Belgrade

Serbia Updated Apr 2026

Belgrade, Serbia, wakes up with the smell of roasted coffee drifting from kafanas where the same copper pots have been brewing Turkish coffee since Ottoman officers paid with silver akçe. At 03:17 on a summer night, the city’s two rivers—Sava and Danube—shine like polished gunmetal under the fortress walls while techno bass from a splav nightclub thumps loud enough to ripple the water. A block inland, a baker is already sliding burek the size of bicycle wheels from ovens that never fully cool.

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Belgrade, Serbia Photo: MEHMET KAYNAR / Pexels
Attractions
12
Audio
15 h
Trip length
3 days
Best season
May–June & September

Why Belgrade

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This is Europe’s only capital that still feels half-Balkan, half-Habsburg, wholly unfinished. Walk Kosančićev Venac at dusk and you’ll pass 19th-century townhouses whose plaster peels like old maps, their balconies sagging toward the Danube as if trying to whisper secrets across the water. Ten minutes away, Genex Tower’s brutalist twin shafts skewer the sky at 115 m, a concrete monument to 1970s Yugoslav confidence that now hosts mobile-phone antennas and a sushi bar in the skybridge.

Belgrade keeps its best stories just below the surface. Beneath the parquet floors of Princess Ljubica’s Residence, 1830s heating ducts still work. Inside a Dorćol courtyard, the oldest house in the city—a squat timber cottage from 1724—stands ignored by partygoers hunting for rakija bars. The city rewards curiosity: ask the right question in a Zemun fish restaurant and the waiter will pull out a 1923 photo of his great-grandfather landing a 2-metre catfish on the same pier where your table now stands.

  • Kalemegdan’s Layers of History

    The fortress ramparts have Roman bricks, Ottoman gun ports, and WWI bunkers stacked like geological strata; stand on the 1912 Victor monument terrace and the Danube glints steel-blue where it meets the Sava.

  • Skadarlija’s Gas-Lit Kafanas

    Cobblestones echo under your feet while violins slide through cigarette smoke; order karađorđeva šnicla at Tri šešira and the cream-stuffed veal arrives sizzling in an iron skillet that’s been in service since 1867.

  • Ada Ciganlija’s Urban Beach

    Locals call it the “Belgrade Sea”—a 7 km forested lake loop where rollerbladers draft cyclists and grilled sprats scent the air at dusk.

  • Brutalist Giants & Art Deco Gems

    Ride the free BG Voz to New Belgrade to see the 1979 Genex Tower’s twin shafts, then double back to Kralja Milana 11 for the restored 1924 Palace of Science planetarium.

Places to Visit

Not every monument, just the ones we'd walk you past ourselves.

All 173 places in Belgrade

Neighborhoods

Where to wander, by quarter — each with its own rhythm.

  • Dorćol

    Once the Ottoman command post, now the city’s living-room. Cobblestone Strahinjića Bana fills nightly with 20-somethings bar-hopping between Yugoslav-era kafanas and natural-wine cellars. Duck into Cetinjska’s converted 1884 brewery complex for warehouse clubs, or find Bajrakli Mosque’s minaret still calling the faithful above graffiti that reads ‘TITO LIVES’ in three languages.

  • Zemun

    Austro-Hungarian grid meets Danube fishing village. Gardoš hill’s 1896 Millennium Tower delivers the best sunset panorama, while Šaran restaurant serves paprika-scented fish soup from a cauldron that has bubbled since 1967. Walk the 19th-century promenade at 7 a.m. to see swans escorting barges upstream and old men selling homemade bermet wine from plastic jugs.

  • Skadarlija

    Belgrade’s answer to Montmartre, compressed into 400 m of ragstone alley. Gas lamps flicker on at dusk; tamburaši bands launch into sevdah songs inside Tri Šešira tavern where the table numbers are still hand-painted in Cyrillic. Order karađorđeva šnicla (veal rolled around kajmak, breaded and fried) and watch waiters balance trays of rakija while stepping over cobblestones worn smooth by 170 years of poets and partiers.

  • Savamala

    Former warehouses turned into design galleries and techno stages. Beton Hala’s riverfront strip offers glass-box dining; behind it, 1930s customs buildings host popup art shows. Summer nights end on splavovi—floating clubs—where DJs spin until the 05:00 freight trains rattle across Branko’s Bridge.

  • Kosančićev Venac

    A 15-house micro-quarter that survived every 20th-century bombing. Princess Ljubica’s 1834 residence displays Ottoman sofas and a ceiling painted with 17 species of local birds. Below, the Cathedral’s 1840 bells mark the hour; above, Langouste restaurant plates Adriatic langoustines on a terrace that overlooks Roman brickwork in the riverbank.

