Kotor, verdict by verdict

Kotor sits at the end of Europe's southernmost fjord, a grey-stone Venetian walled town pressed between black mountains and a mirror-calm bay. The old town is compact and medieval, cat-filled lanes winding past St Tryphon cathedral to the sea gate, and the city walls climb 1,350 steps to the Castle of San Giovanni for the best view on the Adriatic south of Dubrovnik.

The real caveats come with the ships. Cruise days transform the old town between 10am and 4pm, when the lanes fill shoulder to shoulder, so checking the cruise schedule before picking dates is the smart move. The single-lane bay road jams in summer, parking at the car-free gates is a fight, the famous walls climb is exposed stone steps with little shade and brutal at midday, and there are no real beaches here, only bathing jetties, with Budva the beach fix.

Two nights beats the one-day cruise stop most visitors give it: one day for the old town and the walls climb before 9am or after 5pm, one for a Perast and Our Lady of the Rocks boat loop, one for Lovcen's serpentine road and the Njegos mausoleum or Budva. May, June and September are the sweet spots. Over Dubrovnik it wins on intimacy and price, arguably more dramatic scenery and the better walls climb at a third cheaper, in exchange for less polish and thinner evenings.