Perast Viewpoints: Where to Look Over the Bay and the Islands

Where the views are in Perast: the waterfront, the church tower and the streets above town

Perast runs along one main street that follows the water, with the palaces and churches packed tightly between the road and the hillside behind. The campanile of Sveti Nikola (St Nicholas) Church stands at the curving point of the waterfront and is the landmark you steer by; the town bends around it.

For a raised view you climb rather than drive. The stone stairs above the waterfront thread between the Venetian churches and dwellings, and every few metres gives you a different angle back across the roofs to the water.

Because the town is so compressed, there is no single designated viewpoint and no ticket booth for one. You find the views by walking the length of the waterfront and then taking any of the stairways uphill. For more on the individual churches and palaces, see the Perast attractions guide.

Sveti Nikola Church campanile at the curving point of the waterfront

The campanile of Sveti Nikola is the tall, slender tower that appears in almost every photograph of Perast, standing right at the point where the shore curves. Stand on the waterfront in front of it and you have the two islets framed offshore to one side and the palaces lining the street to the other.

The waterfront in front of the church is also the handiest place to meet a boatman, since the small boats to Gospa od Škrpjela work from the Perast shore rather than from a formal pier. Ask locally about tower access on the day rather than assuming it is available.

Climbing the stone stairs above the waterfront past the Venetian churches and dwellings

The streets above the waterfront are quiet, and this is where the climb pays off. Wandering up most of them took one pair of visitors inside a two-hour visit to the town, with the reward being close-up views of the churches and the roofs stepping down to the bay.

Go early if you want the stairs to yourself. Visitors who started their walk before nine found the old streets pleasant and uncrowded, while the waterfront and the boat queue filled up later in the morning.

Sveti Marko Church and the other uphill buildings give you natural resting points on the way, and the higher streets open the best angle back over the whole town. Wear shoes with grip, since the stone is worn smooth in places.

Zmajević Palace and the view from the top of the stairs

A flight of stone stairs beside a restaurant on the waterfront leads up to Zmajević Palace, and the view from the top is the one people remember. From there the two islets sit clearly offshore, with the bay and the mountains behind them.

Treat this as a viewpoint stop rather than a full attraction: the climb is short, the payoff is the outlook, and it slots easily into a walk along the waterfront. Nearby, Bujović Palace and Museum is the other substantial building along the shore worth noting on your way past.

Viewing the two islets: Gospa od Škrpjela (Our Lady of the Rocks) and Sveti Đorđe (St George)

Two islets lie off Perast and they are not the same proposition. Sveti Đorđe (St George) is a natural island with a church and a graveyard for the old nobility of the area, and it is off-limits to visitors. Gospa od Škrpjela (Our Lady of the Rocks) is the man-made island, and the one boats actually land on.

From the shore you can photograph both, and the pair look better from the mainland than close up, where the smaller island is a single small church and a crowd. Decide whether you want the crossing or just the picture before you queue.

Seeing the islands from the shore versus taking the boat across

Boatmen on the Perast waterfront offer the round trip to Gospa od Škrpjela for €5 per person, with a few minutes' crossing and a pickup about thirty minutes later. Some car parks bundle the crossing into their parking deal at around €10 per person, which is worth understanding before you agree to anything. On the island, entry to the church and museum was reported at €1 by one visitor and €2 by another, so treat the figure as variable, and visitors in swimwear need to cover up before going in. If you only want the view of the two islets, stay on the shore and spend nothing.

If you would rather let someone else handle the boat, the Perast boat tour options from Kotor combine the islands with a drive along the bay. It is worth reading the itinerary before booking.

Best light for the islands: evening on the waterfront as the lamps come on

As the day-trippers leave, Perast changes character. Walking the length of the single main street as dusk falls, with the warm lights coming on along the palaces, gives you the islets silhouetted against a fading sky and far fewer people in the frame.

That timing also solves a practical problem: boat queues and the crowd on Gospa od Škrpjela build through the morning, so an evening walk along the shore gives you the view without the wait. If you want to eat afterwards, browse Perast restaurants before you commit, since the choice is small and fills up.

The road above Perast: free roadside parking and the view down over the town and bay

The main road runs above Perast, and there is limited free roadside parking along it. From there you look straight down over the rooftops and the waterfront to the two islets, which is a different picture from anything you get at street level.

Arriving by car early is the way to make this work. Leaving Kotor at 08:00 avoided the traffic congestion there and got visitors a space at Perast by about 08:30, before the high-season squeeze.

Full details of the car parks at either end of town, the roadside options and what they charge are set out in the Perast parking guide, which is worth reading before you drive in.

How long to allow: two hours for Perast, longer with a swim or a meal

Two hours covers the waterfront, the stairs, Zmajević Palace and a look at the islets. Visitors who walked the main street and most of the uphill lanes spent about that long and felt they had seen the town.

Add time for a swim, a drink on a deck or a sit-down meal, all of which are easy to fit around the viewpoints. If you want lunch rather than a snack, Where to Eat in Perast sets out the options along the waterfront.

Getting there from Kotor by car or the Blue Line bus

The drive from Kotor takes twenty to thirty minutes depending on where you start and the traffic, and the road follows the northern shore of the bay with scenery the whole way. The Blue Line bus from Kotor costs €1 per person and is the cheapest way to arrive without a car.

Coming from further round the bay, the Kamenari–Lepetane ferry lets you make a circular drive back to Kotor rather than retracing the coast road. Check sailing times with the operator on the day, since the crossing is short and frequent rather than timetabled to a minute.

Parking at Perast and what it costs

You cannot drive into the centre of Perast unless you are staying there, because a barrier blocks unauthorised entry. There are two car parks, one at each end of town, reported at €2 for a day, plus paid roadside parking just before the western entrance at €8 per day.

Some private car parks are free on the condition that you buy a crossing to the island through them, which effectively prices the parking at around €10 per person. That is a fair deal for a couple and a poor one for a car full of people paying their own boat fares.

Practical details for the boat trip and the church on the island

The island church was shut when visitors arrived just before 09:00 and opened at about 09:20. If going inside matters to you, plan to land after 09:30 rather than taking the first boat you are offered.

The stated return window of thirty minutes turned out to be more than enough for the island, which is small. Take cash for the crossing and any entrance fee, and remember that shoulders and legs need covering if you have been swimming.

Boat tours from Kotor that stop off Perast and the islands

Boat tours sold along the Kotor waterfront usually run about three hours, cost around €40 per person and stop at the islands off Perast alongside other coastal stops. That is a different experience from paying €5 for a short crossing from the Perast shore, and it does not leave you time in the town itself.

A shorter alternative pairs the scenic drive from Kotor with about forty-five minutes of free time on the Perast shoreline, which suits anyone who wants the panorama and the islets without committing a full morning. Check the current price and departure point with the operator, since these are sold as packages rather than fixed fares.

Which view should you chase first?

Start at the curving point by Sveti Nikola for the classic photograph, climb the stairs to Zmajević Palace for the raised angle over both islets, and finish on the road above town if you have a car. Only take the boat if you want to stand on Gospa od Škrpjela; the view of the two islands is better from the shore.