Belgrade: A First-Timer's Guide to Serbia's Underrated Balkan Capital

Three picks across the spectrum of how Belgraders actually eat.

For the iconic Serbian bohemian institution: Skadarlija, the historic bohemian cobbled-street quarter at Skadarska Street, 11000 Belgrade.

The street is lined with traditional Serbian kafanas (tavern restaurants) — the iconic ones include Tri Šešira (Three Hats, since 1864), Dva Jelena (Two Deer, since 1832), and Šešir Moj (My Hat).

Properly serious Serbian classics (ćevapi grilled meats, sarma stuffed cabbage rolls, the iconic Karađorđeva šnicla rolled veal). Live Serbian folk-tamburica music in the evenings.

For the modern, contemporary pick: Manufaktura, at Kralja Petra 13-15, 11000 Belgrade. A contemporary Serbian restaurant in the Old Town — modern interpretations of Serbian classics with proper attention to ingredients sourced from across the Balkans. Multiple Belgrade-restaurant-awards.

Reservations recommended.

For the affordable, locals' standard: Walter, at Cara Lazara 7, 11000 Belgrade. The iconic Belgrade burger joint — named after Walter, the iconic WWII Yugoslav Partisan resistance hero.

Properly serious Balkan-style burgers (pljeskavica patty served in lepinja flatbread), the standard quick-meal Belgrade experience.

For the iconic Belgrade street food, the Bajrak spots across the city sell traditional Serbian burek (the iconic phyllo-pastry filled pie) — head to the original Bajrakli at the Pijaca Bajloni morning market.

Belgrade sits at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, with strong river-fish traditions (the iconic Belgrade fish stew "riblja čorba," Danube catfish, sterlet caviar). Serbia is also a serious emerging wine country with proper Tikveš-and-Fruška-Gora sparkling wine traditions.

For Belgrade seafood with serious Champagne, the destination is Aleksandar, at Francuska 3, 11000 Belgrade.

One of Belgrade's most established fine-dining restaurants — properly serious modern Serbian-Mediterranean cuisine, with a serious raw bar (Mediterranean oysters, Adriatic fish, Danube river-fish preparations), and a Champagne and Serbian sparkling-wine list that's among the most extensive in the Balkans.

For a more iconic Belgrade river-side alternative, Iguana Floating Restaurant at the Beton Hala harbourfront serves daily fresh seafood with serious Champagne service overlooking the Sava-Danube confluence.

For a contemporary casual alternative with proper Serbian-natural-wine programme, Salon 1905 at Trg republike 5 is the favourite of Belgrade's hospitality industry.

For an old-world historical stay in Belgrade, the reference is Hotel Moskva, at Balkanska 1, 11000 Belgrade.

Opened in 1908 — the iconic Belgrade hotel directly on Terazije Square (the city's central square). Among Europe's most historically significant Art Nouveau hotels — the iconic green-tile facade (with Russian Art Nouveau influences) is among Belgrade's most-photographed buildings.

Maxim Gorky, Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Indira Gandhi, Yuri Gagarin, Robert De Niro, Roman Polanski, and most international heads of state visiting Belgrade have stayed. 132 rooms across the original Art Nouveau building.

The iconic Hotel Moskva pâtisserie on the ground floor serves the famous "Moskva" cake — a Belgrade institution.

Pricing from around €200/night. Bookings via the official site. For a smaller contemporary boutique alternative, Square Nine Hotel Belgrade at Studentski trg 9 (a 45-room luxury boutique in the central Studentski trg square) is the modern luxury choice with serious contemporary design.

Serbia does not legally recognise same-sex marriage.

Belgrade's relationship with LGBTQ+ rights has historically been contentious — the 2010 Belgrade Pride was attacked by anti-LGBTQ+ rioters; subsequent Prides were banned multiple times before resuming under heavy police protection. Belgrade Pride in September has taken place annually since 2014 under significant police protection.

The LGBTQ+ scene exists but operates more discreetly than in Western European capitals.

The neighborhood: There is no defined gay quarter in Belgrade. The Cetinjska 15 creative complex (a former brewery converted into a multi-venue cultural-and-nightlife complex) and the Savamala creative district have the highest concentration of LGBTQ+-friendly venues mixed with the general scene.

The bars and clubs: Drugstore at Belgrade central (an underground former-bus-depot nightclub) is the iconic Belgrade alternative-electronic-music venue widely LGBTQ+-friendly. Pleasure club is the longest-running dedicated gay-themed Belgrade nightclub. Apartman 39 is the iconic Belgrade gay bar — small, discreet, locally-known.

Saunas: Sauna Belgrade in the city centre is the central men's sauna.

The famous-person small museum: Nikola Tesla Museum, at Krunska 51, 11000 Belgrade.

The contained museum dedicated to the iconic Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla — properly atmospheric, with Tesla's original personal items, the iconic alternating-current motor models, working demonstrations of Tesla's iconic high-voltage experiments, and Tesla's ashes (in a gold-plated sphere).

Among the world's most-visited single-inventor museums. Closed Mondays.

The recent landmark: Belgrade Waterfront (Beograd na vodi) — the massive Sava-riverbank urban regeneration project ongoing since 2014, with the iconic 168-metre Kula Belgrade tower completed in 2022 (the tallest building in Serbia and the Balkans).

The complex includes the Galerija shopping centre and the new Belgrade Waterfront promenade. Among the most ambitious urban regeneration projects in Southeast Europe.

Pair with the iconic Belgrade Fortress (Kalemegdan) at the confluence of the Sava and Danube — the iconic Belgrade vantage point with the Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, and Habsburg-era ruins.

1-3 day itinerary: Day 1 — Old Town (Republic Square, Knez Mihailova pedestrian street, Belgrade Fortress and Kalemegdan Park, dinner in Skadarlija). Day 2 — Cultural anchors (Nikola Tesla Museum, Museum of Yugoslavia with the Josip Broz Tito mausoleum "House of Flowers," Cetinjska 15 evening).

Day 3 — Day trip to Novi Sad (1.5 hours north — the iconic Petrovaradin Fortress and the Habsburg-era Old Town, plus Sremski Karlovci for traditional Serbian wine tastings) or to Topola (the iconic burial site of the Karađorđević royal dynasty).