church of St. Nicholas (Crkva Sv. Nikole) the highest bell tower in Boka Kotorska (55 m) was built.

Opposite the city, 115 meters from each other, there are two islands: St. George and the island of the Virgin Mary (Gospa od Škrpela), which is perhaps the only man-made island in the Adriatic. It was built on top of a reef after in 1452 two sailors from Perast, the Mortešić brothers, found an icon of the Mother of God on it, which cured one of them from an illness. After this, the icon immediately became revered. Initially, the reef was only slightly above the surface of the water, but for 200 years the townspeople sank captured pirate ships and their own old ships next to it (in addition, a law was passed according to which every ship passing by the reef had to throw a stone to the bottom here). This is how a plateau was created, the area of ​​which is 3030 sq.m.

The Church of the Mother of God was built on the island (it took on its modern appearance after reconstruction undertaken after the Great Earthquake on April 6, 1667
of the year). The church was built in the Byzantine style and reaches 11 meters in height. It is believed that the residents of Perast built the church not only because they wanted
to see the Virgin Mary as the patroness of its sailors, but also to secure power over the man-made island as opposed to Kotor's power over the island
St. George. The famous icon is still kept here. There is a museum attached to the church, where rare curiosities brought by sailors from distant lands are stored.
wanderings. According to tradition, every year on June 22, the residents of Boka bring new stones to the island on elegantly decorated boats.

Perast

Perast is a small town with a big meaning. An ancient port city on the coast of the Bay of Kotor, located directly opposite the strait connecting Boko Kotorska with the Adriatic Sea. Justifying its location, it served as the "guard" of Kotor and Risan, meeting enemies at the entrance to the bay with its powerful fleet. A fleet famous throughout Europe and to which the Baltic Fleet owes much of its greatness.

Today Perast is a small town, practically untouched by modern architecture, frozen in the Late Renaissance and reminiscent of the luxury of its appearance of its former importance, many times greater than the size of the city and the number of its inhabitants.

Story

The first mentions of Perast appear in manuscripts of the 14th century, when it was a small village with a shipyard, numbering several fishing and trading ships. According to some reports, it also served as a haven for pirates who traded in the Adriatic Sea. Although people appeared in this area long before that: above Perast in the Spila cave, traces of an ancient shelter inhabited 5.5 thousand years ago were discovered.

The development of Perast began with the capture of it (like many other coastal cities) by the Venetian Republic in the 15th century. This was greatly facilitated by the attempts by the Ottoman Empire to seize the coast of the Bay of Kotor up to Risan, which made Perast a border city, with all the political and economic significance that implies. To raise morale, the residents of Perast were granted significant tax and customs privileges, which allowed the townspeople to rapidly grow rich, and the city itself to become covered in luxury.

The residents of Perast achieved such wealth that allowed them to easily build about 20 palaces, 4 shipyards, 100 ships, 17 Catholic and 2 Orthodox churches, and raise a tidy sum to invite a famous architect who built the tallest bell tower in Perast on the entire eastern coast of the Adriatic .

The sailors of Perast were famous for their skill and were welcome allies in all the fleets of Europe. The Maritime Academy of Marko Martinovic was widely known. It was here that Peter I sent his midshipmen to study. Among the graduates of the academy is also Matias Zmaevich, who helped the Russian emperor build the now famous Baltic Fleet, and who later became his admiral and close friend of Peter I. So we can confidently say that the great Baltic Fleet has its roots in a small Montenegrin town, which in its best years numbered less 2 thousand inhabitants, and today there are about 350 people. A bust of Zmaevich stands in the central square of Perast, along with other prominent people from the city.

In 1797, the Republic of Venice ceased to exist and over the next 15 years, Perast managed to be under the rule of the Austrians, French and Italians, until in 1813, after the division of the legacy of the Napoleonic Empire, it came under the rule of Austria-Hungary. The next 2 centuries are characterized by decline in all areas. Perast was part of Austria-Hungary until World War I, after which it became part of the future Yugoslavia.

Perast Map

Climate

In general, the weather in Perast coincides with the weather along the entire Montenegrin coast.
Although there is a widespread belief among the local population that Perast is the sunniest city in the country (240 sunny days a year). Most precipitation falls from November to March. The air warms up to 25 at the end of April, and the comfortable temperature lasts until the end of October. You can comfortably dive into sea water only from June to September, when the water temperature in Perast exceeds 20 degrees. At the end of May and in October it is 19 degrees, for some it is quite swimmable, but for those who are accustomed to warm water it is better to wait until July, when the water temperature in the Bay of Kotor reaches 23 degrees. The warmest month is August. The air in August warms up to 30 degrees, the water up to 25 degrees. September is a velvet season, the heat of August gives way to the gentle sun (24-26 °C), and the sea is just beginning to cool down: the water temperature in September in Perast is 23-24 °C.

Beaches of Perast

There is one beach within Perast. It is a concrete platform, so for those who like to lie on the sand, it is not of interest. But it will appeal to those who like to dive.

Transport

There is no public transport in Perast due to the small size of the city, which can be walked through in 15 minutes. Car traffic in Perast is possible along the only embankment street that stretches across the entire city. Intercity buses do not enter Perast, but stop at the entrance to the city on both sides.

