Wanted to pay it forward to you guys, so here's a Belgrade datasheet from my time living there (4 months) as an American. Please forgive me for any errors, or lack of familiarity with correct formatting (still new). This datasheet will be in multiple parts, Part I, below, will cover some general stuff, food, bars, clubs, etc. Part two will address women, Serbian men, and some other related observations. If anyone has any further interest in the Balkans I can publish a datasheet for Macedonia as well.
Belgrade
What a place, I highly recommend it, it stacks up favorably with basically all Western European cities, and in my humble opinion is even competitive in terms of nightlife/partying to Berlin. Let me hit on the highlights of Belgrade before I get deeper into the review: very low cost of living when compared to US/ Canada, Western Europe, and Central Europe; the partying never stops, and there's a great cafe culture here. Also, thin, beautiful Slavic women. In my opinion, Belgrade is not enough on the radar of people that are looking for an out of the way destination (think :Ukraine, Russia, etc.).
Culture
I will touch on this first, because I think Belgrade is seriously deficient in “high” culture, when compared to many Western European cities. Although, I think Belgrade makes up for it with nightlife and food. That being said, Serbia has a rich history and Belgrade is at the center of what was the former Yugoslavia. You have a city with 1 million plus, so there certainly culture here, in my experience Serbs are big on the partying. Granted, there is a symphony here, museums, art galleries, etc. here. I just can't comment much on the culture.
Language
Everyone under 30 speaks English for the most part. Serbian is a hard language to learn, only recommend it if you’re going to be staying long term. A lot of the older generation has some understanding of English as well.
Safety/Scams
Safer in my opinion than most Western European cities. Belgrade has it’s share of Roma people that will beg on public transit, ask for cigarettes, etc. Just ignore them. Pickpocketing is not very prevalent.
Football hooliganism is a serious problem. Games are generally safe to go to if you have a desire, but there is a heavy police presence. The big game (Red Star vs. Partizan) is crazy. Serbia has some of the most hardcore hooligans/ultras in the world. Avoid wearing jerseys and encounters with groups of football fans outside of the stadium.
Don’t pick fights with Serbians or disrespect them. These guys know how to fight. Serbian guys are generally pretty cool guys.
The big scam is the taxi scam, whereby you arrive at the airport and some guy offers you a taxi ride. Don’t do this, get the kiosk at the airport to get you a taxi. It should only cost 30-40USD to get to the center of Belgrade from the airport. You can take the bus to the city center for less than 10 bucks.
People are poor here, so be mindful of this when dealing with people you don’t know. This is a country that mainly uses cash. Don’t flash your cash, etc.
Where to stay
Hotels are cheaper than Western Europe. I recommend AirBnB. Prices are going to be about 30-40 a night for city center apartments. Avoid staying in New Belgrade, because this is on the other side of the river, and too far removed from the majority of the city/ all the hotspots. Look at a map of Belgrade, and try to find a place close to the city center, that way you can walk or take public transit around town. I recommend Vracar, as I will explain later.
Transport
Buses are reliable and used my most natives. No one buys a ticket. I never saw an inspector in 4 months. If you encounter an inspector get off the bus, and if they bother you, tell them to fuck off. Legally they’re not allowed to detain you or to take your documents. If you want to be less confrontational, feign ignorance of bus procedures. Trams are used by lots of people too, it just depends on where you’re going if you have to take the tram or the bus. You can get away with drinking on the bus, I was never once bothered by anyone for drinking.
Taxis can be called by phone, which may ensure you don’t get ripped off and get to your destination with no problem (esp. bc of language barrier with some taxi drivers). The dispatcher is way more likely to speak English than the taxi driver. Taxis are cheap and generally safe to hail from the street. Watch out for the driver messing with the meter. I never had a taxi more expensive than 10 bucks. Make sure they give you all your change, sometimes they purposely short you money.
No Uber or Lyft in Belgrade.
Food/ Dining
This is one of Belgrade's strong suits, and that's for two reasons. One, high quality food here that's farmed locally/ non-GMO/ essentially organic. Two, very low cost compared to western standards.
Food costs at the supermarket prices are pretty low if you eat like a Serbian. I found that cheese, items from western Europe, and some types of meat are pricey—everything else is favorably priced when compared to North America/Western Europe. You should definitely check out open air markets (basically farmer’s markets) for fresh produce and alcohol.
