24 Hours in Serbia: Belgrade Fortress, Skadarlija neighborhood and floating bars

24 Hours in Serbia: Belgrade Fortress, Skadarlija neighborhood and floating bars

We spent a full day visiting the capital of Serbia, Belgrade, and were amazed at all the city has to offer. Even if you only have 24 Hours in Serbia, there is so much to see, do, visit, eat and shop.

From quirky coffee shops to the bohemian neighborhood Skadarlija, through the Belgrade fortress and Nikola Tesla Museum, here are a few things not to miss during 24 Hours in Serbia.

Highlights

  • Skadarlija, the bohemian neighborhood

  • Belgrade fortress

  • Roman well

  • Floating restaurants and clubs

  • Outdoor military museum

  • Nikola Tesla museum

  • Botanical garden

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Our Picks

  • How to get to Serbia: Flydubai straight from DXB to Belgrade

  • Where to stay in Belgrade: Atlas City Center Suites

  • Get around Belgrade: Walk or Uber!

  • Safety in Belgrade: Very safe

24 Hours in Serbia | Belgrade Fortress, Skadarlija neighborhood and floating bars

Useful information

  • Currency: Serbian Dinar

  • Language: Serbian with English widely spoken in Belgrade

  • Time change: GMT/UTC + 1h during Standard Time - GMT/UTC + 2h during Daylight Saving Time

  • SIM Card provider: Telenor

  • Best time to visit: March - May and September-October

  • Dresscode: Casual

After transferring from the airport to our hotel in downtown Belgrade via bus just outside our terminal, we set off bright and early for breakfast right by our hotel in one of the many quirky coffee shops in central Belgrade.  After a cheap and delicious meal, we set off to check out the Belgrade Fortress, right around the corner. #TeamBackack was at it’s finest as we walked a surprising 26km over a 24-hour period exploring Belgrade on foot.

No taxis, buses, UBER or trains - Belgrade is a super easy, and beautiful, city to walk around. Like our backpacks? As always, we bring our Eastpak bags everywhere we go, and with a day backpack and bumbag we can go forever :)

24 Hours in Serbia | Belgrade Fortress, military museum and Roman well

We were surprised to find not only the huge fortress, but also the outdoor military museum, exposing modern military hardware along one of the ramparts.

Lined up are deactivated mines, German panzers and torpedoes, while there are also antique cannons on the outer still arming the gun emplacements on the outer wall.

The military museum has been in the fortress since 1878.

24 Hours in Serbia | St. Michael Cathedral

After visiting the Roman well (and Anne being terrified by the 60 meters deep, dark hole) we went back outside to go toward the St. Michael's Cathedral, about a kilometre walk away.

The Cathedral Church of St. Michael the Archangel is one of the most important places of worship in Serbia, and was built around 1837. Know that it’s better to visit this church during the weekdays, as it holds baptisms and weddings during the weekend!

We then headed, still on foot, towards the Botanical garden and the Japanese garden, about a 3-km walk across the city, right near the Nikola Tesla museum.

24 Hours in Serbia | Nikola Tesla Museum

I didn’t know much about Nikola Tesla, and didn’t read anything on purpose - and I was amazed by everything we found in the museum!

This museum presents the life and work of the great physicist, inventor and electrical engineer and Serbian national hero, Nikola Tesla.

The exhibition is in two main sections: The first is a study of Tesla the man, sourcing personal effects, photographs and correspondence to paint a clearer picture of his life and travels, while the second is an often interactive exhibition of his work, with either originals, 3D renders or fully-functioning reproductions like an induction coil producing discharges at 500,000 volts.

Definitely pay a visit!


24 Hours in Serbia | Zeleni Venac outdoor market

If you visit Belgrade on a Saturday, make sure to pop by the Zeleni Venac outdoors market, also known as “Queen of the Markets”.

It is the most central, found next to one of Belgrade’s big transport hubs and has been trading since 1847. Price-wise, Zeleni Vanac is also the most competitive in the city.

Saturdays are when the market thrums with lively conversation and the calls of stall-holders.

There are pekaras (bakeries) along the sides for fresh pastries like krempita, baklava, tulumbe and kadaif.

24 Hours in Serbia | Splavovi

If you’re planning a night out in Belgrade, be prepared to board a “splav”.

These are the barges and boats that are permanently moored on the Danube and Sava rivers. They can be floating restaurants, bars or nightclubs.

And no two splavovi are alike: Some are polished and cultivated, while others are younger and more raucous. You can dance all night to live rock bands, pop, dance music or Serbian folk - definitely something to do if you feel up for it!

If you’d rather stay on firm ground, how about a rooftop bar?

We went for a drink at the rooftop bar at the boutique hotel Mama Shelter and we loved the vibes up there - really recommend paying a visit for an appetizer and a cocktail or mocktail!

24 Hours in Serbia | Belgrade’s bohemian neighborhood: Skadarlija

Car-free and paved with bumpy cobblestones, Skadarlija has been a bohemian haunt since the 1800s and is Belgrade’s answer to Montmartre.

Like its Parisian counterpart, Skadarlija’s glory days were in the early 1900s when famous Serbian singers, musicians, writers and poets lived, worked and performed here.

Come for the cafes nightlife, traditional Serbian food like roštilj (grilled meat), and to take in the art displays and street performers as you go!


This wraps up our 24 Hours in Serbia!

Let us know if we missed anything in the comments below and we hope you get some good ideas from this guide!

As always, any questions just let us know or reach us on our social platforms @whatdoesntsuck

Serbia facts

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  • Serbia has its own Grand Canyon. The Temštice river canyon is a canyon in Serbia that strikingly resembles the Grand Canyon of the Colorado because of its red cliffs.

  • Serbia formed a union with Montenegro in 1992, and split up again in 2006 to become independent.

  • Europe’s largest gorge is the Đerdap Gorge and it is situated in Eastern Serbia. In Western Serbia, however, stands the second deepest canyon in Europe – the Drina river canyon.

  • “Vampir” is the most famous Serbian word that is accepted and used across the world. Furthermore, the first vampire wasn’t count Dracula but Petar Blagojević, about whose vampirism was extensively written about in the Austrian press in 1725.

  • The Serbian clock-making industry is older than the world-famous Swiss one. The Serbs had their own clock at least 200 years before the Swiss did.

  • 18 Roman emperors were born on the territory of modern day Serbia. The most famous of them was definitely Constantine the Great, Roman emperor who declared Christianity as the official religion. 

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