Belgrade 2.0
- Blog na srpskom
- This site best viewed from Belgrade (but not with Internet Explorer).
-
Sofia, Bulgaria
Here, Slavonic, Balkan and Turkish culture mix up – best represented in the market hall next to the Sofia mosque. Sofia is definitively worth a visit, not only because of the churches and the mosque, but first of all because you just feel well there and it’s nice to go out – just like in Belgrade. Sleep in the nice Youth hostel with very friendly staff and ok prices.
Sofia is connected by one night train and one day train with Belgrade; there is a bus connection as well. -
Budapest, Hungary
There are many cities that are called “Paris of Central Europe”, but Budapest with its castle, parliament building and boulevards is it definitively. So don’t miss it. A day train and a night train are connecting Belgrade with Budapest in about 6 hours; besides there is one daily bus and several minibus companies (but if you’re not driving to the Budapest airport, they are probably not your best choice).
-
Timisoara, Romania
The city in the Romanian Banat is almost more worth a visit than the Romanian capital Bucuresti. There are more parks that you have ever seen in one single city, besides a few churches and a nice pedestrian zone in the old town. Don’t miss to taste delicious Romanian meals. From Timisoara, continue your Romania trip to the Transilvania region in the North-West of the country and you will be deeply impressed by the unique nature.
There is only one daily train from Belgrade to Timisoara, even if the city is just about 200km away. The train leaves Belgrade about 15.30h and the trip lasts about 5-6 hours.
If you are travelling by bicycle or car, try to stop on the way to Timisoara in the Banat town Vrsac; in order to get an impression of how the Vojvodina region looks like. -
Nis, one more fortress
On your way to Greece or to Sofia, you may make a stopover in Nis and visit the third important town of Serbia with it’s fortress for a couple of hours. Staying overnight doesn’t pay out as hotels are too expensive.
There are many busses and trains from Belgrade, the trip over the motorway by bus should last less than 3 hours; by train it’s about 4 hours. International trains to Skopje-Thessaloniki and to Sofia are stopping in Nis. -
Smederevo, the fortress with goats and sheep
Those who want to see a smaller town, which is situated next to Belgrade on the Danube, could visit for instance Smederevo. It may be reached in a one-hour bus-trip from Belgrade. The very large fortress next to the river is impressive. Not because of magnificent walls of towers, but probably there are few other fortresses where you will find goats and sheep eating grass and waiting for better times… Smederevo offers you furthermore a pedestrian street with a few coffees and a nice church on the central square.
-
Subotica
Subotica, the multi-ethnic experience next to the Hungarian borders
Sited next to the Hungarian border, undoubtedly the former Yugoslav leader Tito would feel splendid in Subotica, as it’s the mostly ethnically mixed town nowadays in the former Yugoslavia. This is not only reflected by the many languages that are spoken, but as well by the present religions. There is a huge synagogue, one of the largest on the Western Balkans (but nowadays almost not used any more and in a very bad state), and different churches. In this town, ethnic groups still life side by side. Like in Novi Sad, the Austrian-Hungarian culture had an important influence on the town; streets are clean and well-ordered; tourist information works professionally, the architecture reflects the Austrian dominance.
The most known monument is the reddish municipality building in the very centre; well known is as well the zoo “Palic” that may be reached in a 20-minutes bus trip by local bus, situated next to a small lake near the Hungarian borders.
Trains from Belgrade (every 2-4 hours) or frequent busses reach Subotica in a 3-hour-trip. The daily train and the night train to Budapest-Vienna both stop in Subotica. -
Novi Sad, the capital of Vojvodina
Novi Sad is the second important town in Serbia and one of the nicest ones, sited on the river Danube. Have a walk through the car free old town – just renovated in view of the Basketball championship in 2005 – with its gothic catholic cathedral. While life in Belgrade is more hectic and pulsing, in Novi Sad you may relax in the cleaned historic streets; sit down in one of the many coffee shops; visit the city park (a plaque at the entry informs you in Serbo-Croatian that it’s a “second category” park; however it’s a little bit better than that…) with the pond. You will recognise easily the very different style of architecture than in Belgrade, as Novi Sad until WWI was part of the Austrian-Hungarian empire. After having visited Belgrade, you will feel like if you missed the street, left Serbia and unexpectedly arrived in a German or Austrian country town. And if you stay overnight, you will find all kinds of clubs for going out.
