Big Belgrade Tour

Our “Big Belgrade Tour” is the perfect way to thoroughly acquaint yourself with “The White City.” This comprehensive journey combines a vehicle tour of significant city areas with a leisurely walking tour views. We’ll start from the Kalemegdan Fortress, then moves across the river to the old part of Zemun, which offers a panoramic view of New Belgrade, and visit the House of Flowers where Tito’s tomb is located. After a short break for lunch featuring traditional Serbian cuisine, we continue to Belgrade’s only “mountain” – Avala. The Avala Tower provides a spectacular panoramic view from 122 meters high, offering a sweeping vista of Belgrade. Our next stop is the largest Orthodox church in the Balkans, dedicated to Saint Sava, admired for its beauty and grandeur.

The walking part of our tour starts from Studentski Trg, in front of the Captain Mišin Building – the University of Belgrade Rectorate at 09:00. We’ll begin with a discussion about the Roman baths at Studentski Trg, then walk past the remnants of Roman streets near Rajićeva Shopping Center. Continuing through Kalemegdan Park, we’ll see the “Cvijeta Zuzorić” pavilion, once the seat of the Museum of Contemporary Art.

We’ll pass through Leopold’s Gate and then the Barbican Zindan Gate, one of the main city entrances, where we’ll hear about the Church of Ružica, whose dome emerged from the Kalemegdan ramparts in 1867 following the withdrawal of the Turkish army. Walking through Despot’s Gate into the Upper Town, we’ll find the only fully restored tower now housing the “Ruđer Bošković” Astronomical Society observatory. Our tour continues past Damad Ali Pasha’s Turbe, the burial site of a great Turkish military leader, and then by the visible remnants of a Serbian medieval royal complex entrance.

We will then discuss the Victory Monument and the humorous anecdotes associated with the nude male figure with an eagle and sword. Moving past the so-called Roman Well, which is neither Roman nor a well, we proceed to King’s Gate. Our tour will then transition to a vehicle to explore New Belgrade and Zemun. Once crossing the Branko Bridge, we enter the Pannonian Plain where, 30 million years ago, a sea existed. We’ll drive past the “Ušće” Business Center, the former seat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, and arrive in the quaint old town of Zemun, where we’ll stroll along the promenade from Stara Kapetanija to Gardoš Tower.

The Gardoš Tower, built in 1896 to celebrate 1000 years since the Hungarians arrived in the Pannonian Plain, is the only one of the original seven towers built on the Austro-Hungarian borders to survive numerous wars. At this site, there once stood the Roman fortification of Taurunum, part of the frontier fortifications on the Danube Limes. We’ll descend the long staircase to Gospodska Street, leaving behind the old Church of St. Nicholas, and continue to the main square, surrounded by significant buildings including the Roman Catholic Church and City Market.

Our vehicle tour resumes with views of grand buildings like the Air Force Command, the post office, and Zemun Gymnasium. We’ll panoramically view New Belgrade, the city’s most populous municipality, developed extensively after World War II. As we cross the Gazela Bridge, we’ll see the new Belgrade Waterfront development. Our next stop is the Museum of Yugoslavia and the House of Flowers, Tito’s resting place, where we’ll learn about his life and see gifts he received from global leaders. After lunch, we’ll visit Avala, a popular excursion spot featuring a TV tower and the Monument to the Unknown Hero. The tour concludes back in central Belgrade at the Church of Saint Sava, moving through significant central locations to end at Republic Square, home to the National Museum and National Theatre.