Belgrade

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Belgrade
Climate chart (explanation)
	Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
	Precipitation+Snow totals in mm
	Source: Wikipedia. Visit AccuWeather for a five day forecast.
Imperial conversion
	Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
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Belgrade (Serbian: Београд, Beograd) — meaning 'White City' — is the capital of the Republic of Serbia. With a population of over 1.7 million people, Belgrade has been re-emerging as a tourist destination in the past years. Often called the party capital of Southeastern Europe, Belgrade is famous for offering numerous entertainment venues, many historical sites, great local food, and warm people. Various styles of architecture are found in the city, and its resurgence in the 21st century as the leading hub in Southeastern Europe makes it a must-see destination.

Understand

History

Belgrade is the country's largest city. It lies on the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers. The city has a long history, dating back to the 4th century BC, when the area was settled by Celtic tribes. Later, it became the Roman city of Singidunum, and relics of that era can still be seen in the city, particularly at the Belgrade Fortress. During the Middle Ages the town became a Serbian stronghold until the Ottoman invasion. The city changed hands between the Ottoman and the Austrian empires several times until 1878, when Serbia gained its independence and Belgrade became the capital of the new country.

After the First World War, Belgrade became the seat of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (in 1929, the country changed its name to Kingdom of Yugoslavia) until its collapse in 1943. Due to its strategic location, the city has endured more than 115 wars and has been destroyed more than 40 times. This often violent history and outside influence has colored much of Belgrade's evolution, which is evident in its culture and architecture. Often caught between the hammer and anvil of clashing empires, the city has taken on a unique character, reminiscent of both Austrian and Turkish influences, with a unique set of Communist elements thrown in as Yugoslavia was expelled from the Eastern Bloc in 1948 but followed its own brand of communism until Marshal Tito died in 1980. The city has its own spirit, and in it can be found some not only unique features, but also a healthy joie de vivre in its café culture, nightlife and often a Mediterranean touch in its daily life.

Climate

Belgrade has a temperate continental climate, with hot, humid summers and cold winters with occasional periods of snowfall. Belgrade experiences all four seasons to their maximums, and those visiting are advised to dress appropriately, and keep an eye on the weather forecast, as the city often experiences sudden gusts of the strong Košava wind, storms, and rainfall, particularly during the summer months.

People

Whilst there isn't much ethnic or cultural diversity in Belgrade compared to other European cities, there are minority communities (largely Roma and Chinese), as well as people from other former Yugoslav republics, such as Bosnia, Croatia and Macedonia. There is also a small expat community. Cultural events from around the world, however, are starting to become increasingly common, particularly in the spring and summer months, sponsored by local arts and culture organizations, and by foreign embassies and cultural centers. These attract a good deal of local attention, and help in raising the city's profile as a cultural hotspot.

Belgradians, like most Serbs, are friendly and hospitable people, who will always go out of their way to make guests feel welcome. Whatever the ethnicity, any tourist who comes to Belgrade and treats the locals kindly will see that kindness returned doubled. Most young people speak English well, and usually another foreign language such as German, Russian, or French. As with any destination, it could prove useful to learn some of the local phrases.

Get in

By plane

The main entry route into Belgrade and Serbia is 44.81944420.3069441 Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport (BEG ^IATA) (18 km west of city center). It's the hub for Air Serbia and has flights to most European capitals, but especially to Balkan cities such as Ljubljana, Podgorica, Sarajevo, Skopje, Sofia, Thessaloniki, Tirana, Tivat and Zagreb. Near-east destinations include Abu Dhabi, Baku, Beirut, Doha, Dubai, Istanbul and Tel Aviv. There's a direct flight to New York JFK. Serbia's not a big country so there are no domestic flights. For practical purposes there's only a single terminal. Arriving, you pass through the airside lounge before passport control and baggage reclaim. Currency exchange kiosks here give rates within 5% of official rate, good value anywhere. Departing, passport control comes straight after check-in then you enter the airside lounge. There's retail and eating but little general seating. Each departure gate has its own security screen and cramped waiting area without toilets, a thoroughly awkward design. (updated Apr 2019)

Transport to & from the city:

Bus 72 runs every 30 mins to Zeleni Venac, close to the inter-city bus station and Republic Square. The fare is RSD150, pay the driver (and get some small notes at the currency exchange). It's a 40-50 min ride into town, zigzagging through the shopping malls of the western burbs. Buses run daily 05:00-23:30. The bus runs from outside Departures, so from Arrivals you need to go upstairs. At Zeleni Venac the stop for the 72 is the furthest uphill, or most easterly, on the main platform with all the fast food outlets.
Minibus A1 runs between the airport and Slavija Square, stopping at Fontana (Novi Beograd) and the main railway station. The buses are comfortable and air-conditioned. The fare is RSD300, pay the driver and state your destination before departure. The trip takes 30 minutes. This bus also runs at night, with a short break from around 02:00-04:00.
If you prefer to take a taxi, read the precautions described below. The fare from the airport is fixed - most taxi companies have a price list in multiple languages. The price is around RSD1800 to the center and New Belgrade and RSD2000 to the suburbs, and includes luggage. You can order a taxi by phone or simply go upstairs to Departures and catch one of the taxis dropping off passengers.