On the south side of the Danube, next to the town centre, visit the “Petrovaradin” fortress but don’t get cheated at the fortress museum – avoid paying an astronomic price for the entry, it’s not worth it…
In the summer, half the town takes sunbaths on the sandy beach next to the newly rebuilt motorway bridge, and swims in the Danube, even if the water is incredibly dirty. But there are showers…
In the early days of July, the Petrovaradin hosts the magnificent and gigantic Rock festival “EXIT” that attracts visitors from all around the Balkans to listen to domestic and foreign music stars and many different styles of music.
Trains from Belgrade (every 2 hours) or busses (twice an hour) reach Novi Sad in about 1 ½ hours. The daily train and the night train to Budapest-Vienna both stop in Novi Sad. -
Avala, Belgrade’s city hill, covered in monuments
If after the polluted Belgrade air you feel like going to a nature resort, the Avala hill is certainly the best choice. Take the tramway 9, 10, or 14 or the trolleybus 40 or 41 to Banjica, where you may take one of many city busses that reach the foot of the Avala hill in a 20-minutes-trip. On several footpaths you may walk through the forest in about one hour to the top of the hill. There, you find the former TV transmitter (that was crushed in the 1999 war), an old-style hotel, built in 1924, (with communist-style bad service in the hotel restaurant). On the way, you may cross natural springs. Don’t miss the monument in the south-east of the peak that was erected after a Soviet delegation died in a airplane crash on the Avala in 1964. And on the very top, you will reach a huge monument for the Unknown Soldier in WWI.
-
Kotor, Montenegro
On the Kotor bay, there are several nice places to spend your summer holidays on the sea in Montenegro. It’s definitively the closest sea resort from Belgrade. Kotor itself is a very nice Mediterranean town, but has no real beach. Other small, but nice towns on the Kotor bay are Herceg Novi (next to the Croatian border) or Perast. The most frequented beach resort on the Montenegrin coast is Budva, Albanians like to visit Ulcinj, in the very south as there the Albanian speaking minority lives.
During the season, there are many busses and trains that will arrive in a daytrip or in a long night trip to the coast. -
Prizren
Prizren, small picturesque town next to the Albanian border.
If you plan to travel to Kosovo, Prizren definitively is nicer than Pristina, with a nice old town, but quite small. The city is just a few kilometres from the Albanian border. -
Pristina, Kosovo
Pristina, little to see, but good nightlife in Kosovo.
Pristina doesn’t have any old buildings and doesn’t seem to have be planned at all: If exceptionally there are no people in the streets, the very city centre looks like a dormitory town outside a metropolis. But Pristina is reported to have a great nightlife.
Hotels are expensive. Pristina may be reached by one daily and two night buses from Belgrade in about 6 hours trip. -
Skopje, the modern town in Macedonia
As the town was nearly completely destroyed in a earthquake in the 1960s, there are few monuments that may attract tourists. Visit the Turkish market and the fortress on the Western side of the river. The old train station – only half the train station survived the earthquake – is testimony of this catastrophe. The town centre is nicely renovated and there is a huge pedestrian zone, as well as boulevards along the river.
Don’t plan to stay overnight in Skopje as hotels still don’t function according to market rules – prices are too high, even a bed in the Youth hostel costs as few as 25 Euros (but should be very nice). There are two daily trains and one night train to Belgrade, the trip lasts about 9 hours. -
Bled, mountain lake with romantic island - Slovenia
On the foot of the Slovenian alps, this small town is very popular by tourists, due to it’s lake and because it’s a good starting points for tours in the Slovenian alps. International trains from Belgrade to Munich and Zurich stop in the small station Lesce-Bled or in Jesenice from where there should be some local train or bus connections, but better check for this yourself.
