Things to do in Belgrade
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Belgrade
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months overall, warm without the furnace, terraces and splavovi in full swing and Ada swimmable from June.
Hot at 30 to 38 degrees, loud and festival heavy, with many locals away in August and some smaller places closed.
Coldest and greyest months, but lowest prices, empty museums and a long festive season into mid January.
Damp and dark between festivals, brightened for electronic music fans by No Sleep Festival.
What's on
- FEST Belgrade International Film Festival late February to early March
The city's flagship film festival since 1971, spread across central cinemas.
- Belgrade Dance Festival spring, typically March to April
Contemporary dance companies from around the world, with dates that shift yearly.
- Belgrade Beer Fest five days in August
One of south east Europe's biggest beer festivals at Usce, with big stage concerts each night.
- Belgrade Jazz Festival late October
Five days of international jazz in central venues, running since 1971.
- No Sleep Festival November
An electronic music weekend across Belgrade venues and clubs from the EXIT team.
- Orthodox New Year night of 13 to 14 January
Concerts and fireworks at Republic Square and Saint Sava, and the full city out in midwinter.
Best things to do in Belgrade
Belgrade Fortress
Walls and park above the Sava and Danube confluence, with the Victor monument view best in the last hour of light.
Church of Saint Sava
One of the largest Orthodox churches in the world, with a gold mosaic interior and an astonishing crypt below.
Skadarlija
The cobbled bohemian quarter where kafana dinners with live tamburica bands become the whole evening.
Knez Mihailova
The pedestrian spine from Republic Square to the fortress, lined with mansions, bookshops and cafe terraces.
Nikola Tesla Museum
A small villa museum built around hourly live demonstrations of Tesla coils and wireless electricity.
National Museum of Serbia
Serbia's largest museum, from Vinca figurines and Roman Danube finds to medieval frescoes and national painting.
Museum of Yugoslavia
The clearest window into the Yugoslav century, with Tito's House of Flowers mausoleum in its garden.
Gardoš Tower
The 1896 hilltop tower above Zemun, with the best view over its rooftops and the Danube back to Belgrade.
Where to stay in Belgrade
Stari Grad / Republic Square
first trip, everything on foot
Fortress, Knez Mihailova, Skadarlija and Dorcol are all within a fifteen minute walk.
Terazije / Slavija corridor
grand hotels and transport links
Ceremonial hotels, the airport bus at Slavija and an easy walk to Saint Sava and Vracar.
Vracar and Tasmajdan
living like a local, cafes
Residential and leafy around Saint Sava and Kalenic Market, quieter at night and close to the centre.
Think twice about
- Novi Beograd residential blocks
Safe but dead at night, with wide empty avenues and a ride between you and everything you came for. Visit for brutalism, sleep in the old town.
- Savski trg and Zeleni Venac interchange perimeter
The scruffiest interchange, with taxi touting and unofficial money changing offers and an uneasy walk home at night. Pass through, do not base there.
- Belgrade Waterfront
Clean and expensive but sterile and disconnected, with few independent cafes or kafanas. A premium to be beside Belgrade, not in it.
- Zemun as a nightlife base
Delightful for a quiet Danube side stay, but a 20 to 30 minute ride from the old town, which is the whole story after a splav night.
Best restaurants in Belgrade
Langouste Restoran
Serbia's first starred restaurant, reworking Serbian childhood flavours into a modern tasting menu.
Salon 1905
Grand room fine dining in a 1905 banking hall, serving Serbian classics and a Welcome to Serbia tasting.
Homa
A pioneer of modern Serbian cooking, with a heritage tasting menu built on seasonal local ingredients.
Ambar
Modern Balkan small plates and a vast rakija list on a Sava terrace below the fortress at Beton Hala.
Tri šešira
Skadarlija's defining kafana since 1864, with a tamburica orchestra and long shared grill dinners.
Šaran
Zemun's fish institution on the Danube quay, famous for its fish soup and grilled river fish.
