Are 2 Days In Pristina Enough?

This year I’m exploring the Balkan countries a bit more and decided to start in Bucharest and then heading over to Belgrade and from there head over to the Kosovo afterwards.
For me, the main stereotype I heard is how poor this part of Europe is and I barely know anybody who was there yet either therefore I was eager to see how it is for myself.

But let's start of with the basics as per usual:

How to get to Pristina 

Pristina is the capital of the Kosovo.

The Kosovo is a quite controversial country in Eastern Europe because it's not considered a country in all countries of the world. This goes back when the whole area was better known as Yugoslavia which are now all individual countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia). Kosovo was technically part of Serbia but declared its own independence back in 2008. Several hundred countries recognize it but Serbia for example doesn't.

Because of that it's actually not as easy to get to the Kosovo. The reason for that is the issue between Serbia and Kosovo is that if you come from Serbia to Kosovo, they recognize your entry and you will be able to go back to Serbia if needed too but if you start off in the Kosovo you will not be allowed to enter Serbia as you are considered to have arrived in the country illegally and will rejected along the border.

• By car: There is no official direct entry between Serbia and Kosovo! You are better off driving from Serbia to North Macedonia and from there to Kosovo. That way you will be granted to enter the countries without issues. If you rent a car (which you will since you are a future tourist reading this) be aware that most rental insurances do not cover the Kosovo and trust me when I say the streets aren't well maintained...
• By bus: If you start off in Serbia like we did, you can easily take a bus (we went with Gjirafa travel). It takes about 4h and you will pass border control on the way. Let me tell you - the bus tour was crazy though! It was dirty all along the streets and there are locals on the bus for which the driver literally stops in the middle of nowhere for people to get off an on. It feels like a city bus stopping along the route but considering that this is an easy way to get around, it makes sense that that happens. On the way there we were literally the only non-Serbians - be aware that you have to start in Serbia first - you will be permitted entry to Serbia from Kosovo if you start off there!! 

I already explained in my blog post about Belgrade how the bus terminal experience was there - if you interest to read up on that you can do so here. 

What to see in Pristina

 Pristina is a very small city. Honestly I would rather consider it a town that a city. While the population in 2026 is actually around 500.000 which sounds like a lot for what I've seen, it's because the area is very wide spread, yet you as tourist will only be in the core which is literally just a couple streets.

There are no real attractions there. I'll provide a list of what I found online before going there but you can't really consider those sight seeings. The country and therefore city itself is only 20 years old and in a century or two there will be more there but at the moment it's rather history of their independence which shapes Pristina than the usual old churches, museums or monuments we know from our normal visits to other countries. For now there is a lot of construction going on and the streets are dirty and very much still in the development stage. Don't forget to take ankle boots! You'll thank me later!

Consider Pristina as a day trip - Prizren would have more to offer from the looks of it! You can see everything there needs to be seen within a few hours.

 

The main thing you will see is street art. There are websites dedicated to show you which ones the best are and I found them quite nice (however if you have ever been in Athens, this is nothing in comparison!).

The Mother Theresa Cathedral was mentioned as interesting site and people mentioned you could go up one of the towers to see the city from above but when we were there it was fully closed for construction.

There is a Clock Tower which might is simply just that (not super tall, you can't access it) but it's close to the Great Mosque and the area around there looked nice.

As I mentioned independence is a major topic for Kosovo. In Pristina you will find the Newborn monument and a Bill Clinton statue representing that Kosovo supports the USA (while Serbia is closely tied to Russia). 

Another thing that is rather "consider it as sightseeing because it's something to see" but really nothing special is the national library. Honestly it looks like a metal covered building. Some websites even call this one of the ugliest buildings Europes but it feels like that people just needed to find something to talk about. Is it worth seeing? No. But it simple there? Yup.

Apart from that the Green Market has been mentioned several times but I would not advise you to go. The choices there aren't good and I (as blonde woman) did not feel safe there. There are a lot of beggars who see you as a tourist and obviously want get money from you. Bare in mind that the population is also almost 96% Muslim which means they have a different view on women than Westerners. 

