Risan

Getting there

Risan is on the shore road round the inner bay, 17.8 km from Kotor through Perast, about half an hour. The Kamenari-Lepetane ferry, 11.9 km away on the Herceg Novi side, is the shortest way to Tivat, its airport and Budva; without it, drive through Perast and Kotor. Inland, the road via Grahovo, with its memorial park, leads to Nikšić and on to Žabljak and Durmitor. No official parking information is published for Risan. Times are without traffic and, for ferry routes, without the crossing and the wait.

By bus. The Blue Line local line Risan-Kotor (ŠC) runs along the bay through Perast; ŠC is the stop by the sports centre next to Kotor's Old Town, not the intercity station. The timetable and fares are on the Kotor municipality's public transport page (Blue Line office +382 32 331 635), and intercity routes are in the buses guide.

The Roman mosaics

The Roman mosaics (Rimski mozaici) are the floors of a 2nd-century town villa covering 790 m². One shows Hypnos, the god of sleep; other rooms have geometric and floral patterns. Dušan Vuksan, director of the State Museum in Cetinje, found the villa in 1930; an Italian team dug and reburied it in 1942, and the site was laid out in works of 1956-1960. It opens Tuesday to Sunday 10:00-16:00 all year and is closed on Mondays, for all of January and on a few holidays. A ticket is €6 (€4 for children up to 12); the €15 Muzeji Kotor joint ticket also covers the Perast Museum and three sites in Kotor, so it pays if you do the bay in one day.

Ancient Rhizon

The Greeks called the town Rhizon and the Romans Risinium, and under Rome it was a town of Roman citizens. Classical authors linked it with the myth of Cadmus and Harmonia, founders of Boeotian Thebes, who came to the land of the Illyrian Enchelei. Polybius tells of the Illyrian queen Teuta taking refuge in Risan, which he presents as impregnable, and Strabo called the whole Bay of Kotor Sinus Risonicus, a name that lasted into the Middle Ages. Fresh water and a good landing are what made the place grow.

Excavations show three phases: an Illyrian pre-urban settlement, a proto-urban town under Hellenistic influence and a Roman town with forum buildings, squares, public buildings and a water supply; a comedy mask suggests theatre performances, though a theatre outside the walls is only a hypothesis. Arthur Evans found Hellenistic objects at the Carine site; in 1950 students of the Herceg Novi art school dug there and found larger sacred buildings; the heritage institute from Cetinje uncovered foundations of large buildings, a well and pieces of marble statues in 1968; and a University of Warsaw team dug in 2004-2007 and again from 2011, at Carine and on Građine hill above the ancient town. No visitor information is published for the excavation areas, so the mosaics are the one site you can enter.

Later history

Risan was under Ottoman rule from 1482 to 1684, with short breaks in 1538-1539 and 1670-1671, and under Venice from 1684 to 1797. The 2011 census counted 2,048 residents, the 2023 census 1,899; in Kotor municipality only Dobrota and Škaljari are larger. Its hospital was built in 1938-1941 with a donation of about 600,000 US dollars from Vaso Ćuković, whose name it bears.

Around Risan

• Perast, 4.3 km towards Kotor, with the Perast Museum and boats to Our Lady of the Rocks and St George.
• Strp, about 3 km towards Herceg Novi, has an underwater archaeological site of the 4th to 7th century; Strp and Lipci are small summer resorts.
• Lipci, past Strp, has a rock shelter with prehistoric paintings of running deer and geometric motifs, among the oldest wall paintings in the Balkans: a panel of about 10 m² on a cliff about 7 m above the ground, the upper figures 35-45 cm long, reachable only with climbing gear. From Lipci the road turns north towards Nikšić and Durmitor.
• Morinj, the largest settlement on the western shore of the Kotor-Risan bay, had the first primary school in Boka (1803) and its first library (1843) and keeps two water-powered olive mills; Upper Morinj, at 480 m, has a wide view of the bay. Kostanjica is the last settlement of the northern shore.

Swimming

The harbour takes up the centre of Risan, so swimming is from several small beaches of sand, pebble and concrete platforms at the two ends of town, at the entrance and the exit. Morinj, the next bay to the west, has a sand-and-pebble beach on a cape below the main road, with a small channel behind it leading to a marina. The bathing season runs from May to October; the beaches page covers the rest of the bay.

Events

• April, Boka Bay Trail. The 60 km Red Trail starts in Risan, the 34 km Blue Trail at the Perast Museum and the 17 km Green Trail at Porto Montenegro; all three finish at St Tryphon's Cathedral in Kotor. The race was first run in 2021.
• June, Risanski makaruli. A festival of home-made pasta organised by the Women of Risan, with dishes such as sukani and makaruli with toć, pesto or cheese; it opens the cultural summer. See Montenegro in June and local cuisine.
• September, X-Waters. An open-water swim from Risan to Perast, held since 2019 over 1 mile, 4.5 km or 7 km; see Montenegro in September.
• Orthodox Christmas Eve. The badnjak is lit in front of the Church of Sts Peter and Paul; times are in the Christmas guide. The local community also organises traditional feasts through the year.

Practical information

The special hospital “Vaso Ćuković” treats orthopaedics, physical medicine and rehabilitation, neurosurgery, plastic surgery, neurology and radiology (switchboard +382 32 371 099 and 371 502, admissions 24 hours +382 69 041 455). For emergencies call 124 or 112; the clinical hospital centre for the bay is in Kotor. Montefarm's pharmacy is in the Risan health centre (Monday to Friday 07:00-14:00, Saturday 08:00-13:00, +382 67 148 453; see pharmacies). The post office (postcode 85337) is open 08:00-14:30, ATMs stand at Carine, at Bujevina 92 and on the square, and the BS Risan filling station is at Bujevina 92 (+382 32 301 136).

When to visit

The mosaics keep the same hours all year except January, when they are closed. The bathing season runs from May to October, the trail race is in April, the pasta festival in June and the swim to Perast in September. From November to March, Perast and Risan make one of the day trips from Kotor that still works, with both museums on winter hours.

Questions

How far is Risan from Kotor?

17.8 km by the shore road through Perast, about half an hour without traffic.

Is there a bus from Kotor to Risan?

Yes: the Blue Line local line Risan-Kotor (ŠC), which also passes Perast. The timetable is on the Kotor municipality's public transport page.

When are the Roman mosaics open?

Tuesday to Sunday 10:00-16:00 all year, closed on Mondays and for all of January; the ticket is €6.

What is Risan known for?

As the oldest settlement on the Bay of Kotor: the ancient Rhizon where Queen Teuta took refuge, with the Hypnos mosaic of a Roman villa as its one open site.

Is there a beach in Risan?

Small beaches of sand, pebble and concrete platforms at both ends of town; the harbour fills the centre.

How do I get from Risan to Nikšić?

By the inland road via Grahovo: 76.7 km, about 1 h 34 without traffic.

What is the hospital in Risan?

The special hospital for orthopaedics, neurosurgery and neurology “Vaso Ćuković”, built in 1938-1941 with a donation from Vaso Ćuković; for general emergencies the hospital centre is in Kotor.

How many people live in Risan?

1,899 at the 2023 census.