Belgrade - art, music and architecture

Belgrade, situated at the point where the Sava and Danube Rivers join, is the capital city of Serbia. It was first settled by the Celts, then later by the Romans, and has been under various rulers at various times including Byzantine, Frankish, Bulgarian, and Hungarian. Once a part of the Ottoman Empire, and then later the Habsburg Empire, Belgrade was also the capital of former Yugoslavia, before the establishment of Serbia as an independent country again in 2006.

Belgrade is still in some ways a little off the beaten track for a city break, but now is really the time to visit, before the city becomes more expensive, popular and crowded.

So what is there to see? Well, The National Museum of Serbia has plenty to take a look at with its fantastic displays of archaeology, numismatics, and its collection of art which ranges from the medieval to the modern. The art collections include French, Italian, Dutch, Flemish, Russian, Austrian, German and Japanese art as well as Serbian, and other art of the area of former Yugoslavia. The museum now has a glass dome for the roof, which allows plenty of light into the museum. Nearby you will also find The National Theatre where there are performances of drama, opera and ballet. The theatre was designed by Aleksandar Bugarski who designed a great number of Belgrade buildings in the nineteenth century.

The impressive Kalemegdan Fortress also attracts the visitors, as much for the surrounding parkland as for the fortress itself. From the fortress the view is fantastic, and you can see clearly where the Sava River flows into the Danube.

The bohemian quarter of Belgrade, Skadarlija, is really popular with tourists, artists and musicians, who like to enjoy its restaurants, art galleries, antique and souvenir shops. You’ll also find street performers here from music to people pretending to be statues.

So next time you fancy a city break to some part of Europe that you’ve not yet explored, give Belgrade some thought.


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Serbia for skiing at attractive prices

When you think of skiing in Europe, you don’t always think of Serbia, and yet this landlocked country which stands at the crossroads of central and south-eastern Europe offers some great family and beginner skiing holidays at value-for-money prices, which, along with the famous Serbian hospitality, makes it a great choice.

In the seventies and eighties Serbia was renowned as a fine skiing destination, but the political unrest which affected former Yugoslavia during the nineties put paid to Serbia’s tourist industry. However now Serbia, along with Romania, Slovenia and Bulgaria, is putting Eastern Europe back squarely on the map as an area that offers good budget skiing.

The main ski resort of Serbia is Kopaonik, which is in fact the country’s largest mountain with a purpose-built skiing village at its base. The surrounding region is beautiful and has around two hundred days of sun every year, with a good snow coverage from November through to May. The village offers lively après-ski, and also accommodation which is conveniently ski-in/ski-out, getting you onto the piste with the minimum of fuss.

At a height of 1,770m Kopaonik offers over 60 km of piste and 21 lifts, with the 29 runs mainly catering for beginners. For intermediate skiers there are eight runs, and for advanced skiers there are six.

The bars of Kopaonik are buzzing in the evening, and most have live music, two of the popular bars being Prestige and Club Hardy. As well as traditional Serbian cuisine, which takes its influences from Turkey, Greece and Hungary, there is also plenty of international cuisine too, and many of the hotels offer buffets where you can eat all you want from a great choice. Both the bars and the eateries are refreshingly good value for money, and don’t forget to try the national drink Slivovitz, which is distilled from plums.

The resort is not just about skiing and après-ski either, there is also tobogganing, hang-gliding and sleigh-rides, and in the hotels you can find indoor tennis, swimming and other activities.

As well as Kopaonik, other skiing resorts in Serbia are Brezovica and Tara, with some skiing also available at Zlator and Zlatibor. Brezovica has peaks up to 2,500m, with some nice long runs that you can just coast along, and Tara has some interesting skiing terrain, and one of the most beautiful mountains of Serbia.

So with holidaymakers counting their pennies ever more carefully, Serbia could be just the skiing destination you are looking for.

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