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BELGRADE, SERBIA
Serb's up! Former war-torn city gets a cosmopolitan
makeover
Believe it,
travelers in the know are checking out the newly hip spot for
historic sites, museums and galleries and
clubbing.
BY PATRICK
HORTON
Lonely
Planet
Got the Prague T-shirt and the one from Tallin's
nearly worn out. Where's next?
What? Belgrade, Serbia? We bombed them five years
ago!
Think again. Belgrade, the
new tourist hot spot of Europe, so new it's
unspoiled and still rather chic, plus it's safe and cheaper than
Western Europe.
Where to start? Belgrade is pre-Roman, so there's no
visible ruins, but there is a load of stuff from Turkish
times.
Wander into history through the massive Kalemegdan
Citadel; there's also an impressive War Museum, including some dud
bombs NATO contributed in 1999. Down below the citadel flows the
mighty Danube with its tributary, the River Sava. Confluence of two
rivers with a big hill; that's why Belgrade's here.
The No. 2 tram rattles around the city center on a
circuit, so hop on outside the citadel, pay 20 dinar (30 cents), and
see what town and folk are all about. Crave good books, clothes and
crafts? Window-shop the smart, pedestrian Kneza Mihailova Street for
galleries, boutiques, and bookstores. There's also a helpful tourist
information center at No. 18.
As for museums, the city's got more than 20. Musts
are the Ethnographic Museum for national costumes and applied arts,
the National Museum for its artworks (several Impressionist
canvases) and the Palace of Princess Ljubice, a fully equipped
19th-century Balkan palace. For spiritual atmosphere, the Sveti
Marko Serbian Orthodox Church takes some beating.
Skadarska, Belgrade's Bohemian quarter and once a
retreat of poets, writers and musicians, is a quaint and cheerful
cobbled street full of old wooden-beamed inns that offer Serbian
food accompanied by roving bands of musicians. In summer, eating,
drinking and music flow out into the street.
Nearby is Strahinjica Bana, a street of basement
clubs decked out to style. At least one night be sure to drift to
the legendary Underground club below Kalemegdan and listen to the
latest DJ, often big names from the States or Western
Europe.
Other nighttime options are the barges moored on the
rivers, with techno, house, or passionate gypsy music and some fine
dining until very late. Boats open, boats close or change their
tunes; ask any young fashion-clad Belgrader (many speak good
English) for the current in place. They know how to party
here. | 