Souvenir hunters

Wherever you visit a foreign destination, especially for the first time, a keepsake of your visit in the form of a souvenir is a must. A quick walk down the Stradun will reveal a plethora of choices, but what is a must buy and what is not. Dubrovnik and Croatia have many traditional souvenirs that are of a high quality and indigenous to the area and here are just a few of those:

Lavender

The Queen of fragrances, Lavender, has a long tradition in Croatia. Its pastel purple blossom is a part of the Dalmatian landscape. Today dried lavender in small canvas bags is sold as an authentic souvenir. It is a relatively inexpensive gift for friends and family and can also be bought in an oil form.

Olive oil

Olive oil is the most used fruit juice drained from a plant. The Mediterranean people have considered olive oil as sacred for thousands years. The best kind of olive oil is virgin olive oil (extra virgin), and there are still many subclasses depending on taste and need. Some souvenir shops will sell home made olive oil from the villages around Dubrovnik and this although normally darker in color has a stronger and clearer taste.

Embroidery from Konavle

The embroidery from Konavle, so - called "Poprsnica", is a basic decorative textile element of female national costume. It is made in technique of the counting of the threads of the basic fabric tissue. A strictly symmetric ornament contains the numberless decorative motives. It is originally embroidered with home - made silk thread. The silk is dyed by natural colors with emphasized red, black or dark green ornaments separated with white passages and decorated with golden - yellow tassels. Its possible to find this traditional form of embroidery in the shops in the Old City as well as from local producers who sell their goods in street markets. Haggle for the best price!

Fine wines

Croatian wines certainly belong to some of the best wines in the world. Croatia boasts more than 300 geographically-defined wine regions which produce 67 percent white, 32 percent red and the remaining 1 percent rose wines. Why not pick up a local bottle of fine wine as a great souvenir. Famous wines include Dingac and Postup from the Peljesac Peninsula, then there are Posip and Grk from Korcula; Marastina from the island of Lastovo; Malmsey from Dubrovnik, etc.

Traditional fruit and herbal liquors

Plums are especially popular. A famous plum brandy is made in continental Croatia; cherries are used for making cherry brandy, known in the Zadar area as maraschino. Aromatic herbs are often added to grape brandy and marc to produce herb–flavored brandy. Dried fruits, such as dried figs and apricots, are also popular and are often sold in decorative baskets.

Cravat

Handmade silk ties are among the best-known Croatian souvenirs. At the beginning, the cravat (tie) was a kerchief worn by Croatian soldiers in the 17th century. In the 18th century, in the form of a broad white scarf, it became part of the traditional male national costume. After that, ties became fashionable, a modern fashion accessory.

Rakia

Rakia is hard liquor similar to brandy and vodka, popular in Croatia and among the people in Dalmatia. The tradition of making and drinking rakia as well as all other distilled beverages, is maybe not as developed as the corresponding wine tradition. However, the two of them are certainly intertwined, since the process of distillation as we know it today was first used by South Italian monks approximately a thousand years ago. Many shops in Dubrovnik specialize in rakia blended with herbs and grasses, as well as now selling it in decorated bottles.

Painted eggs

Easter eggs are specially decorated eggs given out to celebrate the Easter holiday or springtime. The oldest tradition is to use dyed and painted chicken eggs. The finest eggs today are intricately decorated by hand with miniature paintings and symbols. The oval shape of the egg brings the paintings to life with a view of dimensionality.

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