Belgrade is a funny place. It’s not particularly pretty or that interesting on the surface but once you kind of dig deep down there is a lot to appreciate and like about this capital city.

The city lies at the confluence of the Sava and Danube Rivers in north central Serbia which greates a lovely setting, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkan Peninsula. With a population of 1.5 million, Belgrade is the largest city in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, and the fourth largest in Southeastern Europe, behind Istanbul, Athens and Bucharest.

Belgrade has a reputation for offering a vibrant nightlife, and many clubs that are open until dawn can be found throughout the city. The most recognizable nightlife features of Belgrade are the barges spread along the banks of the Sava and Danube Rivers.

Many weekend visitors—particularly from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia—prefer Belgrade nightlife to that of their own capitals, due to a perceived friendly atmosphere, great clubs and bars, cheap drinks, the lack of language difficulties, and the lack of restrictive night life regulation.

Unfortunately, we only spent about 15 hours in Belgrade, because of our night train schedule, which was enough to see and experience the vibrant people but not experience the legendary nightlife.

The main thoroughfare runs through the center of the city lined with cafes and bars. Belgrade is a great place to people watch, as it city that with a vast mixture of different cultures all coming together in a friendly vibe.

Additonally, Belgarde has a lovely park area that houses it’s military museum and the beautiful Kalemegdan Fortress at the tip of the city proper. Belgrade is very hip and very proud of all it’s famous athletes that compete in the NBA and other top leagues around the world. However, Serbia is most proud of it’s three top tennis players about to participate in the US Open as top 5 seeds, Toronto Masters Champion Novak Djokovic (who beat Roger Federer to win), Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanova who was the subject of a full page spread in the local paper the day we were there. Serbia and Belgrade have certainly arrived on the world stage.

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