Where to eat in Pristina

Now here is where it gets interesting! I would have never imagined writting this but Pristina is a food paradise for vegetarians!

I'm sure it's tied to the Muslim culture but there are a lot of options! 

General you will find most restaurants in and around Bulevardi Nene Tereza.

Here are my Top 3 which I can recommend:

1) Pastatore Eatery - if you're craving pasta or gnocchi this is THE spot!

2) Tat's - The mushroom burger was even approved by my non-vegetarian partner!

3) Mery's Food and Coffee - very easy going restaurant with lots of options. They basically cover everything from breakfast to dinner

Where we stayed

We booked an accommodation over Booking.com called Pristina Select Apartments.

For us, the important part that it is located central (which it was!) and that there is a kitchen/ kitchenette - just in case it's hard to find vegetarian food, I like to have the option just to grab something at the supermarket. Be it for breakfast, lunch or dinner. This might not be interesting for a short stay but if the short stay is part of a 10-day trip through several countries like it was for us, sometimes you're happy to just cook something you crave instead of doom-scolling Google Maps to find a good restaurant.

Unusal but additional things worth mentioning about my stay in Pristina

1) As I said before, the city is very much still in development and the streets especially are not well maintained. Apart from construction work, be aware that this means there is a lot of loose pavement on the streets too. I have never been happier to bring ankle boots on a trip and I highly recommend it! Living in Ireland I usually bring rain-proof pants regardless but this gave me the option easily wash them from below the knee and the shoes as well every evening.

2) Credit card accepted everywhere but in small markets which is great because you don't need to take cash with you. If you want to though, their official currency is the Euro and it wasn't hard to find a bank/ ATM on the main square (we prepared for the next part of our journey which was North Macedonia and just like with Serbia they usually only accept cash at certain places).

3) When you go into a local supermarket, they generally show where products are coming from for EVERY SINGLE product. It's really cool to see all the flags on the shelves! Obviously there are a lot from North Macedonia but some are from the Kosovo too, or other countries in Europe (I don't remember seeing any non-European products).

4) In my opinion, the people were less friendly than in Belgrade. Starting off with the waiters but also the vibe in general wasn't super inviting. Bare in mind that they don't have too many tourists around and because of their unique geographic position, there probably aren't many connecting points either e.g. there is no trains going there, no ports or airports. 

5) One fact I read about the population which fascinated me prior to getting there is that more than half of the people living in the Kosovo are 25 years or younger. While it wasn't as obvious to me when I got there, it's still very interesting to me as this means the younger generation will shape this country in the long run. I believe that means, they have the potential to be innovative - it's just a matter of if/ when they will have the funds to establish the country better and develop. 

6) Don't forget that even though Kosovo has the Euro and is in Europe, you will need to get an eSIM/ add it additionally to your existing plan as roaming does not cover this country. I recommend HolaFly since you can get a package for Serbia, Kosovo & North Macedonia together.

What we spent during our stay in Pristina

As mentioned, we were there for two days and the breakdown below is an average per person therefore the accommodation is half of what we paid.

Overall there wasn't too much to see and our highest expense ended up being the food itself which I don't regret at all!

The transport is the bus we took to get to Pristina itself and that means overall we spent 25€/ day per Person (or 50€/ person if you want to include the accommodation & bus).

Are 2 days enough in Pristina?

ABSOLUTELY! I honestly regret that we stayed "so long". If I would plan the trip again with the knowledge I have now, I would first go to Prinzren for a day and then only stay a day in Pristina as well. You're not missing out on not seeing it at all but I still believe in around 10 years this can be a good tourist spot (especially for food even when it's not the traditional cuisine) just because it's close to Skopje which is where we went afterwards. It's also a good connecting point to go to Montenegro or Albana. As part of a roadtrip or bus trip like we did it, it's part of seeing the bigger picture of the area.