A Weekend in Belgrade
The shopping district at Kneza Mihaila Street in Belgrade, Serbia
Our Tour of the Balkans Continues
Our good friends in Vancouver, Goran and Aleksandra, immigrated from Belgrade, Serbia, to Canada. As we would be close by or in the neighborhood, at least by Canadian standards, we knew we would get in trouble if we did not include Belgrade in our travel plans.
No other reason was needed. There is something to be said about seeing first-hand places your friends tell you about.
Serbia will be the last country on our tour of the Balkans, after we have spent the previous three weeks in Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
To celebrate, we booked a nice hotel in the city center and were looking forward to seeing what Belgrade had to offer.
Sunday morning walk in Belgrade
Bar to Belgrade by Train
The train rolled into the Topcider Station after dark. We were traveling from Montenegro and had picked the picturesque train journey as our gateway into Serbia. For more details, see our article describing the train journey: Bar to Belgrade.
Following the other passengers, we found the taxi cabs lined up across the street from the station. The next task was to ask about pricing for a cab from the train station to the city center, where our hotel was located. It was a bit tricky as we had no Serbian currency yet.
A friendly English-speaking cab driver knew a good spot to stop close to an ATM on the way to the city. He seemed trustworthy, so we climbed in.
It was a quick stop as Di withdrew funds to pay him the 3000 Serbian Dinar, $27.00, for the cab ride while I waited in the cab.
Arriving at the Topcider Train Station
Hotel Maison Royale
The location of Hotel Maison Royale was ideal. The cab dropped us off at one end of the pedestrian street, a few hundred meters from the hotel, as he claimed it was difficult to drive us to the front door, and this was the easiest route for us to find the hotel.
This also gave us a chance to take in the atmosphere of central Belgrade, which was festively decorated for the Christmas holiday season.
Families, friends, and couples were out shopping for Christmas, and thousands of lights were strung above the streets. Being the last weekend in November, this was the first hint during our travels that Christmas was coming.
Christmas atmosphere in central Belgrade
Getting Settled in Belgrade
From our room on the top floor of the hotel, we could feel the buzz from the city below. A street musician played John Mayer’s Slow Dancing in a Burning Room on repeat, so many times I heard it in my sleep.
The room had a big window, but only half of it was covered by curtains, and the other half was broken. I reported it at the front desk, but the hotel was fully booked, and they could not move us to another room until the following day.
We could not be bothered with a move and decided it was a minor problem. The front desk staff was super friendly. Especially Filip. Otherwise, the room was well-appointed with a good workspace so we could work on travel plans and the blog.
Day 1
On our first morning in Belgrade, we craved the comfort of something familiar, so we went straight to Starbucks for a coffee and breakfast.
We found a grocery store at the neighboring shopping center and picked up a few things. We sourced a new USB/lightning cord in a tech shop so that we could charge all of our devices again.
Di booked a hair appointment for later in the day. It was as if we had arrived in the world of plenty again, and we duly took advantage of it.
Republic Square and the statue of Prince Michael. The Starting point of our Belgrade walking tour.
Free Walking Tour
A walking tour is a standard item on our to-do list when in a major city. We signed up online and showed up in person at the designated meeting spot at Republic Square.
The bright sun was deceiving, and we quickly realized we were underdressed for the colder weather in Belgrade. It was rather windy, which made a huge difference.
Republic Square is home to important buildings such as the National Museum, the National Theatre, and a statue of Prince Michael, pictured above. It was the starting point of the walking tour.
Our guide introduced himself, gave us the practical rundown of the tour, and told the story of the surrounding buildings.
Walking tour in the Bohemian Quarter in Belgrade
Bohemian Quarter
The next stop on our tour was the Old Town, Skadarlija, also known as the Bohemian Quarter, with its cobblestone streets, countless restaurants, cafés, and art shops.
It is somewhat reminiscent of Montmartre in Paris, yet a far cry from it on this cold December morning. You can, however, imagine how this part of town would come alive on a warm summer’s eve.
The guide poured everyone a small sample of a refreshing local rakija. This was a highlight of the tour as it warmed us up as it went down.
An art shop in the Bohemian Quarter of Belgrade
Belgrade Fortress
We walked along several streets and observed different styles of architecture, some modern and some from the socialist Yugoslav period. Our guide spoke of the different religions and history, made an interesting stop at the Museum of Language, and gave us a quick lesson on the intricate Serbian alphabet.
The tour continued through Kalemegdan Park to the Belgrade Fortress, which provided fantastic views of the city and the Sava and Danube Rivers. It ended at St. Michael’s Cathedral.
The guide was excellent and knew his facts, but he could have done a better job of positioning himself and the group in the sun and out of the wind instead of standing in the shade. Most people were freezing, and at times, he rambled on for too long.
