Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, feels like a small town that is ever-expanding. For me, it’s not what I expect a capital city to be like. There isn’t really a downtown in the busy city sense. Republic Square, the centre of the Old City, has few buildings with more than three or four stories. This means that a short walk from the centre of town takes you on cobble-stone streets with locally run restaurants, cafes, pubs, workshops, butchers, and markets. Hop out of town for some late-night partying over the water. Spend a lazy afternoon wandering the grounds of a massive stone fortress turned central park. And grab some fresh food and drink from the market, the bakery, the grocer, direct from the butcher, or at your favourite brewery.

The Temple Of Saint Sava

Standing on a plateau a bit south of the historic downtown of Belgrade, the Church of Saint Sava towers about the neighbouring structures. This is one of the largest churches in the world and the history is pretty interesting. The church is named after the founder of Serbian Orthodoxy Saint Sava. In the late 1500s, the Ottomans burned his coffin and various relics. About 300+ years later, historians roughly estimated the site of this burning and they started building this huge construction with the best guess of where it happened. The building itself is fascinating. Apparently, much of the structure and design was modelled after the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. Huge eastern mosaics, gold domes, and symmetry everywhere make it feel much like its model in Turkey.

Republic Square

The confluence of most routes about the city, Republic Square is where everything starts. Home to many of the important buildings of the city, every street departing from the square leads to restaurants, cafes, brewpubs, clubs, and more. This is where you meet to start your evening or late afternoon. And it is where students sit by the main statue and discuss plans over the first beer of the night.

Skadarlija

This area, just northeast of Republic Square, is a vintage section of the city filled with traditional restaurants, live music, and cafes. Make sure to look down the alleyways and into courtyards to find some of the best locations for a drink in Belgrade. Cobblestone pathways and pedestrian sections of the road give this area a true small-town vibe in the middle of the capital of Serbia.

Kalemegdan Fortress Or Central Park

Kalemegdan is an old military fortress that now serves as the main greenspace for the city of Belgrade. The gates are open and the grounds are free to the public, so there are often families setting up picnics or college students having early drinks around the territory. When visiting, don’t forget to visit the Pobednik statue and catch the view of the rivers meeting, the main reason the city even exists here.

Nikola Tesla Museum

The Nikola Tesla Museum is one of many across the world, but here, in Serbia, the man remains a celebrity even today. The museum is dedicated to his life, not only his creations. At times, the museum goes back and forth between a science museum and a shrine to the man’s life. You can see various models of some of his most important contributions to the world as well as collections of his belongings. Guided tours are required and available every hour on the hour while the museum is open. The ticket price with the tour is 800RSD ($7.50) for foreigners.

Splav Hopping – Late Night Life In Belgrade

Noise and last-call restrictions in the city centre of Belgrade have chased the late-night partiers across the water. A short taxi to the “splavs” will drop you on a stretch of the river with barge after barge of floating debauchery. Here, restaurants, bars, and clubs are free of the restrictions in the city and so the party goes longer, louder, and with much fewer rules than you might find at a nice gastropub off Republic Square. On my last visit, they were all free, with no cover charges to get in. But some might have a guest list or tickets if there is live music.

Donji Grad Coast

Donji Grad is a suburb of Belgrade with a coast line right as the river splits around Zemunski Kej. This little offshoot of the Danube has slower waters and an escape from the large boat traffic of the main river. Along the water’s edge several hostels, cafes, bars, and restaurants have sprung up for the travelers that want to escape the main city. Most places have kayaks or SUPs included in the room rate. And people are in and out of the water between drinks. If you are here in the summer and need to escape the heat. This is the place to stay.

Cevapi And More Butcher Shop

Cevapi is one of the national dishes of Serbia. It’s a long rolled-out meatball with delicious spicy seasoning grilled over an open flame. Usually, it is served with raw onion, maybe garlic, and a plain bun to roll it all up in. There are many restaurants to get this, but the best option is to go to one of the local butchers around the central market. Here, you can buy many cuts of meat, pay by the gram, and then pay an extra dollar or so to have them cook it for you as fresh as it comes.

Repubblica

On the southern corner of Republic Square, you can find the best kebab in Serbia. Although kebabs are largely the same across the board, there are a few add-ons here that make it simply the best. At Repubblica, they have a full Subway-esque bar where you get to choose what goes in. Make sure to include the spicy cheese spread and the garlic sauce to fill out the dish. You may even want someone to split it with as these things are huge and still only a couple of euros. Their pizzas are also delicious!

Pekara Trpković

Boorek is the best pastry/breakfast/snack/fast food option in Serbia. It’s a flaky, oily, pastry wrapped around any one of a hundred fillings. They sometimes come as a tube, a spiral, a wedge, or anything else. Some of the best are filled with local salty and crumbly cheese, ground beef or walnuts and spinach. It takes a while to get the language down to figure out what you are ordering. But if you are trying one out from Pekara Trpkovic, they can usually help you out in deciphering your options.

Rakia Bar & Shop

Rakia is the local liquor and can be made out of almost anything. Like moonshine from the States, there are countless recipes, that never seem the same, and people have strong loyalties to one brand or the other. If you are open to trying it out and want a bit of a local experience, Rakia Bar is trying to maintain a local feel while showing off this local alcohol. They have at least 100 rakia labels on the shelves and are happy to help you out with a tasting or trying to match the drink to your palate as best they can. Just be careful, as sampling this potent beverage can catch up with you quickly.

“Visit the river city of Belgrade, Serbia” by Creed Evans was originally pulished on Wanderdash (follow Creed @creedevans)