While Dubrovnik swelters in temperatures of around 35°C, Christmas has made an unexpectedly early appearance on the city’s most famous street.
A Christmas Shop has opened its doors on Stradun, filling its windows with colourful baubles, nativity scenes and festive decorations at the height of the Mediterranean summer. Outside, visitors seek shade and cold drinks; inside, they browse ornaments more commonly associated with winter evenings, decorated trees and cups of hot chocolate.
The contrast is difficult to miss. Tourists dressed in shorts, summer dresses and sandals are stopping to admire Christmas balloons and choosing decorations to carry home – some six months before the festive season begins.
A Little Christmas Magic Under the Summer Sun
It may seem unusual to shop for Christmas decorations during an August holiday, but festive souvenirs have long attracted international visitors to Dubrovnik. Many travellers collect ornaments from the destinations they visit, turning each decoration into a memory of a particular journey. Dubrovnik’s established Christmas Shop has built its reputation around handcrafted ornaments and locally inspired festive souvenirs, attracting customers throughout the year.
Now, with a shop directly on Stradun, Christmas has become part of Dubrovnik’s busiest summer promenade.
Against the backdrop of glowing limestone, cloudless skies and intense August heat, the sight of baubles, angels and nativity scenes creates one of the Old Town’s most unusual seasonal contrasts.
In Dubrovnik, apparently, there is no need to wait for December. Christmas can arrive even when the temperature reaches 35°C.
