Are you heading to Belgrad and don't know what to do and see there?
Good thing is that Belgrade really isn't a big city - you'll get around quick and easy!
I was there in March of 2026 as part of a trip across several Balkan countries and here is what I believe you should know.
First things first...
Belgrade is the capital of Serbia, a fairly "young" country considering that is has only been independent since 2006. Before that it was part of the (first Socialist then only) Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
As of April 2026 it's estimated to be home of 6,6 million people who are fairly young on average too (44.7 years!) - 1.1 million of which are living in Belgrade.
Their currency is the Serbian Dinar (RSD) and though it's very easy to get around with your Visa and Mastercard (or other brands) due to their history it's not as easy for the people there to open up a bank account for the same online banks you might know or even use their accounts to connect to normal providers for most of us. Why does that matter to you? Because it's good to have cash at hand! Our host (though booked over Booking.com) explained to us that they are not able to get paid directly which is why we needed to pay our accommodation in cash when we got there. We also took a walking tour and while I'm used to QR codes or easy payments over Revolut these days, the guide explained the same as well: Due to restrictions it's not as easy for them. Luckily most operate easily with Euros too therefore you don't need to have the Dinars if you're only staying for a short time like us.
Know that though Serbia is in Europe, it's not part of the Schengen area and you will need a travel SIM card which specifically covers your stay there.
How to get around
Now this depends on where you start in Belgrade but the most common options are that you either arrive by plane or bus and lucky for you, I opted for the 1st option when I arrived & went on to the Kosovo with the 2nd option meaning I can talk about both
> Airport arrival/ departure
Good news! Public transport is free since 2025 for all kinds of transports EXCEPT for the shuttle bus & express buses (which start with "E") but you can easily take bus #72 from the airport which gets you into city in about 45min. The A1 shuttle bus is privately owned and you would have to pay for it (it's just a little quicker but we went with #72 instead).
> Bus terminal arrival/ departure
From the bus terminal you can easily take several busses or trams to get to or from the bus terminal.If you intent to leave Serbia with a bus, bare in mind that you have to go to the counter and buy an ADDITIONAL entry ticket just to get to your bus!! This actually made me really mad since I don't understand why that's the case but let's just leave it as "it's politics"... When you buy your bus ticket at the counter, they include it in the price but if you buy your ticket online you need to pay this "entry fee" of 300 RSD per person (around 2,50€) just to get to your bus - and yes someone checks it and won't let you enter the platform without it.
Turns out this is fairly common in the Balkans, we had to do the same in North Macedonia as well.
> Around the city
As I said before, public transport is free, therefore it's super easy to get around though most of the time we simply walked to the different sight seeings.Belgrade isn't super big and the main attractions aren't too far away from each other however there are different areas in the city you might be more drawn to (Old town, "New town" and the more hipster area) - to get around those it's easiest to grab a tram.
Top 7 attractions you should see
1) Belgrade Fortress: This has to be #1 as it's the main attraction in the city and there are several other sight seeings in the same park. There is no entrance fee but if you want to see something specific (one of the museums or the zoo) this can cost additionally
2) Military Museum: Right by the fortress is an outdoor museum which is separated in two parts - the first being literally an outdoor area displaying military related gear (no extra entrance, you literally walk around like it's part of the park) and a smaller area which is in a house (that one has opening hours and will remind you more of a museum)
3) The Victor statue: The statue itself represents the victory of Serbia during the Balkan wars but what's just as important is that this a platform from which you can see the division of the different neighborhoods I talked about earlier as well
4) The Republic Square: Is the main square in the city and a well known meet-up point for tourists and locals alike. Just like every city core, this is where you will find tons of restaurants and cafes as well
5) St. Mark Orthodox Church: This church is almost 90 years old which in terms of churches is actually fairly young but it's a (free) well visited church in the city
6) Hotel Moskva is known as a landmark for the city. It's been operating for almost 120 years and probably best known as the Gestapo seized the hotel and used it as their Belgrade headquarters during WW II
7) Kneza Mihaila is the most famous pedestrian street in the city (it's just a minute walk away from the Republic Square)
Where we stayed
We booked an accommodation over Booking.com and our main requirements were 1) We had to be in the city center (given that we only stayed for a short period of time) & it had to have a kitchen.
The kitchen is a mainly important to make something for on the go and breakfast which usually costs more than it actually needs to but as a vegetarian it also saves me in case the local cuisine isn't as interesting to me. Considering that this was the 2nd country during our Balkan trip and we were already on the road for several days it's also a nice option just to relax for a day rather than reading through blogs & online reviews.
We ended up staying at L9 Rooms & Apartments which was a nice small flat - ideal for our trip.
Good to Know
There were a few things that definitely caught me off guard and you might experience the same - let me share what I mean.
First of all, the way the streets are structured is a bit odd. It's not as easy to cross the streets like you might be used to because the roads are fairly big and intended for well flowing traffic. In order to keep it like that, they have several tunnels and passageways allowing you to cross without the need of traffic lights. It's convenient but equally confusing in the beginning because as a tourist you usually walk streets for the first time but Google Maps thankfully took it in consideration.
As I said we had a kitchen and therefore got things at the grocery store which isn't a big deal but if get fresh bread just know it's a little how most of us know it with fruits & vegetables too. When you get your bread e.g. a panini there are machines next to the baking counter and you need to choose which product you have and print a label for it before you go to the cashier. I'm used to having the option as part of the check-out counters but it's not a big deal as long as you know about it.
One thing I do have to say about the food we bought is that it generally tasted a bit odd. I assume it's because of their economical position within Europe they import items which I'm not used to but this was the only country where I felt things tasted rather plain (even eggs!)
I haven't tried it but our guide said that Serbia is a big raspberry exporter and they definitely value what's theirs there
If you look at the different kinds of ads you might get confused about what is actually their language vs. another you can read. Turns out Serbia uses two different kinds of alphabets: the latin one you are probably used to more and the Serbian Cyrillic which reminds me a lot of the Russian one. They are not the same but they are still fairly alike. I asked our guide about it and it turns out everybody needs to learn both alphabets in school but the government has been supporting companies with price cuts when they use Serbian Cyrillic to keep the momentum of their own language.
Travel Budget
If this is the first blog you read from me, this might surprise you but I love to end my posts with showing the breakdown of what I spent to show how much you can realistically budget your trip for.
This calculation is based on shared expenses, meaning the accommodation is a per person price based on a booking for two people and we share food/ restaurant cost in a way that one of us pays in place A, the other in place B and the first again in place C. You get the idea.
Overall we stayed for 2,5 days in March 2026 and ate at restaurants as well as having an accommodation with a kitchen for which we bought groceries in supermarkets & markets. The prices include the conversation rates during our stay.
The "other" category includes small fees e.g. restroom fees or the travel eSIM.
Not considering the accommodation or flight to get to Belgrade, we paid an average of 23€/ day per person.
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