Trsteno – The Most Beautiful Place in the World

If I had to choose the most beautiful place I have ever been, it would undoubtedly be the Arboretum in Trsteno.

There are two other places of exceptional beauty – Marjan hill in Split and a field from my childhood in Ograđenik – but both locations carry a strong sentimental dimension where objectivity is lost, so I usually exclude them from the competition.

I appreciate both the northern and tropical types of beauty. I love mountains, rivers, and lakes. Wherever you go, nature is stunning, but I still consider the Mediterranean a class of its own. It is a place of extraordinary beauty, moderation, an ideal climate, and minimal fluctuations of any kind. A crossroads of cultures that has witnessed the beauty of living since the dawn of civilization. The Mediterranean is an ode to life, and Trsteno has somehow managed to extract the very essence of it all.

The Alcazar gardens in Seville are beautiful, as are the gardens of the magnificent Alhambra in Granada, but my heart remains 18 km before Dubrovnik. Perhaps this place perfectly resonates with my sensibility, and maybe others don’t perceive it the same way? Anything is possible, but since my childhood, Trsteno has been an unavoidable stop on my journey south.

And so, while I occasionally sit in the shade of the magnificent plane trees by the main road, I somehow feel sorry for all those vehicles with foreign license tags rushing toward Dubrovnik, never suspecting that in their haste, blinded by the great jewel, they have just passed the brightest one of all and will likely never see its ethereal beauty. Yet, in a way, I am also glad. So I sit and enjoy the silence, and then I walk down to the arboretum, happy that all those foreign plates still haven’t discovered it.

The Arboretum will always welcome you with joy, and it will be especially pleased to show you its full glory in late spring, when the vegetation is in full bloom and when it most clearly articulates the primordial message of the Dubrovnik noblemen…

VICINIS LAUDOR SED AQUIS ET SOSPITE CAELO
PLUS PLACEO ET CULTUS SPLENDIDIORIS HERI
HEAC TIBI SUNT HOMINUM VESTIGIA CERTA VIATOR
ARS UBI NATURAM PERFICIT APTA RUDEM

Text from the Latin inscription plaque dating back to 1502.