By bus

This is the best overland option from western Europe while the railway is being dug up. There are buses at least daily to Budapest (6-7 hours), Sarajevo (7 hours), Sofia (11 hours) and Thessaloniki (10 hours via Niš and Skopje). Buses connect Belgrade to all the main cities of Serbia: some speed along the motorway, others wend and wind through small towns en route, so check: the next departure might not be the quickest option. Quality of coaches is variable. They stop every 3 or 4 hours for a rest break - keep a close watch on your belongings at these stops, and on arrival be intensely suspicious of taxi touts and supposed luggage porters.

44.81220.4532 Belgrade Bus Station ^{[dead link]} (BAS, Београдска аутобуска станица) is just north of the derelict former railway station on Karađorđeva street. Timetables aren't clearly posted, or only in Serbian, so ask inside the terminal building. Various cafes and kiosks here. There's a charge of RSD180 to enter the platform area, normally included in the fare and you receive a plastic token or paper stub with a QR code to get through the gate. If you bought your ticket online, then it might not be included and you'd have to buy a platform card in the terminal. You might also have to pay the bus driver an extra RSD100 per bag placed in the cargo compartment.

Local buses don't use BAS, but the bus stands adjacent south. There are no gates or charges to enter this area.

GEA Tours, Kneza Milosa 65, Belgrade, ☏ +381 11 2686, +381 635 2686, +381 622 2643, +381 840, +381 268 5043, gea@eunet.rs. They make regular runs by minibus or large car between Belgrade and Budapest, Timișoara, Niš, Thessaloniki, Chalkidiki, Zlatibor, Tara, Drvengrad, Szeged via Novi Sad and Subotica, Palić and Prokuplje. (updated Jul 2019)

By train

Not in 2020: The track between Budapest and Belgrade is being dug up, so an 8-hour direct journey has become a 26-hour slog with two changes, with similar disruption to other services along that route. The description below is for the usual pattern of trains, and may intermittently apply while the track work drags on. See also Serbian Railways for times and prices.

The former main station on Karađorđeva Bvd closed in 2018. Westbound trains now run from 44.79420.4533 Belgrade Center Railway Station (Beograd Centar-Prokop) (2 km south of city centre beyond E-75). This station is largely unfinished, and has poor onward transport connections. Specify "Beograd Centar" when searching online timetables, as "Beograd" refers to the former station and finds no trains. (updated May 2019)

Routes from Centre station include:

Budapest Keleti: 8-9 hours, two daytime trains and one overnight. Departures are around 08:00, 12:00 and 22:00 in both directions.
Change in Budapest for most destinations further west, and into Eastern Europe. But there is one direct train a day for Vienna (12 hr) via Budapest. There's also one for Zürich (23 hr), via Zagreb (7 hr), Ljubljana (9 hr), Villach (12 hr) and Innsbruck (18 hr).
Trains to Novi Sad run every couple of hours, taking 2 hours.

These westbound trains also call at 44.80678520.4178744 Novi Beograd on the west bank of the River Sava.

South- and eastbound trains depart from a "temporary" terminus at 44.77720.4375 Topčider in the leafy southern parkland (as of 2020). These run to:

Podgorica (10 hr) and Bar (12 hr) in Montenegro, one daytime and one overnight.
Overnight to Thessaloniki (23 hr) via Niš (5 hr) and Skopje (10 hr). Change in Thessaloniki for Athens, Piraeus and ferries to the Greek Islands. The Greek section between Gevgelija and Thessaloniki is replaced by buses until mid-Sept 2019.
Sofia: one train daily (10 hr) via Niš; travel via Sofia for Bucharest or Istanbul.

This arrangement will last until these trains can be accommodated at Center station. Topčider has no facilities and poor onward local transport, but its trains also stop at Rakovica, which is on the suburban line to city centre.

By car

Coming north from Subotica and Novi Sad, the E-75 highway is recommended, as well as driving to Belgrade from the south. There is also a major road called Ibarska magistrala (Ibar highway, M-22), which provides approach from south-west (direction of Montenegro, for example). From the west, use the E-70 highway (from Zagreb, Ljubljana, etc.) Major roads can be used coming east and north-east from Vršac and Zrenjanin.

Highways have toll stations, which are moderately priced. Serbia's only highways are parts of E-70 and E-75 roads and the highway passes right through Belgrade, causing traffic jams on the Gazela bridge and at the Mostar junction. These jams have been reduced somewhat by redirecting heavy goods vehicles to the Belgrade Bypass and by the new Ada Bridge. See the infobox for more information on transiting Belgrade.