  • Vračar

    Leafy, residential, quietly defiant. The 4,000-ton dome of Saint Sava Temple rises 70 m above wheat-field mosaics; inside, the crypt’s marble floor stays cool even when the city hits 38 °C. Kalenić market bursts with kaymak so fresh it still holds the shape of the wooden paddle that scooped it.

  • Topčider

    Belgrade’s oldest park hides Prince Miloš’s 1834 residence—one of the first brick houses in Serbia—beside a 600-year-old London plane tree whose trunk needs nine adults to link arms around it. Locals come for forest trails and grilled kebabs at the park’s 1950s restaurant, where the same family has turned spit-roasted lamb for three generations.

  • New Belgrade / Ušće

    Socialist-era blocks stretch like dominoes toward the river. Genex Tower’s 35th-floor viewpoint opens onto brutalist housing estates painted in faded primary colors. Ušće park fills with inline skaters and weekend flea markets; the Museum of Contemporary Art’s crystal façade reflects both the fortress and the glass towers of a city still arguing with its future.

Plan your trip

Before you go

Getting There
Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport (BEG) is 18 km west; A1 minibus to Slavija Square costs RSD 350 cash only. Trains terminate at Beograd Centar (Prokop) with direct links to Novi Sad, Budapest, and Sofia. Highway A1/E75 runs north–south, A3/E70 links to Zagreb.
Getting Around
Metro construction continues—no lines open in 2026. Instead use the fare-free network: 12 tram routes, 8 trolley, 130+ buses plus BG Voz suburban rail (3 lines). Airport buses 72 & 600 are also free; only A1 is paid. Bike rentals at Ada Ciganlija (3 kiosks, ~€3/h).
Climate & Best Time
May averages 18 °C, July peaks 23 °C, January dips to 1 °C. June is the wettest month (101 mm). Visit late April–early June or mid-September–October for café terraces without scorch. Expect cruise-ship crowds in July/Aug.
Language & Currency
Serbian in Cyrillic & Latin scripts; English works in hotels and bars. Currency is Serbian dinar (RSD); carry cash—kiosks and the A1 airport minibus don’t take cards. ATMs are ubiquitous and exchange offices cluster around Knez Mihailova.

A City Shaped by Empire and Revolution

From Neolithic ovens to NATO flashes—Belgrade keeps rising at the confluence

  1. c. 5700 BCE

    Vinča Dwellers Light Europe’s Earliest Ovens

    On the bluff above the Danube, families fire clay figurines in kiln-ovens 1,000 years before the Pyramids. The Vinča culture trades obsidian across the Balkans, turning the Belgrade ridge into a Neolithic Silicon Valley. Their script-like symbols are among the oldest in Europe.

  2. 279 BCE

    Celtic Singidunum Rises Above the Rivers

    Scordisci warriors plant a dun (‘fort’) on the limestone ridge, naming it Singidun—‘the round city of the Singi’. From its ramparts you can smell resin on Celtic boats sliding up the Sava. Their mint strikes silver ‘df’ coins that still turn up in gardeners’ trowels.

  3. 86 CE

    Legio IV Flavia Fortifies the Danube

    Roman engineers haul travertine uphill and enclose 22 ha inside a 2.2 km wall. Barracks for 6,000 legionaries, granaries, and a Mithraeum turn Singidunum into the lock that keeps Dacia out of the Empire’s pantry. The first stone bridge across the Sava creaks under supply carts.

  4. c. 332

    Jovian, Future Emperor, Born in Singidunum

    In a fortress townhouse heated by hypocausts, a boy breathes pine-smoke and learns the Latin for ‘frontier’. Forty years later he will trade away the Empire’s conquests to save a legion trapped in Mesopotamia, earning the nickname ‘the Surrenderer’. Belgrade’s first global celebrity.

  5. 535

    Justinian Rebuilds After Hun Devastation

    The timbers are still warm from Attila’s torches when Justinian’s masons arrive. They raise taller curtain walls and slam iron gates on the Sava docks. The city becomes a hinge of Byzantine reconquest—its limestone scars whitewashed so thoroughly that Gepid spies mistake it for a new town.

  6. 878

    First Written Mention of ‘Beograd’

    Pope John VIII’s letter to Boris-Mihail of Bulgaria records a Slavic fortress called ‘Belograd’—white city—where the Sava meets the Danube. The parchment smells of beeswax and politics; Rome wants the ramparts kept Catholic. The name sticks, outliving empires.

