A few years ago the tourist brochures stated that Herceg Novi was “a stone picture and a master piece of civilization, but it is also a marvelous botanic garden”. It has existed for seven centuries. Its dense Mediterranean greenery, unusual scenery around is mostly the result of generations of seamen bringing and planting the seeds of palms, oleanders, eucalyptus, agaves, cactuses, bamboos, magnolias, and the other exotic plants. This town of “the eternal greenery, sun and promenades” was described by the Nobel Prize recipient Ivo Andric, who like many other writers, "spent the autumn of his life” in Herceg Novi.

It was established by the Bosnian king Tvrtko I in the spring of 1382. His successor and nephew Stjepan Vukcic - Kosaca, known as Herceg Stjepan, made it a town. The town was named after him. Along with its neighbor Dubrovnik, Herceg Novi became a significant economic, political, and cultural center by the sea.

Not only the Turks were trying to control it but the Spanish, the Venicians, the French, the Russians, and the Austria-Hungarians as well. Every imperial and major power has left significant traces of their civilization in numerous fortifications and in sacral and other constructions. That is why Herceg Novi is a treasury of different styles, from oriental to baroque architecture. The most significant towers are Forte mare, Spanjola, and Kanli Kula. To these towers are turned into summer stages where traditional film, musical and theater festivals take place. The fortresses on the little islands of Mamula, Prevlaka and Arza are located at the very entrance of Boka Kotorska bay, and they represent the monuments and heritage of the hundred year reign of the Austria-Hungarian empire.