Roavina

City guide · Serbia

Belgrade

A photograph of Belgrade
Photograph · Vladimir Nolic · CC BY-SA 4.0

Belgrade is 389.12 km² holding 1,197,714 people, and it stands on the point where the Sava runs into the Danube. That confluence is why the city exists and why it has been fought over so relentlessly: it has been battled over in 115 wars and razed 44 times. The name Beograd means white city. The administrative area holds 1,682,720 people across 3,234.96 km² in 17 municipalities. The part a visitor uses is a fraction of that — the old town on the ridge above the rivers, and the streets running down from it.

Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor

Practical information
Language spoken
Serbian
Written in both Cyrillic and Latin; English is understood in tourist districts
Dialling code
+381 11
Belgrade landlines; drop the leading 0 of 011 when calling from abroad
Currency
Serbian dinar (RSD)
Euros are not accepted; cards are widely taken in Belgrade
Emergency number
112
One number across the country; 194 reaches an ambulance directly
Plug type
Type C and F · 230 V
Standard European two-pin
Tap water
Not recorded
No verified national source in the dataset

Turn this list into a plan

Set your days, your pace and the hours you actually want to be out. The planner works around closing days and travel time, and leaves room to eat.

Plan Belgrade

Planning a visit

Suggested stay
2–3 days
Getting around
Tram, bus and on foot
  1. January: viable with meaningful trade-offs
  2. February: viable with meaningful trade-offs
  3. March: good time to visit
  4. April: best time to visit
  5. May: best time to visit
  6. June: good time to visit
  7. July: viable with meaningful trade-offs
  8. August: viable with meaningful trade-offs
  9. September: best time to visit — current month
  10. October: best time to visit
  11. November: good time to visit
  12. December: viable with meaningful trade-offs
  • Best time
  • Good time
  • Viable with trade-offs
  • Difficult conditions

Sources

Top things to see

Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.

Filter the list

26 places match
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Category

Historic monuments 0 Museums 0 Places of worship 19 Nature sites 0 Viewpoints 0 Food and drink 0 Markets and shopping 0 Entertainment 0 Nightlife 0 Family attractions 0 Art and culture 7 Activities 0

Typical visit duration

Up to 1 hour 25 1 to 2 hours 1

Interests

History 92 Art 26 Museums 40 Nature 28 Sea and beach 26 Viewpoints 2
  1. Church of Saint Sava Church of Saint Sava
    01 1 hour

    Church of Saint Sava

    Храм Светог Саве

    The Church of Saint Sava stands where an Ottoman general burned a saint's bones, and it took eighty-five years to build.

    • Must see
    • Place of worship
    • Vračar
  2. St. Mark's Church St. Mark's Church
    02 30 min

    St. Mark's Church

    Црква Светог Марка

    St. Mark's Church is a Serbian Orthodox church on Tašmajdan hill in central Belgrade, built between 1931 and 1940 to designs by the brothers Petar and Branko Krstić, both professors at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Architecture.

    • Must see
    • Place of worship
    • Palilula
  3. National Theatre in Belgrade National Theatre in Belgrade
    03 45 min

    National Theatre in Belgrade

    Народно позориште у Београду

    The National Theatre opened on Republic Square in 1868, modelled by the architect Aleksandar Bugarski on Milan's La Scala and Moscow's Bolshoi rather than on a local precedent, at a time when Serbia was asserting itself as a modern European…

    • Must see
    • Art and culture venue
    • Stari Grad
  4. St. Michael's Cathedral St. Michael's Cathedral
    04 20 min

    St. Michael's Cathedral

    Саборни храм Светог архангела Михаила

    St. Michael's Cathedral is the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Belgrade, built between 1837 and 1845 on the site of an earlier church destroyed in the Ottoman era.

    • Must see
    • Place of worship
    • Stari Grad
  5. Atelje 212 Atelje 212
    05 2 hours

    Atelje 212

    Атеље 212

    Atelje 212 is a repertory theatre in central Belgrade, opened on 12 November 1956 with a staging of Goethe's Faust directed by Mira Trailović.

    • Must see
    • Art and culture venue
    • Stari Grad
  6. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Belgrade Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Belgrade
    06 5 min

    Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Belgrade

    Београдска надбискупија

    This building on Svetozara Markovića street is the Episcopal Palace, seat of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Belgrade — the Roman Catholic archdiocese covering Central Serbia, with the Diocese of Subotica and the Diocese of Zrenjanin as its suffragans.

    • Must see
    • Place of worship
    • Vračar
  7. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
    07 20 min

    Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

    Храм Светог Александра Невског

    The Church of St. Alexander Nevsky is a Serbian Orthodox parish church in Belgrade's Dorćol neighborhood, standing on Cara Dušana Street in the Stari Grad municipality.

    • Must see
    • Place of worship
    • Stari Grad
  8. Co-cathedral of Christ the King in Belgrade Co-cathedral of Christ the King in Belgrade
    08 30 min

    Co-cathedral of Christ the King in Belgrade

    Црква Криста Краља

    The Co-cathedral of Christ the King on Krunska street is the oldest Catholic place of worship in Belgrade, a city where the Catholic minority has always shared ground with an Orthodox majority.

