Belgrade

Ten of Belgrade’s best hidden hangouts

Belgrade is quietly becoming rather well known as a slightly quirky destination whose appeal is evident but tricky to pinpoint precisely. It shouldn’t come as a big surprise, then, that much of the city’s charm remains squirreled away from the main sights and central locations. Here are 10 of the best hidden hangouts to explore during your stay.

Belgrade's Jevremovac Botanical Gardens © Brana Vladisavljevic / Lonely Planet

Ivan Kovanovic

Lonely Planet Writer

Daytime Belgrade for beginners

Belgrade is not your typical European sightseeing destination, and it often gets overlooked by travellers. Alternatively the bad boy and the beacon of the Balkans, this intriguing metropolis offers more than just grand architecture and signature dishes: its staggering history, coupled with creativity and laid-back hedonism, makes it a real lived-in city, not a living museum.

Sunset views from Kalemegdan over the confluence of the Sava and the Danube. Image by Djordje Rusic / Getty Images

Brana Vladisavljevic

Lonely Planet Writer

Belgrade bacchanal: a night out in Serbia’s capital

Nobody is quite sure why, but gritty Belgrade – a million light years away from hedonistic hotspots like Barcelona and Berlin – has morphed into one of the world’s top party cities. Perhaps it’s an enduring live-for-the-moment phenomenon (the city was repeatedly bombed in 1999) or simply the sociable Serbian spirit: whatever the reason, there’s fun for everyone once the sun goes down (and when it comes up again).

Belgrade's rivers really come alive at night. Image by Dragan Bosnić / Courtesy of National Tourism Organisation of Serbia