Here’s a few restaurants in no random order that I recommend:
Ambar- This is kind of a bougie place but in all honesty it’s arguably one of the top five restaurants in all of Belgrade. On top of that, it serves Serbian food. Food is tapas style, so I recommend ordering 5-6 dishes per person, (30-40 USD approx..) or ordering the Ambar train which is roughly 30USD, for that price you get as many dishes as you can eat. Finally the décor is just great, it’s situated in a former warehouse on the river, and is in one of the most fashionable restaurant complexes in all of Belgrade. You’ll get a great view, and this place is really popular with the elites in Belgrade. You may also run into a model or a local Serbian popstar.
Baltazar- This is a Serbian restaurant specializing in grilled meats. This was my go-to spot for four months here. The place is always full, and the food is really well priced—i.e. 3-5 dollars for a main. I recommend the kilogram of chicken wings, which is just fantastic; the cevapi, and the pljeskavica. If you’re big on grilled meat, get the combo mixed meat plate—one kg of all sorts of grilled meat.
Stefan Vajat- This is a fast food place, but Serbian style fast food. It’s about 2 dollars for a pljeskavica on a bun (which is a Serbian hamburger made with a mix of pork/beef). This is a really good place for drunk food, and open all the time. Outdoor seating (picnic tables) only. I’ve been told by many of my friends that it’s the best place for Serbian fast food in the capitol.
Restoran Caruso- Quite a nice place and reasonably priced, with a wide variety of Serbian and Western European dishes. This is a great place to take a date because it’s on the 7th story of a building near the main square. Very nice atmosphere with panoramic views of the city. Reservations are recommended.
In addition, 24/7 bakeries can be found on most corners, and they’re a fantastic place to get a slice of burek and a yogurt (it’s like a meat pie) for a dollar. Fantastic for hangovers or drunk food.
Bars/ Clubs
First, a caveat, I’m not one for clubs or fancy cocktail bars, and I’m more of a pub regular. That being said, here’s a few good places. Most bars close at midnight to 2 am, and there are some bars that are open later. Clubs may be open until sunrise, or even later.
Pejton Pub- This is a chill basement pub for casual drinking. They have Serbian craft beer and also liters or Paulaner for about 6USD. On weekend nights turns into a club with live music, no cover, after around 9.
Café Clinique- This café/ cocktail bar epitomizes the café culture in Belgrade, has a great patio, and is great for people watching. Kind of a fancier place, with good views of Belgrade’s main church and the park surrounding it.
20/44 Club- This is one of Belgrade’s most famous river boat clubs, or splavs. 80s music, house, fairly pedestrian music. Tends to be packed during summer and there’s a decent mix of Western Europeans and locals. Cover runs like 4 bucks. I recommend visiting at least once, or visiting another splav in the general area.
World Traveler’s Association—Cool hidden basement bar in the city center. Not loud at all, and a good place to take groups or to smoke hookah.
KST Club—This place is awesome. The cover is a few dollars. And they always seem to be open. It’s in the basement of a university, and the crowd is definitely young and local. There’s a wide variety of music and they have multiple rooms.
Sinnermans jazz club—Great rooftop bar with a lot of live music. Only downside is I saw a lot of couples here.
Kafana SFRJ—Popular with the backpacking crowd, but also with Serbs. Cool thing about this place is it pays homage to Yugoslavia, so definitely gives you an old-world vibe.
Expect to pay $1.50-$3 for a beer. $3-$5 for a cocktail. $1-$3 for coffee/coffee items. Try the rakia at least once, a shot is $1-$2. It’s essentially 40%+ homemade brandy. If you happen to befriend a Serb, they can help you get a bottle of the homemade stuff for 5-10 bucks. Avoid the stuff sold at the store, it’s crap and lower quality than homemade rakia. Homemade rakia is safe to drink because people know what they’re doing when making it. The water is safe to drink out of the faucet in Belgrade.
Parts of town to see
Republika Square—This is basically the Times Square of Belgrade. Huge pedestrian mall, and most of the daygaming being done by dudes is being done here. Large selection of bars, restaurants, and stores here.
Zemun—This part of Belgrade is a bit of a drive from the city center, but it’s beautiful. The architecture is Austro-Hungarian, and is a welcome relief from the socialist architecture that plagues Belgrade. One of the highest points in Belgrade is here, and you get great views of the two rivers and the city.
Kalemagden Fortress—Visit it. It’s Belgrade’s premier landmark .Great views of the river.
Vracar—This is the nice part of town, and has a lot of cool restaurants and bars. Great for people watching. I recommend living here because this is the nicest municipality in Belgrade, and girls will definitely take notice if you tell them this is where your spot is located. This is also a very safe, well-policed area. A lot of new, nice apartments can be found here.
Skadarlija—This is a pedestrian district with lots of old buildings and restaurants with traditional Serbian live music. Good place for a date or to take a group for some traditional food.
