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48 hours in: Belgrade |
A complex history has left the capital of Yugoslavia with a rich mixture of cultures. Now's the time to enjoy the open squares and cobbled streets in the summer sunshine
Belgrade - Why go now?
Summer, when temperatures average 25C, is the ideal time to visit the Serb capital, which is on the same latitude as Bologna and Bordeaux. With the economy in some chaos, prices in the city are rock bottom; a good meal for two including wine can cost as little as 1,000 dinar (£11). You'll have plenty of cash left over to spend on the many outdoor concerts that take place throughout August.
Beam down
British Airways (0845 77 333 77, www.ba.com) flies from Gatwick to Belgrade's Surcin airport on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday mornings; the lowest fare is about £260. Flights are cheaper on JAT Yugoslav Airlines (020-7409 1319; www.jat.com), which flies from Heathrow every day except Wednesday, with fares of about £190. From other UK departure points, a connecting flight on Czech Airlines, Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines or Swiss will cost about £250. The airport is 19km north-west of the city. The tourist office at the airport is open 8am-8pm daily. A taxi to the city centre costs 700 dinar (£7.70), while an hourly JAT coach service goes to Belgrade railway station in the centre of town (Savski Trg 2) for 50 dinar (55p). The tourist office (00 381 11 635 343, www.belgradetourism.org.yu) is in the underpass at the southern end of the Kneza Mihaila. Open: 9am-8pm during the week and 8am-4pm on Saturday.
Check in
Way ahead of Belgrade's other international hotels in terms of style and service is the Hyatt Regency Beograd (00 381 11 311 1234), at Milentija Popovica 5, across the Sava river in featureless new Belgrade. In a city with a notoriously limited range of cuisine, it is at the Hyatt that you'll find some of the best and most adventurous cooking. A standard double room costs 13,350 dinar (£147). More central, at Balkanska 1, is the Hotel Moskva (00 381 11 686 255). This is one of the most charismatic hotels in town. Rooms are stuffed with attractive antique furniture – some genuine and some fake. There is an excellent café and restaurant, both opulently decorated with chandeliers and mirrors. A double room will set you back 7,150 dinar (£79). An excellent budget option in a central position – just off the Trg Republike at Kosovska 1 – is the Union Hotel (00 381 11 324 8022). Double are 2,500 dinar (£28).
Take a hike
Start your walk at the spiritual heart of the city, the Sveti Marko Orthodox Church . Grab a coffee in the café in Tasmajdan park, next to the church. With the church behind you, turn right on to Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra, and after 500 metres you'll find yourself among the type of daunting government architecture one expects to find in ex-communist states. You may recognise the Skupstina – Slobodan Milosevic's Socialist Party headquarters – which was stormed by pro-democracy protesters on 5 October 2000. Head north to the Trg Republike, the social heart of the city, with many cafés surrounding the square. Here you'll find the National Theatre and the National Museum The museum is open daily from 10-5pm, Sunday 10-2pm, Thursday 12-8pm. Entrance is 200 dinar (£2.20). Keeping to the east of the Kneza Mihaila pedestrianised zone, you can explore the oldest quarter of the city, Stari Grad. Here you'll see the 19th- and early 20th-century mansions that were built in the prosperous period when Belgrade was snatched from the deteriorating Ottoman Empire and put under the rule of the Habsburgs.
Lunch on the run
Belgrade is a great place to graze. Street food is plentiful, dispensed from numerous kiosks. Burek is a hugely popular pastry stuffed with cottage cheese or minced meat, costing a mere 50 dinar (55p). There are several hole-in-the-wall bakeries and hamburger stands in the side streets off the Kneza Mihaila. More substantial lunches are served in the cafés along the bohemian quarter, Skardaska, on the east side of Stari Grad (the old quarter). The wood-beamed inn, Tri Sesira (Skadarska 27, 00 381 11 324 7501), is the best on this street, though vegetarians will find the meat-heavy menu unaccommodating.