Show the full timeline (23 moments)
  1. 1404

    Stefan Lazarević Makes Belgrade Serbia’s Capital

    Despot Stefan rides through the fortress gate in spring mud, banner of the double-headed eagle overhead. He issues trade charters in six languages and builds a palace whose glazed tiles flash aquamarine across the Danube. For the first time, Belgrade becomes more than a fortress—it becomes a capital.

  2. 1456

    The Siege That Saved Europe

    Mehmed II’s cannons pound the walls for three weeks; 200,000 cannonballs chip limestone like woodpeckers. On 22 July, Hungarian pikemen and Franciscan friars burst through the lower gate at dawn. The failure here diverts Ottoman expansion northward for seventy years. Bell-ringing at noon still remembers the victory.

  3. 1521

    Suleiman the Magnificent Conquers Belgrade

    Gunpowder clouds hang over the ridge as 50,000 Janissaries rush the breaches. The sultan enters through the Despot’s Gate, writes ‘We have opened the door to Hungary’, and orders a mosque raised where Stefan’s palace stood. Minarets replace crosses; the city’s heartbeat shifts to the call to prayer.

  4. 1594

    Sinan Pasha Burns Saint Sava’s Relics

    On Vračar hill, the bones of Serbia’s greatest medieval saint are torched on a pyre of dried pear wood. The smoke, thick with incense and political warning, drifts across the Danube. The ashes fertilize a national myth that will sprout as the Temple of Saint Sava three centuries later.

  5. 1717

    Prince Eugene’s Habsburg Assault

    Austrian sappers dig zig-zag trenches up the hill; officers in powdered wigs sketch the fortress over breakfast. After a dawn barrage, Eugene’s grenadiers pour through the crumbling bastions. Belgrade becomes a frontier star-fort bristling with Vauban-style ravelins—its skyline redrawn in German precision.

  6. 1806

    Karađorđe’s Uprising Captures the Town

    Black-powder smoke clings to the elms along the Sava as Serbian insurgents hoist a red-blue-white flag on the Stambol Gate. For the first time in 285 years, the muezzin’s call falls silent. The rebels’ bare feet leave prints in Ottoman carpets as they proclaim Belgrade the capital of revolutionary Serbia.

  7. 1808

    Dositej Obradović Opens the Great School

    In a requisitioned Turkish house, the Enlightenment arrives chalk-first. Dositej teaches geography with maps drawn on the back of captured banners and insists pupils read Rousseau. The scent of Turkish coffee mingles with printer’s ink—Serbia’s first textbooks roll off a press smuggled from Vienna.

  8. 18 April 1867

    Keys Hand-Over: Ottoman Troops Leave

    At noon, Ali Rıza Pasha passes a velvet pouch with fortress keys to Prince Mihailo. Cannons fire 101 shots; the silence that follows is heavier than the barrage. Ottoman soldiers board boats down the Danube, their shadows long on the water. Belgrade becomes fully Serbian for the first time since the Middle Ages.

  9. 1894

    First Electric Tramway Jolts the City

    Blue sparks dance above copper wiring as tram No. 1 rattles from Kalemegdan to Slavija. Passengers jump aboard in horse-drawn Belgrade’s last summer; the air smells of ozone and hot asphalt. The schedule is optimistic—every 15 minutes—but the future feels electric.

  10. October 1915

    Central Powers Bombard and Occupy

    Austrian 305 mm howitzers nicknamed ‘Gavrilo’ hurl shells that shake the cathedral’s medieval bells. Gas clouds drift across the Sava; pigeons fall mid-flight. After five days, Serbian forces retreat south, leaving a city echoing with ambulance bells and the smell of linden trees scorched to charcoal.

  11. 1935

    Construction of Saint Sava Temple Begins

    King Alexander sets a 2-ton foundation stone on the supposed pyre of Saint Sava’s relics. Architects unfurl plans for a 70 m-high Byzantine revival dome—larger than Hagia Sophia’s. War and politics will pause the work for half a century, but the outline already dominates the skyline like a promise.

  12. 6 April 1941

    Luftwaffe Bombs Obliterate the Library

    At 6:45 a.m. He-111s drop incendiaries that ignite the National Library’s 500,000 volumes. Burning paper snowflakes drift over Knez Mihailova; the smell is of old parchment and scorched oak. Among the losses: medieval charters, Ottoman cadastres, and the first printed Serbian primer—centuries of memory turned to ash.

