Well-preserved archeological finds point to the fact that the area had already been settled during the prehistoric times. At the site of an earlier Illyrian settlement, Greeks built their colony Epidauros, to be taken over later by the Romans and renamed Epidaurum. This ancient settlement was completely destroyed some time in the 7th century, and the area saw the beginning of the Middle Ages empty and devastated. However, in the mid-15th century, Cavtat experienced a phase of intensified building and development.

The town's great architectural value lies in the fact that it has managed to keep its medieval town-planning structure intact. A great number of country-houses were built in Cavtat in the period of Renaissance, and this type of architecture remained the central feature of the town's image until today.

Cavtat's landscape architecture could be divided in two different groups. The first group includes the old, badly kept gardens belonging to Renaissance summer-houses. The second group refers to the public parks and gardens created some time during the 19th century, such as Bogišić's Garden in the centre of Cavtat and Ante Starčević's Promenade stretching along the coast.