One day in Belgrad

Pentecost holiday also came with a road trip to neighbouring countries. First stop: Belgrade.

Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It felt quite similar to Bucharest, not feeling like we were in another country. The architecture of the buildings we met is quite close to ours. When we got there, we were struck by a rainy, grey, rough city. As the rain stopped, we began to discover that it’s not as bad as it seems.

What can you see in Belgrade?

I got my accommodation through Booking. All I can say about it is that 4 stars for a hotel in Belgrade is about 3 stars in Bucharest. For transit, it was more than ok.

I slept only one night in Belgrade and didn’t have time to visit the city in detail, but I did manage to see the most famous landmark of Belgrade, St. Sava’s Cathedral.

It is an impressive, marble-clad building, the second largest Orthodox cathedral in the world after St Petersburg Cathedral.

For history buffs, there are plenty of sights not to be missed: the Nikola Tesla Museum, the Museum of Yugoslavia, Tito’s Mausoleum, the National History Museum, the Automobile Museum, the Parliament Building or the Aviation Museum.

I, on the other hand, a lover of gastronomy, can recommend what’s good to eat in Belgrade.

What’s good to eat in Belgrade?

Among the culinary specialties not to be missed would be: burek pie, Serbian pljeskavica (a kind of meatball in a bun) and, of course, Serbian small fries called “ćevapčići” here.

Our first stop was Josephine’s Restaurant, where we tried the famous pljeskavica, a burger and fries with parmesan and truffles. Delicious!

The restaurant is modern, inspired by the fabulous Art Deco style, named after superstar Josephine Baker, the first black woman to achieve international fame who visited Belgrade in the 1920s.

For coffee and something sweet, try the terrace at Hotel Moskva. They have a wide variety of cakes, very appetizing and tasty. The building is in imperialist style and is considered a local landmark and declared a cultural monument.

Many famous names have passed through its doors, including Albert Einstein, Ana Pavlova, Indira Gandhi, Robert De Niro, Brad Pitt, Maksim Gorky, Michael Douglas, Milla Jovovich and many others.

After satisfying our culinary cravings, we walked a few kilometres along their famous pedestrian shopping street, Knez Mihailova, which runs through the old town from Republic Square.

Filled with shops, restaurants, pubs and street performers. What particularly caught my attention in Belgrade, and not found here, were the popcorn stalls you come across everywhere.

The city of Belgrade is really interesting, a must see at least once in your life, but I wouldn’t allocate more than 3 days ever. Maybe next time I’m here, I’ll get a chance to see the other side I didn’t have time to explore.

Good to know:

• Although it’s not in the EU, you can only enter with ID, no passport required.
• Belgrade is cheap. Prices are much lower than ours.
• People are very cheerful, lively, predominantly young.
• Most of the locals speak English and it is very easy to communicate with them.
• Belgrade has a lot of history for the passionate, ready to be discovered.

Belgrade is a good idea for a cheap city break, close to Romania, where you can get there in apx 8h by car and not at all pretentious.

Travel, live, love… in the Balkan spirit that characterizes us!

Mada