48 hours in Belgrade

I think 48 hours is a perfect amount of time to visit Belgrade - it gives you time to take in the city without having to rush around. However, I will be honest that many of the “attractions” can definitely be seen within one day if you really wanted to.

Many of the Balkan countries I have booked without actually paying too much attention to what they have to offer and have just rocked up and either done a quick google search or asked hostels/hosts what they would suggest. For me this makes it a bit more fun, as I feel I get a more unique experience (even though I often to end up touristy locations). Belgrade was no different, I did a very quick google search and found the top sights I wanted to see which I will take you through now and how I split this up across 48 hours.

Accommodation

I stayed at Up Hostel on Skardaska and whilst it took me a bit to actually find the location, a lovely local man stopped and helped me.

The location was perfect, with many restaurants below and it was only a 5 minute walking to Republic Square. The rooms were clean and quite large for a hostel which was nice to be able to move around a bit more freely. It also had a cute outdoor area, and although the kitchen was on the smaller side, it had everything one needs.

The only negative is that the showers are shared between the whole hostel, and there were only 3 on the floor, with one separate toilet. Aside from this, the workers were lovely and I made friends with one of the volunteers who gave me quite a few tips and recommendations (not just for Belgrade, but for the Balkans in general).

Day 1

The first part to this guide involves fitness, so bare with me if you aren’t someone who is interested in this.

I have mentioned it a little bit already but the older I have gotten, the more I seem to find exercise really helps me mentally and throughout this lot of travel I have made a conscious effort to keep it up where I can. Belgrade was a PERFECT place to do this - firstly you have quite a few running routes you could take, my hostel recommended one on the water but funnily enough when I arrived the Belgrade marathon was on so I skipped this and opted for a gym. A quick google brings up quite a few gyms, but after reading some reddit comments I chose one that was slightly out of the centre and I don’t regret it one bit.

The gym I chose to go to is called Mega Gym Central

A day pass is extremely cheap, and your first visit is technically only the purchase of your wristband - 500 RSD (€4.20 at the time I write this). If you do choose to visit the gym multiple times throughout your stay then it is 750 RSD for a single visit (€6.50 euro at the time I write this). The staff again were really nice here and told me the times to visit if I did want to come when it was quieter.

Although I love having a gym to myself so I don’t feel as intimidated if I want to use bits of equipment the gym was huge so even when it did get a little bit busier there was plenty of equipment to use or areas I could go to. The bottom floor has all of the machines and weights one could need, and the top floor has a little studio and more of a functional fitness vibe.

I visited on both days and walked the first day - it’s in quite an industrial area which may feel a bit dodgy to some but I never felt unsafe or scared when I walked to and from. If not, you can also opt to get there by bus which I did on my second visit as it was raining. There’s a few buses you can get using Up Hostel as your starting point so you aren’t limited.

After my workout and some breakfast back at the hostel, it was time to see some sights.

I didn’t realise it at the time, but the weekend I chose to visit the Belgrade marathon was on. This meant that quite a few streets were blocked off as the event finished at Republic Square. It was quite a fun atmosphere around and I loved seeing family and friends support their loved ones.

Although it was lovely, I wanted to go a bit further afield and walked to Tashmajdan Park (Ташмајдан). Right at the beginning of the park, it would be hard to miss St. Mark Orthodox Church (Српска православна црква Светог Марка) - it’s quite a contrasting structure compared to the surrounding buildings and then the greenery of the park. I didn’t go inside as there was mass at the time, but from the outside it looked quite pretty.

Right behind the church, is the park and it shocked me at how busy it was. There were a lot of families, but also just as many adults sitting and catching up. I don’t know why I expected it to be quiet, but it was nice to sit down for a bit and people watch - particularly as there were some people playing the piano and singing randomly.

Once you reach the other end of the Tashmajdan Park, I kept walking out towards the Church of Saint Sava. If you wanted to tick off a museum while you’re in Belgrade, you could stop by the Nikola Tesla Museum. I didn’t do this but it is on the way and costs €6.82.

Church of Saint Sava was magnificent, from the outside the all white domes seem slightly unassuming but once you walk inside it was like a grand ballroom had been built into the church. The gold-leaf mosaic ceiling was absolutely beautiful. It was one of. those moments where I actually had my jaw on the floor at how beautiful it was. Do be mindful that you should be dressed respectfully to enter.

Once I was able to pick my jaw up off the floor, I decided to head back into town towards the waterfront and fortress.

Now don’t get me wrong, it was nice to walk next to water but the waterfront isn’t the most amazing thing I have seen. It would have been a great strip of water to run along, but that’s all I could think of as I walked along. In saying that, it does lead you to the fortress quite nicely which was a bit more impressive.

For the most part the fortress is free to enter, however there are areas that are paid for. Belgrade Fortress’ official website contains the information on opening hours and prices for entry. I didn’t visit any of these areas as it was surprisingly warm and I was exhausted from being in the heat.

In saying that I did walk around the fortress a little bit and stood at a great viewpoint to see the Danube and Sava river connecting. It would be a lovely spot for a sunset too! For the evening, I went back to my hostel and heated up a soup so that I could just chill out.

Day 2

I didn’t have the greatest sleep, so I didn’t start off on the greatest foot BUT I was actually excited to head back to Mega Gym Central, so I made my way there again. After the gym, I decided to just wander around the centre again and check out some of the shops. I think I was at a point in my trip where I was a bit burnt out so I really didn’t push myself today.

I stopped by a tiny bakery called Pekara Mona and my goodness it was cheap! I had this shortbread style biscuit with a jam filling in between and it virtually melted in my mouth. It took me back to my childhood friends house when her Nonna would make the Croatian version and feed them to us.

I know this may sound boring but I’d rather listen to my body so I went back to the hostel to completely chill out for the afternoon and read my kindle. I was reading The Kite Runner after having finished The Stationery Shop of Tehran and was utterly engrossed. I would highly recommend both of the books and authors.

If you do want to fit in more touristy activities you could visit some of the museums:

🌼 Nikola Tesla Museum

🌼 National Museum of Serbia

OR you could visit

🌼 Zemun - which is a suburb on the other side of the river. This one was on my list to do but lost out to rest instead. This is meant to be a cool town with some restaurants/cafes, viewpoints and the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Overall, Belgrade is easily doable in 48 hours and realistically probably only needs a Friday night to Sunday sort of timeline. I did enjoy it but don’t think I will be rushing back anytime soon considering the gym was my favourite part about the whole trip.