City guide · Serbia

Belgrade

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.

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

Planning a visit

Suggested stay: 2–3 days
Getting around: Tram, bus and on foot

January: seasonal closure recorded
February: seasonal closure recorded
March: seasonal closure recorded
April: no seasonality data recorded
May: recorded as a best month to visit
June: recorded as a best month to visit
July: no seasonality data recorded
August: no seasonality data recorded — this month
September: recorded as a best month to visit
October: seasonal closure recorded
November: seasonal closure recorded
December: seasonal closure recorded

Top things to see

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

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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.

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

🇷🇸Belgrade

Practical information

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Balkanski Spijun

Dogma Brewery & Tap Room

Jazz Bar Sinatra

Krigla&Šoljica

Queens Pub

SirOvina

Snooker club Mister S

Elektropionir

Acapulco

Baraka

Belgrade Cocktail Club

Belvi

Beogradski Bistro

Boho Bar

Brat Če

Bridge Pub

Cigla Bar

Dionis Club

Djura

Drinka

Drugstore

Dubai

Dvoristance

Gradska Kafana Beograd

Grill Pub

Gvozdjara 1870 Pub

Hangar

Hangar 3

Hype

Industrija Bar

InformBiro

Josephine

Kafana SFRJ

Klub Rektorata

Klub studenata tehnike

Kriza bar

Liga Pub

Nargila

Omaja

Pivara

Rakia bar

Shsh Bar

Sonda

Sonda Gastro Bar

Strada

Tarapana

Terazije City Pub

Tezga

The Black Turtle Pub II

Tranzit Bar

Common questions

Turn this list into a plan

Belgrade