Perast sits between Risan and Kotor in the Bay of Kotor. If you come by boat it is immediately in front of you as you enter the bay. Saint George Island is the first island to catch your eye. It is not only the first island but it also has towering cyprus trees which shade the Benedictine abbey. Saint George was originally under the jurisdiction of Kotor and the church collected taxes for Kotor from the citizens of Perast. According to legend this practice lead to the development of Our Lady of the Rocks which is a man-made island only a few hundred feet from Saint George. Supposedly the citizens of Perast were upset with their tax dollars going to Kotor. After they stoned the priest on Saint George to death the entire town was excommunicated. Although this edict was rescinded only a few years later it apparently gave rise to Our Lady of the Rocks. Our Lady of the Rocks was built over time on a reef which barely showed. Citizens of Perast sunk ships loaded with rocks and delivered stones to enlarge the island over time. This practice continues today on every July 22 when a procession of boat carry more rocks to extend the island. The Church of our Lady of the Rocks is not particularly attractive but the museum above it is worthwhile visiting. Unfortunately, it is a very popular tourist attraction. Boats from Kotor arrive with hundreds of tourists at a time. The better planners go to Perast and take a small boat over. The large cruise ships frequently circle the island as they depart the bay after a day in Kotor. Our favorite was to hire a small boat. Our boatman provided a nice bottle of wine and we viewed the islands as we enjoyed an early evening ride around and out of the bay. We would have given it five stars but for the tourist traffic. We stayed two weeks in Perast which we thoroughly enjoyed. It was not touristy except when the buses came to drop off visitors for the day.