SOMETHING WAS missing in Dubrovnik. I stood atop the thick, imposing walls of this Croatian medieval city looking out at the rickety red-tiled roofs, the shimmering, wintry Adriatic Sea just beyond. Then I turned my gaze to Stradun, the wide, limestone-clad pedestrian street that cuts through the walled town and the city’s main public promenade since the 13th century. Some people milled about chatting; others slowly paraded down the lane.

The missing element? A throng of tourists. What a difference a season makes in Dubrovnik....