WHERE TO DRINK BEER IN bELGRADE?

In a last few years independent travel blogs became the finest guides for tourists and travelers worldwide. There’re several local blogs in Serbian, English and French that we recommend to our clients and visitors of Belgrade. Blogs mentioned tend to provide tips, facts, maps, photos and useful information about the city from a local point of view and help visitors to feel welcomed. Here is our short list of blogs we prefer:  

Drinking culture is big in Serbia.  There’re many bars and pubs around the city where one can consume beer and since you are visiting Belgrade we recommend to start with some domestic brands such as: Jelen pivo (beer), Lav pivo, Zaječarsko pivo and one craft beer we really like called Kabinet. First time a had a chance to try Kabinet beer was at Belgrade Design Week and the taste of this beer totally blow me away. This is one new Serbian product that can boast with high-quality and creative design. The idea of making this craft beer originated from initiative of one Serbian couple who established their own factory in Nemenikuće on the sunny slope at the foot of mountain Kosmaj, mixing Belgian malts, French yeasts and hops from around the world. Kabinet brewery produces few types of beer and all of mentioned are organic products without additives. 

Magic Garden

Magic Garden bar This one is Belgrade’s hidden gem. One of the favorite places of locals. You can listen to some cool music, drink wine and chat with friends. Magic Garden is located next to Pizzeria Trg, in the backyard of Staklenac building. Try to find it, it’s a very cool local place!Address: 5 Makedonska, Trg Republike, TC Staklenac, 11000 Belgrade 

Miners pub 
Miners is located in Dorćol area. It’s a cozy and nice place that stands in a basement. Pub offers more than 100 labels of first class light and dark beer, but also domestic Serbian organic beer Kabinet. During the evenings you can attend concerts, parties or similar events.Open Mon-Sat  14:00 – 12:00Address: 16 Rige od Fere, 11000 Belgrade 

Black Turtle
Black Turtle is a chain of pubs in Belgrade. The best one is Black Turtle II, which is located in the old and beautiful part of Belgrade known as Kosančićev Venac, at number 30. This is a very unique bar in Belgrade where you can enjoy a warm and welcoming atmosphere, while drinking their blueberry or lemon flavoured beers, that are very well priced by the way. As one American guy recently said, “Blueberry beer tastes like heaven.”  Try it!!!

Open Mon-Thu 09-00, Fri-Sat 09-01, Sun 09-12Address:  30 Kosančićev Venac, 11000, Belgrade 

Berliner
Berliner stands in the “Creative district” of Savamala. It offers more than 50 beer labels and German sausages and wings. Definitely a place worth checking out!Open Tues – Thurs: 13:00 – 01:00 Fri – Sat: 13:00 – 02:00 Sun: 13:00 – 01:00 Address: 6-8 Braće Krsmanovića, 11000 Belgrade 

Best Blogs Aout Belgrade

BEST BLOGS ABOUT BELGRADE

In a last few years independent travel blogs became the finest guides for tourists and travelers worldwide. There’re several local blogs in Serbian, English and French that we recommend to our clients and visitors of Belgrade. Blogs mentioned tend to provide tips, facts, maps, photos and useful information about the city from a local point of view and help visitors to feel welcomed. Here is our short list of blogs we prefer: 

BELGRADIAN 

Belgradian is in-depth tourist guide featuring articles on restaurants, bars, events, tours and providing useful information about various services such as rent a car, public transport and similar in the city of Belgrade.

Website 

STILL IN BELGRADE  

Still in Belgrade is independent online magazine  featuring the latest from contemporary culture in Belgrade-events, music, parties, design, fashion, art, gastronomy, music and more. It was established in the end of 2012, but very quickly it gained a reputation of one of the finest and hippest  Belgrade guides.

Website 

BELGRADE MY WAY 

Belgrade my way is emerging tourist guide featuring the best from traditional to contemporary culture in Belgrade. Blog collects and shares useful information, suggests unique tours and thematic ways to discover Belgrade depending on the interests and preferences of visitors, based on local knowledge and experience.

Website

TRIP TO BELGRADE 

Trip to Belgrade is the only blog dedicated to francophone visitors of the Serbian capital. Blog provides a bunch of  interesting and useful tips and facts about Belgrade in both English and French.

Website 

Don't Miss Belgrade Summer Festival (BELEF) 2015

Belgrade Summer Festival, known as BELEF has just started! Belef is annul manifestation that takes place in Belgrade from the 21st of June to the 25th of July on various locations. 

