Matt Munro
Bosnia & Hercegovina
Craggily beautiful Bosnia and Hercegovina is most intriguing for its East-meets-West atmosphere born of blended Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian histories filtered through a Southern Slavic lens. Many still associate the country with the heartbreaking civil war of the 1990s, and the scars from that time are all too visible. But today's visitors are likely to remember the country for its deep, unassuming human warmth, its beautiful mountains, numerous medieval castle ruins, raftable rivers, impressive waterfalls and bargain-value skiing.
Major drawcards include the reincarnated historical centres of Sarajevo and Mostar, counterpointing splendid Turkish-era stone architecture with quirky bars, inviting street-terrace cafes, traditional barbecue restaurants and vibrant arts scenes. There's plenty of interest to discover in the largely rural hinterland too, all at prices that make the country one of Europe's best-value destinations.
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Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Bosnia & Hercegovina.
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Stari Most
The world-famous Stari Most (meaning simply 'Old Bridge') is Mostar's indisputable visual focus. Its pale stone magnificently reflects the golden glow of sunset or the tasteful night-time floodlighting. The bridge's swooping arch was originally built between 1557 and 1566 on the orders of Suleiman the Magnificent. The current structure is a very convincing 21st-century rebuild following the bridge's 1990s bombardment during the civil war. Numerous well-positioned cafes and restaurants tempt you to sit and savour the splendidly restored scene. An engineering marvel of its age, the bridge was nonetheless pounded into the river during a deliberate Croatian artillery attack in November 1993. Depressing footage of this sad moment is shown on many a video screen in Mostar. After the war, Stari Most was painstakingly reconstructed using 16th-century building techniques and stone sourced from the original quarry. It reopened in 2004 and is now a Unesco World Heritage site famed for its bridge divers.
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War Childhood Museum
This affecting museum had its genesis in a 2013 book edited by Jasminko Halilović, in which he asked a simple question of survivors of the Sarajevo siege: 'What was a war childhood for you?' Of the hundreds of replies received, 50 short written testimonies are presented here, each illustrated by personal effects donated by the writer, such as diaries, drawings, toys and ballet slippers. It's a lighter, less gore-filled approach to the conflict than you'll find elsewhere, but equally devastating.
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Galerija 11/07/95
This gallery uses stirring photography, video footage and audio testimonies of survivors and family members to create a powerful memorial to the 8372 victims of the Srebrenica massacre, one of the most infamous events of the Bosnian civil war. You'll need well over an hour to make the most of a visit, and it's worth paying the extra for the audioguide to gain more insight.
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Sarajevo City Hall
A storybook neo-Moorish striped facade makes the triangular Vijećnica (1896) Sarajevo's most beautiful Austro-Hungarian–era building. Seriously damaged during the 1990s siege, it finally reopened in 2014 after laborious reconstruction. Its colourfully restored interior and stained-glass ceiling are superb. Your ticket also allows you to peruse the excellent Sarajevo 1914–2014 exhibition in the octagonal basement. This gives well-explained potted histories of the city's various 20th-century periods, insights into fashion and music subcultures, and revelations about Franz Ferdinand's love life. In 1914 Franz Ferdinand and his much frowned-upon wife Sophie (his mother's former lady-in-waiting) had been on their way back from this very building when they were shot by Gavrilo Princip. From 1949 the building became the National Library but in August 1992 it was deliberately hit by a Serbian incendiary shell. Around two million irreplaceable manuscripts, books and documents were destroyed. Those that survived might one day return, but for now the building is used as the council chamber, for weddings and occasionally for concerts. Various exhibitions are staged in the upper level and, in 2018, an ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia) information centre opened on the ground floor, including the contents of the original courtroom, which was shifted here from the Hague.
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Sarajevo Cable Car
Reopened in 2018 after being destroyed during the war, Sarajevo's cable car once again shuttles people on a nine-minute ride, climbing 500m to a viewpoint 1164m up on Mt Trebević. From here it's a short walk to the wreck of the Olympic bobsled track, seemingly held together by layers of graffiti.
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Baščaršija
Centred on what foreigners nickname Pigeon Square, with its ornate gazebo-like Sebilj drinking fountain (built in 1891), Baščaršija is the very heart of old Sarajevo. The name is derived from the Turkish for 'main market' and it's still lined with stalls, lively (if tourist-centric) coppersmiths' alleys, grand Ottoman mosques, caravanserai (inn) restaurants and lots of inviting little cafes.
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Tunnel of Hope
During the 1992–95 siege, when Sarajevo was surrounded by Bosnian Serb forces, the only link to the outside world was an 800m-long, 1m-wide, 1.6m-high tunnel between two houses on opposite sides of the airport runway. Walking through a 25m section is the moving culmination of a visit to the shell-pounded house which hid the western tunnel entrance. The story of the siege and the tunnel's construction is told via video, information boards and an audioguide accessible via free wi-fi. Although the airport was supposedly neutral and under tenuous UN control during the conflict, crossing it would have been suicidal. The solution was to secretly build the tunnel, which was eventually equipped with rails to transport food and arms. That proved just enough to keep Sarajevo supplied during nearly four years of siege. Getting here by public transport is complicated; you're better off catching a taxi.
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Kajtaz House
Hidden behind tall walls, Mostar's most interesting old house was once the harem (women's) section of a larger homestead built for a 16th-century Turkish judge. Full of original artefacts, it still belongs to descendants of the original family but is now under Unesco protection. A visit includes a very extensive personal tour. The roof was lost in wartime bombardments but otherwise the pretty half-timbered structure has survived remarkably intact, including the carved-wood ablution boxes and the pebble-floored kitchen with meat-hanging beams. Out of season, opening hours are hit-and-miss. Enquire about the semi-regular Mostarian Night from 1688 (www.facebook.com/mostarian1688), a dinner and show held here with characters in period costume performing folk music and dances.
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St James Church complex
Međugorje's central focus is this rather functional double-towered 1969 church and the parklike grounds behind it. The main daily service is a 6pm rosary followed by a 7pm Mass, which in summer is celebrated in the huge outdoor arc behind the church. From here an avenue, lined with mosaics representing the rosary's Luminous Mysteries, leads to a garden showcasing a mesmerising 5m-tall bronze statue – the Resurrected Saviour (1998) by Ajdo Ajdić – of Jesus standing crucified yet without a cross. A small army of priests are on hand to hear confessions in a variety of languages throughout the day.
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