The tour took three hours and could probably have been done in two hours. Sorry to sound critical, but we have done quite a few of these by now and have many tours to compare with.
Free Walking Tour at Belgrade Fortress
Restaurants in Belgrade
We found a spot for lunch and ordered a burger and chicken fingers. Nothing to write home about, but it was okay. The challenge was to find a place with the least amount of smoke.
In Canada, we are accustomed to smoke-free restaurants, and it is hard to imagine going back to smoke-filled food and beverage establishments.
We will not attempt to sugarcoat this comment, as it really put us off. Lunch for two is 2000 Serbian Dinars, $19.00. In one restaurant, we asked the server for a spot in a corner away from the smoke.
We apologized for not being used to the smoke. Instead of helping us out, he gave us a judging look and reminded us that we were in Serbia now.
While he certainly had a point and you have to adjust when you travel, customer service, in general, seemed to lag in Belgrade compared to what we have experienced in most parts of the world. The one exception was a fabulous dinner we enjoyed at Restaurant Question Mark ? More about this later.
We spent the remaining part of the day in our room, took a nap, and worked on the blog and photo editing. Di had a nice haircut, and we had dinner in our room: cabbage rolls from the supermarket and a vitamin salad, followed by popcorn and an episode of The Crown.
The early morning sun in downtown Belgrade
Day 2
It was another sunny day, and we were up and on our feet early. We left the room before breakfast, as we had only planned to walk around the block to get some fresh air. It was so nice that we just kept walking and walking. Watching a city wake up is one of our favorite things to do.
Without a solid plan, we headed up Kralja Milana. We could see the Church of Saint Sava in the far distance, and something told us to head in that direction.
The pianist at the Moscow Hotel tempted us to have breakfast, but the prices were higher than we were ready to pay. Instead, we found a cozy coffee shop with freshly baked bread, and it did the trick.
Traffic passing through Slavija Square in Belgrade, Serbia
Church of Saint Sava
Along Kralja Milana, you pass through Slavija Square, a major roundabout with a constant flow of trams, buses, and cars. We stood for a while, fascinated to see the world go by, coming and going, to and from, in so many directions.
The Church of Saint Sava is a Serbian Orthodox church located high on the Vračar plateau, which explains why we could see it from what felt like miles away.
The church is under reconstruction, which prevented us from visiting the actual church. However, we did have access to the lower levels, which were impressive indeed.
Church of Saint Sava
The area around the Church of Saint Sava was quaint and quiet, making for a wonderful Sunday morning stroll. It has residential apartments, cozy cafés, and small parks. We picked up a few lunch items at a grocery store and continued to explore.
We walked by the Nikola Tesla Museum but did not pay a visit. We stopped for lunch in Tašmajdan Park, where families were out walking the dog and kids were playing and riding bicycles.
We passed the Old Palace and the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia. It was a wonderful afternoon, and we felt almost like locals.
Church of Saint Mark in the Tašmajdan Park
Day 3
Our third day in Belgrade was dedicated to photo editing and working on the blog. The only highlights on the schedule were our dinner plans.
Our friendly front desk guy, Filip, recommended a great spot for dinner. On this quiet evening, hardly anyone was in the restaurant.
We had a whole section to ourselves at Restaurant Question Mark ?, a traditional Serbian restaurant serving Balkan cuisine, in a more than 200-year-old building.
After our meal, we moved into the restaurant's front room and finished our wine with live music. It was fabulous. The band took requests as we FaceTimed with our good friends Dagny and Philippe.
The food was fantastic, the service amazing, and we paid 2400 Serbian Dinars, $23.00, including a tip to the servers and the musicians.
Final Thoughts
Our three days in Belgrade wrapped up almost a month of travel through the Balkans. It was the most modern city besides Sofia, and we took advantage of the opportunities to go shopping and dine out.
The walking tour was informative, but I would have to say we enjoyed our self-guided tour just as much, if not more. Belgrade was also cold temperature-wise, but it was okay as we knew our next destination was Cyprus.
Window shopping in Belgrade, Serbia
Travel Tips
Serbia is on the current agenda for future EU enlargement, and its currency is the Serbian Dinar.
ATMs were easily found in Belgrade. We always decline the option to secure a rate in Canadian dollars as banks charge a higher rate on the spot.
The water is safe to drink in Belgrade.
Be prepared for smoke-filled restaurants.
A river barge by Belgrade Fortress where the Sava and Danube Rivers meet
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The photos in this post are made using a Fujifilm X-Pro2. Lenses: XF 14mm f/2.8 R - XF 23mm f/1.4 R - XF 35mm f/1.4 R - XF 90mm f/2 R LM WR (links to my camera and lens reviews). Editing was done in Capture One Express. I have made use of Fujifilm film simulations in some of the photos
