Budva, as one of the oldest urban centers on the Adriatic Sea with a history of over 2,500 years, offers visitors a rich cultural content. The key museums and galleries of the city are located mostly within the walls of the Old Town, making them easily accessible, while part of the cultural and historical wealth can be found in other parts of this coastal municipality.
Museum institutions in the Old Town Budva City Museum: The main historical and archaeological institution in the city, located in a building from the beginning of the 19th century that has been adapted to modern museum standards. The exhibition space covers about 400 m² spread over four floors. The museum preserves a priceless archaeological and ethnographic collection that evokes life in this area from the Illyrians, Greeks, Romans and Slavs, all the way to modern times. Among the exhibits, the famous Hellenistic gold jewelry, Roman glass vessels and objects testifying to the crafts, seafaring and fishing of old Budva stand out. In London, the museum was awarded the prestigious "Green Apple" award for the preservation of authentic cultural and historical values. Citadel (St. Mary's Fortress): The most monumental architectural building within the old city walls, which today functions as an open-air museum, viewpoint and cultural center. Inside the complex there is a valuable collection of precisely made models of historical sailing ships and old ships, as well as an impressive library with rare books, unique geographical maps and testimonies about the maritime past of the Adriatic. "Stefan Mitrov Ljubiša" memorial home: This memorial museum is located in the birthplace of Stefan Mitrov Ljubiša, one of the most important writers, social workers and politicians of this region. The exhibition includes his personal documents, correspondence, first editions of his books, newspaper articles and ethnographic objects from the 19th century that shed light on his work to preserve national identity. The Treasury of Sacred Art in the Church of St. John: It functions as a specific museum space where sacral objects of inestimable value are kept. In addition to church dishes and vestments made of gold and silver, the most valuable icons of the Budva region are kept here, among which the icon of the Virgin with Christ (Budvanska Gospa), the patroness of the city, stands out. Contemporary exhibition spaces and galleries Modern Gallery "Jovo Ivanović": Central place for lovers of contemporary visual art in Budva. It was founded in 1972, and since 2018 it proudly bears the name of its founder and prominent artist Jov Ivanović. Through purchases and gifts, a respectable fund was created, which today numbers more than 400 works of art. The gallery has a superb collection of modern painters from the area of the former Yugoslavia (including works by Petr Lubarda, Milo Milunović, Dada Đurić), as well as works by world-renowned authors, such as Roy Lchtenstein. Cultural institutions on the territory of the municipality (Petrovac) Since the private Museum of Herbs and Spices is permanently closed, the cultural offer of the municipality outside the city center of Budva is equally complemented by Petrovac: "Red Commune" memorial home in Petrovac: This institution functions as part of the Museums and Galleries of Budva. It is located on the Petrovac waterfront itself and preserves the historical memory of the declaration of the first communist municipality on the Adriatic in 1920. Today, the building contains a permanent historical exhibition, but also a contemporary gallery where art exhibitions, literary evenings and film screenings are regularly organized. A visit to these institutions allows visitors to experience Budva, in addition to its natural beauty, as an important historical, cultural and artistic center of the Montenegrin coast.