    • Must see
    • Place of worship
    • Vračar
  9. Yugoslav Drama Theatre Yugoslav Drama Theatre
    09 1 hour

    Yugoslav Drama Theatre

    Југословенско драмско позориште

    Yugoslav Drama Theatre, known locally as Jugoslovensko dramsko pozorište, is a Belgrade institution founded in 1947.

    • Notable
    • Art and culture venue
    • Savski Venac
  10. Terazije Theatre Terazije Theatre
    10 1 hour

    Terazije Theatre

    Позориште на Теразијама

    Terazije Theatre is a live performance venue at Trg Nikole Pašića 3 in central Belgrade, with its public programme organised around scheduled productions rather than a permanent exhibition.

    • Notable
    • Art and culture venue
    • Stari Grad
  11. Madlenianum Opera and Theatre Madlenianum Opera and Theatre
    11 1 hour

    Madlenianum Opera and Theatre

    Мадленијанум

    Madlenianum Opera and Theatre is a music-stage theatre in Zemun, Belgrade, founded in 1998. The venue presents opera, theatre and other stage productions at a prominent address on Glavna Street.

    • Notable
    • Art and culture venue
    • Zemun
  12. Church of St. Basil of Ostrog Church of St. Basil of Ostrog
    12 30 min

    Church of St. Basil of Ostrog

    Црква Светог Василија Острошког

    • High
    • Place of worship
    • New Belgrade
  13. Building of the Patriarchate Building of the Patriarchate
    13 30 min

    Building of the Patriarchate

    Патријаршија Српске православне цркве

    • High
    • Place of worship
    • Stari Grad
  14. Vavedenje Monastery Vavedenje Monastery
    14 30 min

    Vavedenje Monastery

    Манастир Ваведења пресвете Богородице

    • High
    • Place of worship
    • Savski Venac
  18. Svetotroična church Svetotroična church
    18 30 min

    Svetotroična church

    Црква Свете Тројице

    • High
    • Place of worship
    • Zemun
  21. Crkva Svetog apostola Luke Crkva Svetog apostola Luke
    21 30 min

    Crkva Svetog apostola Luke

    Црква Светог апостола Луке

    • High
    • Place of worship
    • Čukarica

Source: OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata ·

More city guides

Where to base yourself

District boundaries come from OSM administrative relations, so a district page holds exactly the places inside it — plus, for the islands and the coast, the nearest district by proximity.

  • Stari Grad

    Places
    571
    Across the district
    35 min

  • Savski Venac

    Places
    222
    Across the district
    1 hr 24 min

  • New Belgrade

    Places
    184
    Across the district
    2 hours

  • Vračar

    Places
    135
    Across the district
    40 min

  • Zemun

    Places
    127
    Across the district
    4 hr 56 min

  • Palilula

    Places
    131
    Across the district
    7 hr 42 min

  • Zvezdara

    Places
    116
    Across the district
    1 hr 48 min

  • Čukarica

    Places
    95
    Across the district
    3 hr 6 min

  • Voždovac

    Places
    87
    Across the district
    4 hr 29 min

  • Rakovica

    Places
    60
    Across the district
    1 hr 55 min

How the city is laid out

Two Belgrades, split by the Sava.

Old Belgrade sits on the ridge on the right bank, above the confluence. The fortress is at the point; Stari Grad, the old town, runs back from it; Vračar rises behind that with the Church of Saint Sava on top; Dorćol drops north towards the Danube and Savamala south towards the Sava.

New Belgrade is on the left bank of the Sava, built from 1948 onward on empty ground to demonstrate that Yugoslavia was at the forefront of progress. It is towers and boulevards on a grid and it is a different city.

Zemun, further up the Danube on the left bank, was a separate town under Austria-Hungary until the twentieth century and still reads as one — low houses, a hill with a tower, and the border of an empire running through it.

Checked 2026-08-23

Getting around

Trams, buses, trolleybuses and walking. There is no metro.

A metro has been discussed for decades and is not in operation; anyone reading about the Belgrade metro is reading about a construction programme, not a way to get across the city today.

The old town is compact and the walk from the fortress to the Church of Saint Sava takes about half an hour, all of it through the parts a visitor came for. New Belgrade and Zemun need transport.

Taxis are cheap by western European standards and are the usual way across the river at night.

Checked 2026-08-23

Common questions

How many days does Belgrade need?

Two to three. Two cover the fortress, Kalemegdan, the old town and the Church of Saint Sava. A third adds Zemun on the Danube and a look at New Belgrade.

Is there a metro?

No. Belgrade runs trams, buses and trolleybuses, and a metro has been discussed for decades without entering service. The old town is walkable and taxis are cheap.

What does Beograd mean?

White city. The name is literal.

Why is the city so scarred?

It stands where the Sava meets the Danube, which made it the frontier between empires. It has been fought over in 115 wars and razed 44 times.

What is the difference between Old and New Belgrade?

The Sava. Old Belgrade is the ridge above the confluence with the fortress at its point. New Belgrade is on the left bank, built from 1948 on empty ground as a demonstration of Yugoslav modernity.

Which districts should I stay in?

Stari Grad for the old town, Vračar behind it for a quieter residential base, Dorćol towards the Danube and Savamala on the Sava for the nightlife. Zemun is a separate town in feel and is further out.