Gradac is the tourist hub of the Municipality of Gradac. Back in the prehistoric era there was an old settlement there, as witnessed by stone blocks from the Bronze and Early Iron Age. During Classical antiquity, a Roman settlement Civitas Biston was at the site of Gradac. It represented a coastal centre of the colony of Narona and an important Roman stronghold in this part of the Adriatic. Copies of Roman coins and a moulding fragment belonging to a monumental building from 2nd or 3rd Century AD were found at Gradina site.

In the Middle Ages, the writings of Byzantine emperor Constantine testify to the old town called Lapčan (Labinetza). Under its present-day name, Gradac was first mentioned in 1649. It comes from a fortress which was located on the hill above today’s Church of St.  Michael, built during the War of Candia (1645 -1669). The 1666 drawing of naval and land battles between Venetians and Ottomans in Gradac depicts the fortress set on fire.

The remains of abandoned houses built in traditional architectural style of the region can be found in the deserted village of Čista above Gradac. One of the oldest preserved buildings in the Gradac area is the chapel of St. Pasquale on the Plana hill. Next to the old parish church of St. Anthony is a local graveyard, while the new church dedicated to St. Michael was built in 1852.

The history of the earliest inhabitants of the Brist area is witnessed by the graves dating back to the Bronze and Iron Age. Brist is named after the elm tree (brijest in Croatian), and it was first mentioned in 1571. In the old village there is a baroque church dedicated to St. Margaret, built on the site of an older church which had been torn down.

The remnant of the old church – an apse with a Gothic vault – is embedded in the newer church. The gravestones of the Kačić family can be found there. The remains of an old settlement and stone houses are scattered around the church. According to legend, one of them is the birth house of Friar Andrija Kačić Miošić. Today, Brist is a peaceful centre of family tourism in our area. 

Podaca is comprised of three hamlets: Kapeć, Viskovića vala and Ravanje. An archaeological artefact dating back to the Late Stone Age, displayed at the Monastery in Zaostrog, testifies to the first settlements in this area. 

The area of Podaca is packed with archaeological artefacts from the Roman times (a shattered jar with a silver coin of the Roman emperor Severus (193- 211 AD), a wall fragment and a stone capital from the Middle Ages, resembling those found in the early Croatian churches...) 

In Podaca, the old Croatian church of St. John with the Kačić family graves has survived to this day.

Zaostrog was first mentioned in written documents in 1494, but a granite millstone from the Late Stone Age found on the Viter mountain above Zaostrog testifies to old civilizations. Many ancient monuments in the area of Zaostrog witness the Roman times (the relief of dancers and flute players in the traditional Illyrian costumes, the relief of god Mitra as well as two gravestones). 

Following the arrival of Croats, the old settlement was named Ostrog. In 950, the Byzantine emperor Constantine mentions it as one of the four fortified towns in the Principality of Pagania (Mokrun, Berulia, Ostrog, Labinetza). The medieval fortress of Ostrog was located high in the Šapašnik mountain, and a new settlement – Zaostrog – was later built more to the north. In the 17th century people started to form settlements along the coastline, and after 1962 upper settlements were completely abandoned.

The old village of Zaostrog has three churches: the old Gothic Church of St. Barbara with a cemetery on its ancient surroundings, the Church of St. Roch from the 17th Century, and a newer Church of St. Barbara from 1872. There are also three chapels: the one in the village dedicated to St. Anthony in 1893, a Marian chapel at Kučine built in 1911, and the 1894 chapel of St. Elijah at Prosik.

The most important monument in this area is the Franciscan monastery of St. Mary. According to legend, it was founded in the 14th Century by Augustinians. They abandoned it after the fall of Bosnia in 1463. However, in 1468 it was inhabited by Franciscans from the Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena, who have been there ever since. In 1640, an apostolic visitor from Rome declared the monastery in Zaostrog as the most beautiful one in the then province. The 1589 stone inscription above the main entrance to the monastery church was written in Croatian using Bosančica script. At the time, the monastery was a well-known sanctuary included in the list of Marian shrines around the world. It also played a significant role during the Enlightenment period. It housed a primary school, humanistic school, high school, philosophical and theological studies as well as a seminary. Nowadays the monastery houses a rich library containing more than 20 000 books and a large number of archival fonds. The permanent exhibition of artworks by a famous Croatian painter Mladen Veža (1916-2010) is also held there. Among many prominent figures of Croatian culture who lived in Zaostrog are Friar Andrija Kačić Miošić (who died in the monastery) and Friar Ivan Despot. The monastery also houses a botanical garden with over 250 plant species.