In which quarter house in Belgrade?

Discover the charms of Serbia in the Balkans this summer? Here's our guide to find out where to stay in Belgrade.

When you arrive at Belgrade , to see the social life and the peaceful climate that reigns there, one cannot help but wonder how this city could have been the funest theatre of the NATO bombings in 1999 and a ruthless and bloody war that had torn Yugoslavia seven years earlier. Belgrade, the Serbian capital, is a pacified and developed metropolis today, home to 1,233,796 people and 1,659,440 Belgradois in the entire urban area. At the crossroads of the Danube and Sava – nicknamed the “Barcelona of the East” – Belgrade has a multi-millenary historical and cultural heritage. Accommodation in Belgrade will be cheap for a Western European national.

The offer of accommodations to sleep in Belgrade is varied, and goes from the luxurious 5-star hotel to youth hostels to 8 € per night. Perhaps choose the accommodation formula for the inhabitant in order to be fully in the city centre and do everything on foot. This is in which quarter to stay in Belgrade.

Stari Grad

Stari Grad is the historic centre of the city, which contains the Belgrade fortress to the great place of the Republic (Trg. Republike). This is a good drop point where you can stay in Belgrade because you can visit all the places of interest on foot. Book your accommodation on Knez Mihailova Street, located on the cornice between the Danube and Sava. In the pedestrian street you will find bars, restaurants (especially in Skadarlija), many shops and museums (ethnography museum, the Jewish historical museum in Belgrade or the contemporary art museum lounge, among others. The district is not a marvel of architecture but it is central and friendly. It is located near the Belgrade train station and a walk in the fortress offers a breathtaking view of the city. The neighbourhood, where the ravages of war are sometimes pregnant – the city was several times under the bombs through recent history – lets us however see that the Franco-Serb friendship that reigned until the Kosovo War has remained.

Zemunski kej

The district, extended along the Danube docks, including the street Kej Oslobodenja – meaning the quai de la liberté -, is full of péniches where night outtime locations are installed: nightclubs and night bars: splavovi . Travellers spent one or two days there are almost unanimous reports that it is a very good area where to stay in Belgrade or to walk, with good floating restaurants along the Danube.

Savamala

Surrounded by the Sava on its western side, the Savamala district is today the epicenter of a furious artistic life. This 19th century district, built not far from Kalemegdan Park, is full of colourful street art galleries, small hidden bars, restaurants renovated in old buildings: a district where to stay in Belgrade to enjoy the atmosphere and to be in contact with local youth.

Banovo Brdo

Here is a neighborhood south of Belgrade, especially interesting to be located on the edge of Lake Save. Ada Ciganlija (Ада Циганлија) is an island in the city, whose leisure centre attracts up to 100,000 people a day and 300,000 visitors a day on weekends. So much to say that the place is very frequented by the Belgradois and Belgradese, and because: it is an oasis of nature – covered by a dense forest sheltering amphibians, insects, many mammals – in the middle of a very urbanized landscape. If you like quiet and relaxing areas, choose this area where to sleep in Belgrade, as you can also go out in the bars and restaurants of the neighborhood, rather to the west.

Main photo credit: Flickr – Dennis Jarvis