Budva - Montenegro, Europe

Budva (Serbian, Montenegrin: Будва, Budva, Italian: Budua, Greek: Μπούντβα, Budva) is a coastal town in Montenegro. It has around 15,000 inhabitants, and it is the centre of municipality. The coastal area around Budva, called the Budvanska rivijera, is the centre of Montenegro's tourism, and is well known for its sandy beaches, diverse nightlife, and examples of Mediterranean architecture. Budva is 2,500 years old, which makes it one of the oldest settlements on the Adriatic sea coast. A catastrophic earthquake struck Budva on 15 April 1979. Much of old town was devastated, but today there is little evidence of the catastrophe – almost all the buildings were restored to their original form. Budva is the capital of Montenegrin tourism. With over 330,000 guests in the 2007 summer season, it is by far the most popular tourist destination in Montenegro. Budva is connected to inland Montenegro by two-laned highways. There are two ways to reach Budva from Podgorica – either through Cetinje, or through the Sozina tunnel (opened 2005). Either way, Podgorica, the capital and main road junction in Montenegro, is around 60 km (37 mi) away. Budva has a typical Mediterranean climate, with warm summers and mild winters, and 230 sunny days in a year. Budva comes among the warmest Mediterranean towns with an average temperature of 8 °C (46 °F) in January and 29 °C (84.2 °F) in July. The average summertime temperature is 25 °C (77.0 °F) and 9.3 °C (48.7 °F) in the winter. The temperature of the sea reaches up to 24.7 °C (76.5 °F) in the summer months, while it keeps between 18 °C (64 °F) and 19 °C (66 °F) in the autumn.