Belgrade

Why Belgrade works

Belgrade's history is written into its geography: Kalemegdan Fortress sits directly at the point where the Sava River meets the Danube, and the two-thousand-year-old citadel has been fought over by Celts, Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans, and Austro-Hungarians in turn, each layer still visible in the walls, gates, and towers spread across the park today. The Victor Monument, a bronze figure overlooking the confluence, has become the city's unofficial symbol, best seen at sunset when the two rivers turn gold below. Skadarlija, Belgrade's old bohemian quarter, runs a single cobbled street lined with traditional kafanas serving Serbian grilled meat and live accordion music, largely unchanged since the early 20th century when it was the haunt of the city's writers and artists. Knez Mihailova, the main pedestrian boulevard, connects the fortress to Republic Square past Habsburg-era facades and street performers. Belgrade's more recent history shows too — Nikola Tesla Museum holds the inventor's personal effects and working models, while the brutalist architecture of New Belgrade across the Sava reflects the city's Yugoslav-era ambitions. After dark, the floating river clubs (splavovi) moored along both riverbanks have made Belgrade one of Europe's most talked-about nightlife destinations, running until sunrise most weekends.

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