-
Ljubljana, the small jewel with fortress - Slovenia
Coffees and restaurants around the river, fortress, well maintained city parks outside town centre, and huge portions of food in restaurants; this is Ljubljana. The city is undoubtedly very well maintained, as economy in Slovenia is going very well, but there are not so many things to see that it would be worth staying more than one or two days.
Ljubljana may be reached by several day trains and a night train from Belgrade in about 9 hours. -
Zagreb, the Western metropolis - Croatia
Zagreb is undoubtedly the “Western” city in the former Yugoslavia. Shopping streets with all kind of boutiques you may think of remind rather Western Europe than the Western Balkans. There are some monuments to see, situated around the cathedral hill. Don’t miss the old town where not only parliament and government buildings, but as well many museums stand. And to go out, the most fancy coffees are situated around the small lake outside town where you will find – like anywhere in the Balkans – expensive cars and mini skirts. And hills in the east of town, reachable by tramway, are worth a walk. Zagreb is nice to visit and moreover easy to reach (6 hours by train from Belgrade, several day trains and one night train), but don’t plan too many days, as more interesting places like Sarajevo or Mostar are very near.
Even if the official Youth hostel is situated very close to the train station, travellers that appreciate comfort, cleanness and friendly service should absolutely avoid it (other Youth hostels where we have been on the Balkans were all very recommendable). Tourists reported that there is an other private hostel outside centre that is very nice and not expensive. -
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik, pearl of the Yugoslavian Adriatic sea – Croatia
Visitors are heavily impressed by the beauty of this old town on the sea, even if it’s too crowded with tourists and prices are raising. After visiting the really splendid old town, you may have a bath in the sea, for example on the crowded beach behind the old harbour, from where you may swim many, many kilometres through the huge bay.
Unfortunately, Dubrovnik is very badly connected with Belgrade, except by your own bicycle or car… From Montenegro, just 30 kilometres from Dubrovnik, it is nearly impossible to get there by ordinary line buses; there are daytrips organised from Kotor or Herceg Novi. – But probably it’s easier to take the long way over Sarajevo and Mostar. -
Mostar
Mostar, the most famous bridge on the Balkans (beside Visegrad) – Bosnia and Hercegovina
The old Turkish bridge, that was destroyed in the war, stands again and attracts many tourists to the town of Mostar on the river Neretva. But as well the streets around the old bridge are very picturesque and are now about to be restored.
Mostar is connected by bus or few trains with Sarajevo (about 3 hours), furthermore there are direct buses from Belgrade and further to Zagreb or the Adriatic harbour Split.
The freshest tourist attraction in this lively town is the monument to Bruce Lee, first one in the world. -
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Sarajevo, the multi-cultural metropolis in the middle of the Bosnian mountains – Bosnia and Hercegovina
The most famous tourist attractions are the city square where you will find the Serbian-orthodox, the Roman-catholic church and a mosque side by side, the Turkish market Bascarsia (where you absolutely have to eat the typical Sarajevo meatballs Cevapi and afterwards the Turkish sweet Baklava), the eternal flame (WWII monument) or the national library that after having been damaged in the 1992-1995 war is about to be renovated. All those attractions are situated around a crowded pedestrian street that leads through the whole old town. Sarajevo lies in a long valley in the middle of several mountains, along the Bosna river. In the “tunnel museum” you may visit the tunnel where people and goods were smuggled under the airport into town centre during the Sarajevo siege by Serbian troops from 1992 until 1995. The museum lies outside of town, behind the airport; is reachable by tramway and bus, and is too expensive, but worth a visit. You may save the money you’ve spent for by staying in probably one of Europe’s best Youth Hostels with double rooms with your own bathroom (about 12 Euro by person), just some minutes foot walk uphill from town centre; it makes part of the Bijelave student dormitory.
In the winter, the Jahorina Mountain next to Sarajevo attracts ski tourist.
Travelling to Sarajevo from Belgrade is a mess, as bus companies think they have still to fight a war against Bosnia instead of serving their customers. Several daily and night busses are stopping in irrelevant places like the mountain village Pale, but instead of driving to the central bus station, they go round the city and arrive after about seven hours trip in the so-called “Srpsko Sarajevo” from where you can reach the town centre only difficultly.