St. Sava’s Cathedral and St. Mark’s Cathedral- These are the two big churches in Belgrade, and both have great parks that are perfect for casual drinking, day-game, or people-watching.
Belgrade
What a place, I highly recommend it, it stacks up favorably with basically all Western European cities, and in my humble opinion is even competitive in terms of nightlife/partying to Berlin. Let me hit on the highlights of Belgrade before I get deeper into the review: very low cost of living when compared to US/ Canada, Western Europe, and Central Europe; the partying never stops, and there's a great cafe culture here. Also, thin, beautiful Slavic women. In my opinion, Belgrade is not enough on the radar of people that are looking for an out of the way destination (think :Ukraine, Russia, etc.).
Culture
I will touch on this first, because I think Belgrade is seriously deficient in “high” culture, when compared to many Western European cities. Although, I think Belgrade makes up for it with nightlife and food. That being said, Serbia has a rich history and Belgrade is at the center of what was the former Yugoslavia. You have a city with 1 million plus, so there certainly culture here, in my experience Serbs are big on the partying. Granted, there is a symphony here, museums, art galleries, etc. here. I just can't comment much on the culture.
Language
Everyone under 30 speaks English for the most part. Serbian is a hard language to learn, only recommend it if you’re going to be staying long term. A lot of the older generation has some understanding of English as well.
Safety/Scams
Safer in my opinion than most Western European cities. Belgrade has it’s share of Roma people that will beg on public transit, ask for cigarettes, etc. Just ignore them. Pickpocketing is not very prevalent.
Football hooliganism is a serious problem. Games are generally safe to go to if you have a desire, but there is a heavy police presence. The big game (Red Star vs. Partizan) is crazy. Serbia has some of the most hardcore hooligans/ultras in the world. Avoid wearing jerseys and encounters with groups of football fans outside of the stadium.
Don’t pick fights with Serbians or disrespect them. These guys know how to fight. Serbian guys are generally pretty cool guys.
The big scam is the taxi scam, whereby you arrive at the airport and some guy offers you a taxi ride. Don’t do this, get the kiosk at the airport to get you a taxi. It should only cost 30-40USD to get to the center of Belgrade from the airport. You can take the bus to the city center for less than 10 bucks.
People are poor here, so be mindful of this when dealing with people you don’t know. This is a country that mainly uses cash. Don’t flash your cash, etc.
Where to stay
Hotels are cheaper than Western Europe. I recommend AirBnB. Prices are going to be about 30-40 a night for city center apartments. Avoid staying in New Belgrade, because this is on the other side of the river, and too far removed from the majority of the city/ all the hotspots. Look at a map of Belgrade, and try to find a place close to the city center, that way you can walk or take public transit around town. I recommend Vracar, as I will explain later.
Transport
Buses are reliable and used my most natives. No one buys a ticket. I never saw an inspector in 4 months. If you encounter an inspector get off the bus, and if they bother you, tell them to fuck off. Legally they’re not allowed to detain you or to take your documents. If you want to be less confrontational, feign ignorance of bus procedures. Trams are used by lots of people too, it just depends on where you’re going if you have to take the tram or the bus. You can get away with drinking on the bus, I was never once bothered by anyone for drinking.
Taxis can be called by phone, which may ensure you don’t get ripped off and get to your destination with no problem (esp. bc of language barrier with some taxi drivers). The dispatcher is way more likely to speak English than the taxi driver. Taxis are cheap and generally safe to hail from the street. Watch out for the driver messing with the meter. I never had a taxi more expensive than 10 bucks. Make sure they give you all your change, sometimes they purposely short you money.
No Uber or Lyft in Belgrade.
Food/ Dining
This is one of Belgrade's strong suits, and that's for two reasons. One, high quality food here that's farmed locally/ non-GMO/ essentially organic. Two, very low cost compared to western standards.
Food costs at the supermarket prices are pretty low if you eat like a Serbian. I found that cheese, items from western Europe, and some types of meat are pricey—everything else is favorably priced when compared to North America/Western Europe. You should definitely check out open air markets (basically farmer’s markets) for fresh produce and alcohol.
Here’s a few restaurants in no random order that I recommend:
Ambar- This is kind of a bougie place but in all honesty it’s arguably one of the top five restaurants in all of Belgrade. On top of that, it serves Serbian food. Food is tapas style, so I recommend ordering 5-6 dishes per person, (30-40 USD approx..) or ordering the Ambar train which is roughly 30USD, for that price you get as many dishes as you can eat. Finally the décor is just great, it’s situated in a former warehouse on the river, and is in one of the most fashionable restaurant complexes in all of Belgrade. You’ll get a great view, and this place is really popular with the elites in Belgrade. You may also run into a model or a local Serbian popstar.