  13. 20 October 1944

    Partisans and Red Army Liberate the City

    T-34s clatter over the King Alexander Bridge while Yugoslav Partisans sprint through alleyways once painted with German posters. Citizens pry up paving stones to build barricades; the scent of damp earth and diesel hangs heavy. By dusk, the yellow-blue flag of the Republic flaps from the parliament balcony.

  14. September 1961

    Non-Aligned Summit at the White Palace

    Nehru’s rose-pink turban, Nasser’s fedora, and Tito’s marshal’s uniform fill the mirrored halls. Delegates debate colonialism over slivovitz and Turkish coffee; the scent of tobacco and orange crates drifts through the park. Belgrade becomes, for a week, the informal capital of the Third World.

  15. 7 May 1999

    NATO Strike Hits Chinese Embassy

    At 23:45 five JDAM bombs pierce the roof of the embassy on Trešnjinog cveta. Glass shards from the shaken Hyatt rain onto the river boulevard. Three Chinese journalists die; the explosion’s echo rolls across New Belgrade like distant thunder. The crater becomes a shrine of flowers and candles guarded by polite gendarmes.

  16. 5 October 2000

    Milošević Falls in a Bulldozer Revolution

    By dusk, a column of dump trucks and a single bulldozer roll toward parliament. Protesters climb the façade to hurl office furniture onto the plaza; burning papers swirl like black butterflies. At 21:10, RTS screens go dark, then flicker with the words: ‘Good evening, liberated Serbia.’ The city erupts in car horns and fireworks.

  17. 2024

    Belgrade Wins Expo 2027 Bid

    The Bureau International des Expositions awards the city the Specialized Expo on the theme ‘Play for Humanity’. Plans reveal a 25-hectare riverside site in New Belgrade shaped like a hand unfurling toward the Danube. Construction cranes will soon outnumber kafanas—at least until 2027 turns the confluence into a carnival of nations.

Who lived here

  • Medieval ruler & poet · c. 1377–1427

    Stefan Lazarević

    Made Belgrade Serbia’s capital in 1405

    He built the upper fortress you still walk through at sunset and wrote love poems between battles. Today he’d recognise the river curve—and the coffee smoke drifting over it.

  • Inventor · 1856–1943

    Nikola Tesla

    Born in Smiljan, museum and ashes in Belgrade

    The city adopted him even while he lit up New York; his personal effects sit under a golden sphere in a modest villa where guides make sparks fly for every visitor.

  • Performance artist · born 1946

    Marina Abramović

    Born here, studied at Academy of Fine Arts

    She learned to stare down an audience in the same brutalist building that still trains art students above the Sava; the city’s mix of grit and grandeur shaped her endurance.

  • Tennis champion · born 1987

    Novak Đoković

    Born and still bases himself in Belgrade

    He practised on cracked courts by the Danube, and when he wins you’ll hear car horns echoing from the fortress to Zemun—his photo still hangs in every kafana he visits.

  • Nobel-winning writer · 1892–1975

    Ivo Andrić

    Lived and wrote key works in Belgrade

    He walked Knez Mihailova each afternoon, storing the city’s layered voices that later slipped into The Bridge on the Drina; his apartment is now a hushed museum two blocks away.

  • President of Yugoslavia · 1892–1980

    Josip Broz Tito

    Governed from Belgrade, buried in House of Flowers

    His winter yacht is parked in the museum courtyard, and the rose-covered mausoleum still draws older Serbs who toast him with šljivovica on May 25 like the holiday never ended.

Where to Eat

Where locals actually book dinner — not the tourist menus.

Insider tips

Small things that change how the city treats you.

  • Free Transport

    Since 2025 every bus, tram and trolley inside the city is free—keep a few dinars only for the airport A1 minibus (cash to driver).

  • Late Dinners

    Locals eat lunch at 14-16 h and dinner often after 21 h; if you show up at 19 h the grill may still be warming up.

  • Taxi Trick

    At the airport take the fixed-price voucher from the e-kiosk before joining the taxi rank—this eliminates the notorious overcharging.

  • Golden Hour

    For postcard light over the Danube-Sava confluence, climb Kalemegdan fortress 30 min before sunset; the Victor monument faces the glow.

  • Rakija Ritual

    Never sip the first round—lock eyes, clink, knock it back; refusing outright is ruder than accepting a second.

  • Market Mornings

    Kalenić or Zeleni Venac markets peak by 10 h; after 11 h the tomatoes look tired and the gossip has moved to cafés.

Frequently asked

Is Belgrade worth visiting?

