Belgrade on foot: what to actually see in three days

The classic first day: the pedestrian street, the fortress above the confluence, and dinner on cobblestones. Start around ten so you reach Kalemegdan before sunset.

• Knez Mihailova

  The main pedestrian street, running from Republic Square to the fortress. Late 19th-century facades, bookshops and cafés with tables outside. Fifteen minutes of walking that almost nobody does in under an hour.

• Republic Square

  The equestrian statue of Prince Michael has been the city's meeting point for generations — locals say “let's meet at the horse”. The National Museum and the National Theatre both stand on this square.

• Kalemegdan and Belgrade Fortress

  A park and a fortress above the point where the Sava joins the Danube. The Victor monument looks out over both rivers — this is the view people come for, and it is best just before sunset. Inside are the Military Museum, the Ružica church and the underground galleries.

• Kosančićev venac

  A cobbled street above the Sava and one of the few parts of the city that kept its old layout. Five minutes from the fortress and a century away from it.

• The Cathedral Church and “?”

  Across the street from the church is Belgrade's oldest surviving tavern, with low tables and a name that came out of an argument with the church next door. A good place for your first rakija.

• Skadarlija

  The bohemian cobbled street: taverns with live music and dinner that runs late. Touristy, but deservedly so — and it is already five minutes from Republic Square.

A day with no fortresses and no crowds. Vračar is a residential part of town — tree-lined streets, cafés where people sit for hours, and three things worth the trip.

• The Temple of Saint Sava

  One of the largest Orthodox churches in the world. What most visitors miss is the crypt below — a completely different room from the one upstairs, and many people find it the more beautiful of the two. Entry is free; cover shoulders and knees.

• Nikola Tesla Museum

  Krunska 51, in an early 20th-century villa. Visits are guided, in groups, with working demonstrations in Serbian and English, and slots fill up — check times in advance. Tesla's ashes are here, in a gilded sphere.

• Kalenić market

  Belgrade's best-known green market. Go in the morning while everything is still there; by two in the afternoon the stalls are coming down. Cheese, honey, peppers, and haggling that is part of the price.

• Krunska and Cvetni trg

  Tree-lined streets, old villas and a run of cafés between Slavija and Cvetni trg. This is the city when it isn't trying — and where locals actually drink their coffee.

• Karađorđev park

  Right next to the Temple. Benches, shade, and the easiest way to sit down for twenty minutes between two stops.

• Tašmajdan

  A park with St Mark's Church and the entrance to the former underground quarries beneath it. Ten minutes from the Temple, towards the centre.

Belgrade is a city on two rivers, and you cannot tell that from the centre. The third day is the best part and the one most often skipped because it is “not downtown” — yet Zemun is half an hour away.

• Zemun and Gardoš

  A separate town until the 20th century, and it still feels like one: low houses, cobbles, and a tower on the hill with a view along the whole Danube. The climb is short but steep.

• The Zemun quay

  A promenade along the Danube, fish restaurants and swans. This is where you eat fish — one of the few things Belgrade does better than anyone nearby.

• Ada Ciganlija

  A river island turned into a lake with beaches — the locals call it the Belgrade sea. Swimming in summer, and an eight-kilometre loop for walking or cycling all year.

• Beton hala and Savamala

  The Sava bank below the fortress: a row of restaurants, and right behind them Savamala with its murals and old warehouses. The easiest way to end a day by the water.

• Museum of Yugoslavia and the House of Flowers

  Tito is buried here, in a glass-roofed garden. Whatever you make of that period, this is the one place in the city where it is explained as more than anecdotes.

• The river rafts (splavovi)

  Clubs built on the water along the Sava and the Danube. In summer they run until morning; in winter part of the scene moves ashore. No reservation needed except at weekends.