Montenegro: a tiny country of huge contrasts
Shiny newness and medieval towns combine to make this a perfect holiday destination
Louisa Walters is Features Editor at the Jewish News and specialises in food and travel writing
This is what Montenegro doesn’t have: MacDonalds, Starbucks, main roads. Well, it does have a few of those, but not in the way you would expect of a country that is fast becoming a hotspot for holidays. This tiny country has a population of just 600,000 and only 180 miles of coastline. It is incredibly beautiful, the weather is superb and recent investment and a positive government approach to tourism has resulted in spectacular marina developments which are home to some of the most exclusive boats in the world, including Azzam, the world’s largest super yacht.
By all accounts the ’in’ place is Porto Montengro in Tivat (fly directly to Tivat with EasyJet or it’s a two-hour drive from Podgorica or Dubrovnik), a marina town developed by a Canadian billionaire. At its centre is the Regent, a large, deluxe hotel overlooking the marina and surrounded by superb restaurants and luxury boutiques. Tranquil during the day, with only the occasional movement of sailing vessels coming in to port, the area comes alive at night with beautifully dressed, elegant people strolling through the streets.
We ate at the hotel’s Murano restaurant, an idyllic outdoor setting overlooking the luxury boats. It’s warm enough to sit out at night most of the year. We enjoyed sea bass crudo and beef tartar followed by sole with lemon gnocchi and a grilled tuna steak, and pineapple ceviche to finish. The local wines are wonderful and inexpensive and I loved the fact that all staff are from if not the town then certainly the country. You learn so much by chatting to locals.
A short drive away is Lustica Bay. An Egyptian company is pouring billions in to this area and has so far created a serenely beautiful marina village with upmarket shops, fancy restaurants and a beach club, plus there are villas, apartments the and super-luxury Chedi hotel.
We had lunch on the terrace at The Spot restaurant, a seven-course tasting menu that features the most outstanding tomato dish (peeled pickled cherry tomatoes, basil ice-cream, mozzarella and brioche crumb artfully arranged inside a giant tomato).
Away from the shiny newness there is so much to soak up. We visited the medieval fortress town of Kotor with its maze of cobbled streets and climbed up the ramparts to have a drink with majestic views over the bay. We took a taxi to Perast, a tiny and impossibly pretty fishing village lined with seafront restaurants that overlook the small island Our Lady of the Rock which houses a church and museum. We took a short ferry ride to the divine restaurant Catovica Mlini which is set in the prettiest gardens you ever did see.
There are about 500 Jews in Montenegro. At the start of the Holocaust, Jews from nearby regions took refuge in the mountainous area but German troops managed to find most of them. About 300 hidden in the north and coastal towns escaped deportation and survived. It is their descendants who make up the bulk of the present-day Jewish community.
The government focus seems to be on an upmarket clientele (they are after all the ones who will sail their yachts in to the marinas) and seven five-star hotels will be in place by the 2030s. A golf course is planned and there are luxury villas and apartments being built everywhere.
And the best thing of all – the beauty, the elegance and the luxury is at least a third cheaper than anything comparable in Italy, Spain or France.
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