I have a lot of visitors from all over the world. In my travelling tips i mentioned how great it is to meet a local that will show you around, and then i realized that i am the local in my hometown and i can show you what things you shouldn’t miss here, in Belgrade.
It’s the city in south-east Europe, capital of ex-Yugoslavia. According to western media, we’re the most horrible people ever. But that’s not true at all! Belgrade is a safe and interesting city and it’s a great travel destination. Our people and generous, warm and friendly. If you’re looking for place to visit that’s raw and has a soul, that’s not occupied by tourists and has a lot of cool things to do and visit - it’s a place for you. Here are some must-do things if you come to Belgrade:

1. Party. Lonely planet named us #1 party city in the world. And that’s not an accident - nightlife here is amazing. If you come here in summer, make sure to visit splavs, as we call it, or basically floating clubs. But if you come in winter, don’t worry, all splavs have their winter version, but they are situated mostly in city center and not on riverside. Also make sure to visit Skadarlija, old part of the city, where you can go to kafanas (Irish people have pubs and we have kafanas - something like tavernas). Live music, lots of drinks and old, emotional songs - not an everyday experience.

2. Eat. Who doesn’t like good food? But one warning: leave your diet at home. Serbian cuisine has been influenced by Balkan, Turkish, Mediterranean and Hungarian and Austrian cuisine (part of the aftermath of our everything-but-boring history). If i started writing about it i would need a separate blog just for it, so i’ll stop right here and let you discover it in all of its glory.
Warning: if you’re vegetarian/vegan Serbian dishes may not be your cup of tea. But that doesn’t mean you have to be hungry -  you can visit one of the restaurants with great and artistic interior and atmosphere and international food, for example the ones in Beton hala (river view included).

3. Take a walk. After lunch you gotta take a walk to digest all that - right? Good thing is that city center of Belgrade is great for exploring without using any public transportation. You could start at Knez Mihailova street, main street with loads of shops, galleries and street artists. Then, after crossing the street, you are on Belgrade fortress (which consists of Kalemegdan park and old citadel). This is the oldest part of Belgrade, built in 6th century, it’s basically living history. Here you can see, among a lot of other things, monument called Pobednik (The Winner), confluence of two rivers (Danube and Sava), open-air photography exhibitions etc. Also visit Savamala, urban neighborhood near Belgrade port with funky, cool clubs and restaurants and great, artistic graffitis where cool kids go and Dorćol, neighborhood with the oldest buildings and according to many people prettiest part of the city.

4. Learn. Belgrade has a long, rich history. I already mentioned some galleries, but there are also great museums. National museum of Serbia, Ethnographic museum, Museum of Nikola Tesla, Museum of Applied Arts, Tito’s museum - House of flowers and many, many more. There is also Belgrade underground tour (where you can learn a lot) and you can make trip to Vinča - neolithic archaeological locality, one of the first urban settlements in Europe.

5. Cruises. Unlike many cities, Belgrade has 2 rivers - Danube and Sava, which makes going on a river cruise an unforgettable experience and a chance to meet a city from a brand new perspective. It can be really romantic, with dinner, or chill and enjoyable with a lot of sightseeing. They usually go around Kalemegdan, Great War Island and along New Belgrade and Zemun promenades.

6. Go to the beach. If you saw a map of Serbia, this may leave you confused - sea is nowhere to be found. But there is the Belgrade’s sea, as it’s popularly called, or Ada Ciganlija. It has a blue flag. If swimming, tanning and drinking cocktails is boring to you, don’t worry, here you can also bungee jump, water ski, rock climb, roller skate, even play golf!
And - this is not exactly a beach - but if you have some spare time don’t miss walking down the promenades by river banks. It’s beautiful, calm and relaxing.

7. Go to Avala. Avala is the small mountain on the periphery of Belgrade. Go on Avala tower, destroyed in 1990s by NATO bombs, built again and reopened as the eastern Europe’s tallest tower, the view is breathtaking. There is also a huge monument of An Unknown Soldier and a mausoleum. It’s great for picnics and chilling. Tip: Go there on weekdays because there’s zillion people on the weekends, especially if weather is nice.

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I think it’s about time to make part 2 of this post. So if you’re a traveller and you happen to travel to Europe - here are some things you should know.
P.S. Many people commented on my last post saying those tips can be used all around the world. They probably can, but since i’ve never been outside the Europe yet (but i’m working on changing that ;) ), i didn’t want to write about something i’m not 100% sure of.

1. Carry a map everywhere. And i’m talking about good ol’ old-fashioned map. You never know how good wifi connection will be (and will you have it at all) so you can’t count on Google maps. And, although it may be fun to get lost sometimes, there are some situations where it’s not so fun. So, safety first.

2. Don’t miss festivals! Some of the best music festivals in the world take place in Europe. Exit in Serbia (i’m not putting it first only because i’m from Serbia, it’s seriously ranked #1 on many lists), Tomorrowland in Belgium, Sziget in Hungary, Glastonbury in the UK are just some of them. No matter what kind of music you listen to, you’ll find something for yourself. There is an atmosphere specific only to festivals - full of good vibes, TON of people came just to have fun and are super chill, you’re able to hear so many great bands, artists and DJs LIVE and also discover new ones. It’s a party than lasts several days, without stopping.

3. Open your mind. This may seem like an obvious thing, almost crucial if you’re a traveller. But this is a reminder. Don’t assume something is wrong just because it’s different from what you’re used to.
Also, i’m living in Serbia and many people think really horrible things about us, because of all the things western media have been saying (yet, we are bombed by them - NATO in fact, who called that mission Merciful angel. Oh the irony. After looking at all the dead people and ruined buildings, merciful angel wouldn’t be the first thing that would come to my mind). Yet, we are not that bad as we’re portrayed. Many, many people had an amazing experience travelling here. (I may sound really subjective talking about this, so my recommendation is Charles Cather’s youtube channel. Go check it out)

4. Learn. Of course, you can just visit and take pictures of all must-see things, but for full experience i think it’s great to learn a thing or two about the history of the city or country you’re visiting. You’ll understand it better. Plus, you’re not on the boring history class in school, you won’t believe how interesting (and juicy!) information you can find.

5. Eat. As i mentioned here, i love trying new food, so eating food that is characteristic to country i'm visiting is the must-do thing for me. It may not be croissant in France, pizza in Italy or beer in Prague, but give it a chance.

Picture taken in Florence 2014.