The capital
Almost every trip starts in Belgrade, a big, warm and loud capital built where the Sava meets the Danube. It has the Kalemegdan fortress, the cobbled bohemian street of Skadarlija, serious museums, the green islands of Ada Ciganlija and Great War Island, and a famous nightlife on and off the river. Give it at least three nights.
The north and the Danube
An hour or less north by fast train, Novi Sad is calmer and more Central European, with a pastel old town, the huge Petrovaradin Fortress and the EXIT festival each July. It is also the gateway to the vineyards of Sremski Karlovci and the monasteries of Fruška Gora. Further east, the Danube squeezes through the cliffs of the Iron Gates, with Golubac Fortress, the prehistoric site of Lepenski Vir and some of the best road and river scenery in the Balkans. Up near the Hungarian border, Subotica and Lake Palić add Art Nouveau architecture to a northern loop.
The south
Niš is Serbia's third city and one of the oldest in the Balkans, the birthplace of the Roman emperor Constantine. Come for the fortress, the Roman villas of Mediana, the haunting Skull Tower, the grill restaurants of Kazandžijsko sokače and the Nišville jazz festival in August.
The mountains
In the west, Zlatibor and Tara offer pine forests, cool summer air and winter snow. Ride the Šargan Eight heritage railway, visit the wooden village of Drvengrad, and stand above the Drina canyon at Banjska Stena in Tara National Park.
How to combine them
With a week, pair Belgrade and Novi Sad with either Zlatibor and Tara or Niš. With ten days to two weeks, add the Iron Gates and a night in Subotica. Use our places to visit list to fill each stop, then shape the route with the free trip planner.