Gradska
Dorcol's traditional Serbian room for mushroom soup, stuffed pork, kajmak and ajvar without the theatre.
Ćevabdžinica Savčić Vračar
Six or seven tables serving some of the city's most praised cevapi with kajmak at low prices.
Outdoor things to do in Belgrade
Ada Ciganlija
Belgrade's sea, a lake peninsula for swimming, cycling the full loop, wakeboarding and beach cafes in summer.
Avala TV Tower
A 205 metre tower on Belgrade's own mountain, with forest trails, a war monument and a panorama over Sumadija.
Golf Club Ada
The city's only central course, a compact 9 hole par 34 on Ada Ciganlija with a range and golf school.
Novi Sad
Serbia's second city an hour north, a baroque cafe town that is the calmer Habsburg mirror of Belgrade.
Petrovaradin Fortress
A vast fortress above the Danube with a famous reversed clock tower and views back over Novi Sad.
Fruška Gora National Park
Serbia's oldest national park, a wooded mountain of Orthodox monasteries and family wine cellars.
Sremski Karlovci
A baroque small town famous for Bermet dessert wine, poured in family cellars by the glass and bottle.
Krusedol Monastery
The foremost Fruska Gora monastery, a 16th century Orthodox house set in wooded parkland.
Best hotels in Belgrade
Square Nine Hotel Belgrade
The city's benchmark luxury boutique hotel, calm and design led with a serious spa near Republic Square.
Mama Shelter Belgrade
Playful rooms on Knez Mihailova itself with a rooftop restaurant and bar looking towards the fortress.
Hotel Moskva
Belgrade's grand 1908 hotel on Terazije, as famous for its cafe and Moskva Schnitte cake as for its rooms.
Hilton Belgrade
The reliable international five star near Slavija, with large modern rooms and a rooftop bar.
Metropol Palace Hotel Belgrade
A 1957 landmark luxury hotel by Tasmajdan Park, with big rooms, a spa and a pool between centre and Vracar.
Hedonist Hostel
The long standing budget base near Republic Square, small and sociable with a garden terrace.
Is Belgrade expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | RSD 4,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | RSD 8,500 a person |
| Splurge | RSD 22,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Klub 20/44: a few days ahead
- Golf Club Ada: a few days ahead
- Golubac Fortress: a few days ahead
- Lepenski Vir: a few days ahead
- Langouste Restoran: weeks ahead
- Salon 1905: weeks ahead
- Homa: a few days ahead
- Ambar: a few days ahead
- Langouste needs weeks for weekends, and Salon 1905 and Homa need days to weeks.
- Book splav tables for summer Fridays and Saturdays, private Iron Gate and Fruska Gora trips several days ahead, and Golf Club Ada a couple of days ahead.
- Book central rooms early for Belgrade Beer Fest weekend in August.
Is Belgrade safe?
- Watch for pickpockets on crowded trams and at Republic Square and Zeleni Venac, and clarify any club table minimum before the first bottle.
- Leave the area if you encounter a demonstration, and dress respectfully at Saint Sava and Fruska Gora monasteries.
- Emergency number is 112, tap water is drinkable, and home made rakija refills itself, so pace it.
Belgrade travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Eat on Skadarlija at a named pick such as Tri Sesira, not at the most aggressive touting table.
- At Beton Hala several terraces charge for the view rather than the plate, so choose by name.
- Never use unofficial money changers or airport taxi touts, and do the Tesla Museum at opening, not at midday.
Getting around Belgrade: public transport and more
- Public transport has been free for everyone since 1 January 2025 on buses, trams, trolleybuses and BG Voz, with no ticket or validation.
- Walk the old town bowl and ride tram 2, the circular Krug dvojke, for a free orientation loop past the main sights.
- At the airport use the official fixed fare taxi voucher kiosks, and in the city order taxis by app or phone instead of taking a waiting car.
Who Belgrade suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Belgrade your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
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