Baltazar- This is a Serbian restaurant specializing in grilled meats. This was my go-to spot for four months here. The place is always full, and the food is really well priced—i.e. 3-5 dollars for a main. I recommend the kilogram of chicken wings, which is just fantastic; the cevapi, and the pljeskavica. If you’re big on grilled meat, get the combo mixed meat plate—one kg of all sorts of grilled meat.
Stefan Vajat- This is a fast food place, but Serbian style fast food. It’s about 2 dollars for a pljeskavica on a bun (which is a Serbian hamburger made with a mix of pork/beef). This is a really good place for drunk food, and open all the time. Outdoor seating (picnic tables) only. I’ve been told by many of my friends that it’s the best place for Serbian fast food in the capitol.
Restoran Caruso- Quite a nice place and reasonably priced, with a wide variety of Serbian and Western European dishes. This is a great place to take a date because it’s on the 7th story of a building near the main square. Very nice atmosphere with panoramic views of the city. Reservations are recommended.
In addition, 24/7 bakeries can be found on most corners, and they’re a fantastic place to get a slice of burek and a yogurt (it’s like a meat pie) for a dollar. Fantastic for hangovers or drunk food.
Bars/ Clubs
First, a caveat, I’m not one for clubs or fancy cocktail bars, and I’m more of a pub regular. That being said, here’s a few good places. Most bars close at midnight to 2 am, and there are some bars that are open later. Clubs may be open until sunrise, or even later.
Pejton Pub- This is a chill basement pub for casual drinking. They have Serbian craft beer and also liters or Paulaner for about 6USD. On weekend nights turns into a club with live music, no cover, after around 9.
Café Clinique- This café/ cocktail bar epitomizes the café culture in Belgrade, has a great patio, and is great for people watching. Kind of a fancier place, with good views of Belgrade’s main church and the park surrounding it.
20/44 Club- This is one of Belgrade’s most famous river boat clubs, or splavs. 80s music, house, fairly pedestrian music. Tends to be packed during summer and there’s a decent mix of Western Europeans and locals. Cover runs like 4 bucks. I recommend visiting at least once, or visiting another splav in the general area.
World Traveler’s Association—Cool hidden basement bar in the city center. Not loud at all, and a good place to take groups or to smoke hookah.
KST Club—This place is awesome. The cover is a few dollars. And they always seem to be open. It’s in the basement of a university, and the crowd is definitely young and local. There’s a wide variety of music and they have multiple rooms.
Sinnermans jazz club—Great rooftop bar with a lot of live music. Only downside is I saw a lot of couples here.
Kafana SFRJ—Popular with the backpacking crowd, but also with Serbs. Cool thing about this place is it pays homage to Yugoslavia, so definitely gives you an old-world vibe.
Expect to pay $1.50-$3 for a beer. $3-$5 for a cocktail. $1-$3 for coffee/coffee items. Try the rakia at least once, a shot is $1-$2. It’s essentially 40%+ homemade brandy. If you happen to befriend a Serb, they can help you get a bottle of the homemade stuff for 5-10 bucks. Avoid the stuff sold at the store, it’s crap and lower quality than homemade rakia. Homemade rakia is safe to drink because people know what they’re doing when making it. The water is safe to drink out of the faucet in Belgrade.
Parts of town to see
Republika Square—This is basically the Times Square of Belgrade. Huge pedestrian mall, and most of the daygaming being done by dudes is being done here. Large selection of bars, restaurants, and stores here.
Zemun—This part of Belgrade is a bit of a drive from the city center, but it’s beautiful. The architecture is Austro-Hungarian, and is a welcome relief from the socialist architecture that plagues Belgrade. One of the highest points in Belgrade is here, and you get great views of the two rivers and the city.
Kalemagden Fortress—Visit it. It’s Belgrade’s premier landmark .Great views of the river.
Vracar—This is the nice part of town, and has a lot of cool restaurants and bars. Great for people watching. I recommend living here because this is the nicest municipality in Belgrade, and girls will definitely take notice if you tell them this is where your spot is located. This is also a very safe, well-policed area. A lot of new, nice apartments can be found here.
Skadarlija—This is a pedestrian district with lots of old buildings and restaurants with traditional Serbian live music. Good place for a date or to take a group for some traditional food.
St. Sava’s Cathedral and St. Mark’s Cathedral- These are the two big churches in Belgrade, and both have great parks that are perfect for casual drinking, day-game, or people-watching.
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