Serbia Tourist Attractions | The Best Places to Visit

We spent about six weeks in Serbia over the wintertime. During our first two weeks, we stayed with friends in the small town of Despotovac. It’s around 1 hour and 40 minutes drive Southeast of Belgrade. The remainder of our time was spent in central Belgrade. We got to enjoy some of the lovely countryside attractions around Despotovac and some of the fun things to do in Belgrade, the largest city in Serbia. In this post, we’re sharing some of the top Serbia tourist attractions. These are based on the things we’ve seen in Serbia so far, recommendations from our Serbian friends, and things we plan to do when we visit next time!

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Serbia Tourist Attractions | What to See in Serbia

Belgrade City

If you’re interested in finding out about cities to visit in Serbia, start with Belgrade. The city itself could be one of the best places to visit in Serbia! From the Belgrade fortress to world-class museums, nature reserves, and leafy green parks, Belgrade has plenty to offer.

We’ve written a full blog post dedicated to this city alone. Find out more in our top recommendations for places to visit in Belgrade city. 

Serbia Tourist Attractions in the Despotovac Area

Despotovac is a small town about 1.5-2 hours Southeast of Belgrade. This was where we stayed with friends that we had met a year or so before in Vietnam! Here we share a few Serbia tourist attractions we enjoyed in the Despotovac area.

Manastir Manasija

If you’re in Despotovac, make sure you visit Manasija monastery. It’s a beautiful medieval fortress and church amongst lovely natural surroundings. There’s a very calm and peaceful feel to it, and it retains some of its original features.

You’ll also find lovely handmade items in the gift store including jewelry, fresh juice, and some of the best honey in Serbia!

Resava cave

About 30 minutes east of Despotovac lies Resava cave. It’s a beautiful limestone cave full of stalactites and stalagmites and stunning rock formations.

The entrance is by guided tour, which cost 900 dinars for three of us (about $9). Romy was free. The tour takes about 40 minutes and covers 800m but the full cave is about 4km long.

The temperature inside is a standard and balmy seven degrees, which was a little warmer than it was outside the day we visited!

Although Romy wasn’t overly impressed by the cave I’d say that was more about the fact that she needed a nap but wouldn’t take one! We’d recommend it as one of the interesting and scenic Serbia points of interest.

There is a very basic play area on the hillside in front of the cave (just swings and seesaws). There’s also a high ropes course on-site if you want to do it as an additional activity.

Zdrelo Spa

Zdrelo Spa is a hotel and swimming complex located less than an hour north of Despotovac. With indoor and outdoor pools of varying temperatures, it’s a perfect place for a year-round dip.

There are fun little tunnels that connect the pools, or you can take the more conventional route and go through the doors! Have fun on the water slides, go for a relaxing massage, or grab a coffee at the cafe.

We opted out of the cafe food and instead brought our own snacks. Then we went for a delicious traditional meal a couple of minutes down the road.

Divčibare

Divčibare is a mountain and ski resort in Western Serbia. Whether you’re skiing or not, our Serbian friends highly recommend it as one of the best places to visit in Serbia in winter. The fresh mountain air and gorgeous natural surroundings make it a welcome escape from the city.

Tara National Park

Located a little further Southwest of Divčibare, Tara National Park is one of the best places to visit in the country for its incredible natural beauty. While you’re in the area, visit the town of Mokra Gora, or maybe even the mountain of the same name, located just over 2000m above sea level.  Located near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, this will definitely be at the top of our list next time we visit Serbia.

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Other Serbia Tourist Attractions

• Fruška Gora is another highly rated National Park, that’s very close to Novi Sad. For nature lovers, it would make a very worthwhile day trip (or longer) from the city
• A large part of the Drina river runs along the Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbian border. Rafting and kayaking are two of the main activities that can be enjoyed on the river
• In Southeastern Serbia, the city of Niš is home to the skull tower. Constructed by the Ottoman empire, it’s a stone structure embedded with skulls. It’s one of the historical places in Serbia that has now become a popular tourist attraction.
• One of the largest and richest monasteries in Serbia is the Studenica Monastery, located in central Serbia.
• Outside of the Belgrade fortress, the Petrovaradin Fortress in the city of Novi Sad is another one of the very highly-rated Serbia tourist attractions

Is Serbia a good place to visit?

As full-time slow-travelers, we love our lifestyle and all the adventures it brings. Every country we have been to has brought us new experiences and has exposed us to different cultures and perspectives. We always have fun along the way, and, in our experience, YES – Serbia is a great place to visit.

Overall, there are many beautiful countryside areas in Serbia, as well as vibrant, modern cities. We’ll look forward to sharing more tips about the best Serbia places to visit next time we travel there. 

Further Reading about other European destinations

As of 2021, we remain slow-traveling in the Balkans and nearby. For our best tips about other European destinations, check out our posts about the Poitou Charentes region of France, and the city of Tirana in Albania. We’ll soon be sharing our best tips on Bansko in Bulgaria, and Lake Ohrid, North Macedonia.

If you have any questions or comments about the best Serbia tourist attractions, please join the conversation and leave a comment below!

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