How to get there

Tivat airport is 20 km, Podgorica 120 km, Dubrovnik 60. From Tivat airport you can take the Tivat-Herceg Novi intercity bus (stop opposite the airport, schedule on the balkanviator website) for about 5 euros or take a taxi, the ride on which to Perast will cost you 30 euros. If your choice is a taxi, we recommend booking it in advance using the form below to avoid unnecessary costs.
Getting to Perast from other cities of Montenegro is easy by bus, which runs from Kotor (departs from the bus station) to Herceg Novi (and vice versa). In the same way (by bus to Herceg Novi) you can get from Sutomore, Petrovac, Budva or Tivat.

It’s even more convenient to do this by ordering a transfer in advance through this service:

Where to stay

Despite its small size and tiny population, the choice of accommodation in Perast is quite wide: from apartments with sea views for 30 per night, to a presidential suite with a private pool in a four-star hotel for 350.

Sights of Perast

One of the most interesting and amazing attractions of Perast, and all of Montenegro, are 2 islands located 300 meters from Perast. They are so beautiful and significant that they certainly deserve a separate article. (Besides, such a number of unique photographs simply cannot fit into this article).

City Museum. The Perast City Museum, founded in 1937, is located in the palace of the noble Bujović family, where it was moved in 1957. Most of the exhibits were donated to the museum by local residents, heirs of the city's noble families. Here are presented: collections of ancient weapons, costumes, jewelry and, of course, maritime paraphernalia - portraits of famous sailors, ship logs, etc.
Entrance ticket price 2.5.

Palaces. In Perast, traditionally, since ancient times, there have been 12 noble families, to which all the native townspeople considered themselves (and still belong to this day). The surviving palaces of these “clans” are of primary interest to architecture connoisseurs in Perast. Most of them were built in the 17th-18th centuries. in Baroque style. Finding them is not difficult; all the attractions of Perast are located on the main street - the embankment. Marko Martinovic, stretching across the entire town. Just follow it, you won't pass by.

Church of St. Nicholas. The main church of Perast, located on the central square (Admirals Square).
The church was built at the beginning of the 17th century; at the end of the century, the same famous bell tower was added to it - a symbol of the prosperity of Perast and the wealth of its citizens. Its height is 55 meters, and from its top there is a magnificent view of the entire Bay of Kotor.
Entrance to the bell tower is 2 euros.
Entrance to the church museum is 2 euros.

Holidays in Perast

May 15. In honor of the victory over the Turks in 1654, celebrations are held (sometimes for several days) including a rifle marksmanship competition called "rooster shooting." The winner is given a barrel of wine, which he drinks with the townspeople.

July 22. Fashinada – townspeople remember everyone involved in the construction of the island of Gospa od Škrpela. On this day, the residents of Perast sail on boats to the island and throw stones at its base. This event is also very useful from a practical point of view - compensation for the erosion of the island’s base by the sea (and perhaps an increase in the area of ​​the city)). A sailing regatta is also held with the finish line on a conventional line connecting the two islands. The winner's name is engraved on a plaque attached to the lighthouse.

From Perast it is easy to reach Risan (8 km) and Kotor (12 km). Also within reach

Nowadays, anyone can climb the bell tower and see that the coast of the bay is extremely beautiful.

A global restructuring of the church was launched, but the existence of the Venetian Republic ceased, funding also ceased, and the Church of St. Nicholas remained unrebuilt. Also of interest are the churches of Our Lady of the Reef, the parish, and St. George. All of them are bright touches in the appearance of the city.

Perast Islands

The peculiarity of the local landscape is such that the city is no longer growing: the rocks approach almost the water itself, there is only room for 3-4 streets, which were built a long time ago. But two islands are also considered the territory of the city. The island of Gospa from Skrpjela is artificial, created by pouring stones. A legend has long been passed down from mouth to mouth that an icon of the Virgin Mary was found on the island. In honor of her, a church was built on the island, and every year, on July 22, a unique holiday is celebrated: residents of the surrounding villages bring new stones to the island on boats to strengthen it. The holiday is very picturesque; many tourists time their holidays to coincide with its date.

The island of St. George is famous for the Benedictine abbey, located here for a long time. You can get to both islands by charter boat, with a tour, or by agreeing on a boat with local residents.

Hotels and apartments in Perast

The tiny town of Perast, which clings to the mountains, literally grown into the rocks, of course, cannot offer a large number of hotels, but in the vicinity of Perast you can find accommodation that will satisfy the most discerning taste. As throughout Montenegro, these can be modern hotels, villas on the seashore, or more or less modest apartments. In any case, tourists are welcome here, and the hospitality is not ostentatious.

Restaurants

There are several restaurants on the embankment offering a menu that is not extensive, but pleasant. The cuisine is mainly Mediterranean, replete with seafood. Civilization is not just empty words here: most restaurants accept plastic cards, some have Wi-Fi. Despite the almost ridiculous size of the city of Perast, there is property for sale here, and among the residents there are several Russians.

Holidays in Perast are unlikely to be suitable for lovers of a bright and noisy life, but for natures inclined to contemplation, romance, and lovers of maritime history, this city is perfect. Here there are many opportunities to enjoy beautiful nature, clean air, delicious seafood and reflect “on exploits, on valor, on glory...”

• Where to stay: at one of the resorts of the Hercegnovskaya Riviera. For example, in ancient and rich in attractions Kotor, tiny Perast, picturesque Risan or modern and cheerful Tivat. Families with children and those who want to improve their health will enjoy the “Botanical Garden of Montenegro” - at the resort