Belgrade Bypass When travelling by car from Western and Central Europe to Greece, Bulgaria or Turkey, the route almost inevitably goes through or near Belgrade. If you have decided not to visit the city, but to continue straight to, say, Thessaloniki, you might be tempted to use the southern Belgrade Bypass by following the green Niš signs before entering Belgrade. However, as of summer 2014 the bypass is still a patchwork of new and old, good and poor quality road sections, and full of heavy goods vehicles. Therefore it is often faster to go through the Serbian capital.

By boat

Cruises along the Danube sometimes call at Belgrade, but there are no point-to-point ferries.

By bicycle

Belgrade is on European bicycle route Eurovelo 6 which connects the Atlantic Ocean and Black Sea. The route across Serbia is from Budapest via Osijek and Novi Sad to Belgrade, continuing east to Vidin.

Get around

44°49′12″N 20°27′34″E

Map of Belgrade

By public transport

GSP Beograde (ГСП in Serbian Cyrillic) operates an extensive public transport network of buses, trolleybuses, and trams in the city and its suburbs. Maps are available online as well as a route planner which is more up to date. There is a BusPlus android app ^{[dead link]} (Srb/Eng), useful for navigating all the lines and the stops on a map. There is a paid option to check how many stops away the next vehicle is.

Buses

Buses are the backbone of Belgrade's public transport, and you can get almost anywhere on them. Buses get very full at peak times, and some are full all day, notoriously the 26, 83 and 50. Their quality varies: those around the city centre or serving posh neighbourhoods are usually newer air-conditioned vehicles, e.g. the Polish Solaris Urbino 18. Further out you may encounter some elderly specimens, e.g. the 30 year old Ikarbus with wooden benches for seats.

There are two main bus terminals for local buses: the intercity main bus station (next to the disused railway station) for the west and southwest suburbs, and Zeleni Venac for the north (Zemun and Batajnica) and some western parts of the city (Banovo Brdo, Žarkovo, Čukarica). It's a steep ten minute walk from the main bus station to Zeleni Venac, with no bus between.

There was a third hub at Trg Republike, but those buses were relocated even before the square was closed off and dug up, and they're not expected to return once that work is complete.

Trams

There are 11 tram lines in Belgrade. All lines converge in the Slavija-Vukov Spomenik area (except 11 and 13 which go to Novi Beograd from Kalemegdan and Banovo Brdo, respectively).

The most notable line is line nr. 2, which goes around the city centre in a circular route (krug dvojke). Another notable line is the nr. 3, which goes through scenic park area of Topčider.

Several tram lines are served only by new CAF Urbos trams (7 and 12, also 13), while most of the other ones are serviced by old Tatra KT4 and Basel donated trams (some of them more than 50 years old, but in a better state than Tatras, as those trams were left to decay for years during the 1990s and 2000s).

Trolleybuses

Belgrade's trolleybuses have 7 lines serving two main corridors. One corridor is from Studentski trg (near Trg Republike) over Crveni Krst to Konjarnik and Medaković 3. The other is from Zvezdara to Banjica, plied by lines 40 (Banjica-Zvezdara), 41 (Studentski trg - Banjica) and 28 (Studentski trg - Zvezdara). The trolleybuses are mostly newer Belarusian vehicles with a couple of older Soviet ZiUs.

Fares

There are three ticket options for non-residents, which can be bought or topped up at kiosks:

Single ticket (Zone 1+2): RSD150, bought from the driver and valid for that ride. Drivers often can't be bothered selling you these and let you ride for free, but beware inspectors.
Day tickets (Zone 1+2): One day (ie 24 hr) RSD250, so it's worth it even for a simple return; three days (72 hr) RSD700, or five days (120 hours) RSD1000. The time runs from the point of purchase.
Non-personalized card (Zone 1+2): the card itself costs RSD250, to which you add the cost of rides, with each journey of up to 90 mins being RSD89. So the first purchase will be a minimum RSD340. A top up of at least RSD900 earns you RSD100 in free credit, thus you recoup the cost of the card (which is valid for 3 years) after 30 journeys.

Payment is by cash to driver or kiosk (contactless cards aren't yet in use), by the online Bus Plus system, or by Android app.

Personalized cards with photo ID are only available to residents. Single tickets are validated by the driver on issue, all others must be validated on boarding. If a busy bus suddenly empties, it's because they've spotted an inspector getting aboard. Your options, if without a ticket, are to jump ship with them, to bluster or brazen your way out, or face a RSD2000 spot fine.

Minibuses connect the suburbs and are generally faster and more comfortable than regular buses. A single ride costs RSD150, pay the driver. Day tickets and non-personalized cards are not valid on these lines.

Day transport starts at 04:00 and ends at midnight. Night transport is only by bus, with a limited number of lines running every 30-60 mins. The only ticket option for night lines is a single ticket bought on the bus for RSD150 (Zone 1) or RSD210 (Zone 2). Day tickets and non-personalized cards are not valid. Here is a map of night lines. The lines are all prefixed N so these rules apply even if the ride started just before midnight, conversely they don't apply to other buses where you were still aboard after midnight.