Window shopping
In the Kneza Mihaila you'll find bookshops, delicatessens, fashion boutiques and Western-brand labels such as Diesel and Levi's. For English-language magazines and books go to IPS bookshop, Kneza Mihaila 6 (00 381 11 185 963). Yugoexport is a department store in the Trg Republike, and the main boulevard, Terazije, is where most fashionable Belgraders do their clothes shopping. Every morning there is a vast Gypsy market by the Sava Center in New Belgrade. As well as bric-a-brac, there are some antique stalls and kiosks selling local cheeses and smoked hams. The Sava Center is a conference centre, shopping mall and concert venue.
An aperitif
The Plato Café is a local institution where students and intellectuals converge on a vast terrace just off the Kneza Mihaila at Akademski Plato 1. There is food throughout the day and often live jazz in the evenings. Yellen is a good locally brewed beer, and the national tipple, sljivovica – plum brandy – is rip-roaring. An interesting alternative is pelinkovac – a bitter spirit distilled in Vojvodina.
Dining with the locals
For traditional dining, the city's best-kept secret is Dachah, Patrisa Lumumbe 49 (00 381 11 621 227) in the north-east section of the city, Karaburma. Every taxi driver knows it. Nowhere else in Belgrade will you find such a welcoming environment serving authentic Serbian and Montenegrin cuisine. Expect meat casseroles, hotpots, Serbian chorizo, smoked beef and the unique kajmak – a sort of butter and cheese spread. A meal for two with a carafe of wine will cost about 1,400 dinar (£15).
Sunday morning: go to church
The Orthodox Sveti Marko, Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra 17, is the city's most important cathedral. Built in the 1930s, it is a copy of a 14th-century church in Kosovo, spiritual heartland of the Serbs. While the variegated brickwork of the exterior is strikingly Byzantine, the cavernous and sombre interior is strongly Orthodox. Worth visiting is the tiny blue and white Russian Orthodox church behind Sveti Marko. On Sundays, between 9am and noon, you should be able to catch the congregation singing evocative Russian plainsong.
Take a ride
Take a 15-minute taxi ride west along the Sava river to Zemun. The cobbled streets and traditional houses that lead up the hill are the last evidence of a rural hamlet. At the top of the hill is the Sibinjanin Janko tower. The tower was the southernmost outpost of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and it looks out across what was once Ottoman-ruled Belgrade. Next to the tower is a cemetery containing Jews murdered here during the Nazi occupation in the Second World War.
Out to brunch
Being right next to a brewery, the shady terrace of the Alexander beer garden, Cetinjska 15 (00 381 11 322 7401) is a great place for an early lunch – a plate of grilled chicken livers and a glass of the excellent sweet dark beer is highly recommended. About 400 dinar (£4.40) each.
Write a postcard
The Trg Republike is Belgrade's most handsome square, and there are several café terraces in the pedestrian zone to the west of the square. This is the best place to drink a Turkish coffee and people-watch. You'll probably be entertained by one of many Gypsy brass bands in the area.
Cultural afternoon
If you are interested in military history, then the museum at Kalemegdan fortress has an interesting collection of past and present weaponry and makes a brave attempt to unravel the complex history of Yugoslavia. Nearby, opposite the church on the Kneza Sime Markovica, is the Konak (palace) of Princess Ljubica. This small mansion is one of the last remaining traces of the Ottoman dynasty that ruled this region for more than 400 years. The Turkish furniture and Ottoman-style portraits are unlike anything you'd find in modern Serbia; the history of Turkish occupation is a distasteful topic for Serbs of the old order.
A Walk in the park
The old Turkish fortress, Kalemegdan, and the surrounding gardens are a focal point for promenading and playing chess. From here there are tremendous vistas across the confluence between the Sava river and the Danube. This is the place to end up around dusk when the light is wonderful and Belgrade's citizens take their evening stroll or drink a beer in the café that perches on the walls of the castle.
Icing on the cake
Take a taxi to Belgrade's most awe-inspiring landmark, the Sveti Sava cathedral, a mile south-east of the city centre. Strongly influenced by the original Christian basilica, the Aya Sofya, Sveti Sava has been more than 50 years in the building. Still incomplete, the vastness of the undertaking is staggering, and the result already spectacular.
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Source: The Independent, By Christian Walsh |
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