Absolutely—few capitals mix Roman walls, Habsburg façades, brutalist towers and floating clubs in one afternoon stroll. The food scene now ranges from smoky kafanas to Michelin-starred white-table elegance, and public transport is completely free.

How many days in Belgrade?

Plan 3 full days: Day 1 fortress-Knez Mihailova-Skadarlija, Day 2 Zemun river promenade and fish lunch, Day 3 museums (Tesla, Yugoslavia) and splav clubs after midnight.

Do I need cash in Belgrade?

Yes, for bakeries, kafanas and the A1 airport bus. Cards are accepted in most restaurants and hotels, but a 200-dinar note will save you when the card terminal is 'suddenly broken'.

Is Belgrade safe at night?

Center and riverside are lively until dawn, but stick to lit streets—pickpockets work crowded bars and ATMs. Avoid political demonstrations; they can block bridges without warning.

What is the best way to get from Belgrade airport to the city?

Take the A1 minibus (30 min, cash only) or free city bus 72 to Zeleni Venac. Taxis are fine only if you buy the fixed-price voucher at the airport kiosk first—never negotiate with drivers outside.

When is the best time to visit Belgrade?

May, early June and September give you 24 °C days, open café terraces and festival season without July’s 30 °C steam or winter fog.

Is Belgrade cheap or expensive?

A filling ćevapi lunch costs 600 RSD (5 €), a Michelin-starred tasting menu 120 €. In between you’ll find craft beers for 3 € and museum entries under 5 €—solid mid-range value by European capital standards.

All Places to Visit.

173 places to discover

Church of Saint Sava
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Church of Saint Sava

National Theatre in Belgrade
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National Theatre in Belgrade

Kalemegdan Park
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Kalemegdan Park

Belgrade New Cemetery
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Belgrade New Cemetery

St. Michael'S Cathedral
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St. Michael'S Cathedral

Nikola Tesla Museum, Belgrade, Serbia
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Nikola Tesla Museum, Belgrade, Serbia

St. Mark'S Church
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St. Mark'S Church

Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade
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Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade

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Society for Culture, Art and International Cooperation Adligat

Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade
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Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade

Republic Square
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Republic Square

Slavija Square
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Slavija Square

Avala Tower
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Avala Tower

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Belgrade Drama Theatre

Nikola Pašić Square
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Nikola Pašić Square

Bajrakli Mosque
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Bajrakli Mosque

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Museum of Theatrical Arts of Serbia

National Library of Serbia
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National Library of Serbia

Museum of Vuk and Dositej
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Museum of Vuk and Dositej

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Madlenianum Opera and Theatre

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Museum of African Art

Museum of Applied Arts
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Museum of Applied Arts

Ada Bridge
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Ada Bridge

Genex Tower
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Genex Tower

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Railway Museum

Royal Palace
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Royal Palace

Branko's Bridge
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Branko's Bridge

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Terazije Theatre

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Church of the Ascension

Gazela Bridge
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Gazela Bridge

Pančevo Bridge
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Pančevo Bridge

Syrmia
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Syrmia

Museum of 4 July
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Museum of 4 July

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Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul

Museum of Pedagogy in Belgrade
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Museum of Pedagogy in Belgrade

Belgrade Cooperative
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Belgrade Cooperative

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Church of Holy Virgin in Zemun

Despot Stefan Tower
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Despot Stefan Tower

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Museum of Roma Culture in Belgrade

Ružica Church
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Ružica Church

Puppet Theater "Pinocchio"
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Puppet Theater "Pinocchio"

Church of St. Basil of Ostrog
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Church of St. Basil of Ostrog

Gardoš Tower
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Gardoš Tower

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University of Belgrade

Museum of Science and Technology Belgrade
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Museum of Science and Technology Belgrade

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New Railroad Bridge

Pupin Bridge
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Pupin Bridge

Old Sava Bridge
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Old Sava Bridge

Showing 1–48 of 173 places

Photo credits (7)
  1. MEHMET KAYNAR — Pexels License (https://www.pexels.com/license/) — Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/35826032/
  2. Nikola Kojević — Pexels License (https://www.pexels.com/license/) — Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/34936424/
  3. Boris Hamer — Pexels License (https://www.pexels.com/license/) — Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/16972303/
  4. Murat Marangoz — Pexels License (https://www.pexels.com/license/) — Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/33869365/
  5. Boris Hamer — Pexels License (https://www.pexels.com/license/) — Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/18912625/
  6. Boris Hamer — Pexels License (https://www.pexels.com/license/) — Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/18929702/
  7. Boris Hamer — Pexels License (https://www.pexels.com/license/) — Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/17288388/

Photos may have been resized or cropped.