Concerts and theater plays, dance and visual arts within BELEF program will be held in several city locations from the main stage in the yard of Captain Miša’s Mansion, Kolarac, House of King Peter, Student Park, Republic Square, Knez Mihailova Street and Cultural Center Vuk Karadžić. Tickets can be purchased at the info center of Tourism Organization of Belgrade in Knez Mihailova. Price range from 200 to 500 dinars. For pleasent stay in Belgrade we suggest our company City Break Apartments. 

This festival exists for almost two and a half decades. This year's edition of Belef will be interesting, diverse and dynamic with wide range of genres. A special features of Belef 2015 are different locations that will maintain programs - announced  director Milan Lazovic.

Don’t miss theater play The Blues Brothers, directed by local actor Ivan Jevtović. The premier of this stage piece is scheduled for the 29th of June at the open-air stage of Mikser House – Miksalište.

Visual art exhibition – Transformers will be presented before the beginning of the BELEF festival as part of the Belef introduction program and it will be on display in the center of the city during entire summer. During the supporting program Belef Plus and supported by the Embassy of Israel in Belgrade, the audience will have the opportunity to see a theater play Our Class by the troupe Kemeri from Tel Aviv, directed by Hanan Snir.

On Tuesday, the 21st of July (at 20:30 h) in the yard of Captain Miša’s Mansion percussion duo made of both young and talented Ksenija Komljenovic and  Miloš Branisavljević will perform within Multiversity Sessions program. 

In case you need accommodation in Belgrade, our company offers cozy apartments in downtown. City Break operates very successful for many years and provides very affordable accommodation in Belgrade. 

Where Can You Eat in Belgrade?

Be sure that you won't stay hungry in this city. Dinning culture has always been rich in Serbia, as well as in Belgrade. Locals usually eat in bakeries and kiosks, and sometimes in kafanas and restaurants. The most famous breakfast is burek (cheese or a meat pie) with yogurt. It's a hungover killer. Very tasty and full of fat. Belgrade isn't very vegan friendly. Serbs are big meat lovers and the most of Serbian traditional cuisine is consisted of meat. 

On kiosks Serbs usually buy kebabs, pljeskavica and sausages. There're different kinds, such as: gurmanska pljeskavica (stuffed with cheese and bacon) , leskovacka pljeskavica(with hot pepper) , sarajevski cevap (small kebabs with onion and mustard)..etc. Those are the specialties. 

The best places to try Serbian traditional dishes are kafanas-traditional restaurants. The most famous ones are situated in Skadarska street in the city centre. Skadarska was a bohemian hang-out of artists, writers and poets in the early 20th century. Today this well-known cobbled street is a home of numerous restaurants and bars, such as: Dva Jelena, Sesir moj, Zlatni Bokal, Putujuci Glumac, Skadarlija, Red bar and so on. 

We would recommend kafana "Dva Jelena" (2 Deer) which enjoys tradition over 150 years. It looks as old wooden village house with two open air gardens.   Menus for which kafana got famous were created in the 1921 and 1928 by the chef Zarko Dačić. Noazete for two persons (fillet, mushrooms, brains on grill, sauce of cream and bones), steak Čika Đura,various medallions (with mushrooms, grilled on Skadar way), lamb and pork, are just some of the dishes, which give a special look to the gourmet restaurant. Seafood specialties such as smoked trout, squid, red fish are also on the menu. In addition to a large selection of grilled specialties, meat and cooked dishes, the restaurant also offers vegetarian dishes, and desserts such as tufahija, ice cream, pancakes au gratin, orasnica, etc.   

                                                                 Photo of old Belgrade with "Question mark" in the middle 

In downtown, in the neighborhood of Kosancicev Venac stands the oldest kafana in Belgrade, called the "Question mark". As Skadarlija, this was also a popular hung- out of bohemians, poets and writers. Nowadays, Question mark is more oriented towards tourists. Restaurant offers a spirit of old Belgrade and serves traditional specialties. 

 In case you are located, or visiting Zemun we would point out  restaurant Šaran on the Danube promenade. It's well known Belgrade restaurant where you can hear proper traditional music and eat seafood as well as meat specialties in combination with Serbian wine. 

In case you are traveling to Belgrade, we would suggest our cozy apartments in the city center. We offer many different interior designs, so you can pick which one you like. All our apartments are fully equipped.   

Serbian DJs You Should Know About

Today, we continue to guide you thru electronic music scene of Belgrade. The scene itself is a small one, but its rich and diverse when it comes to music genres and DJ collectives. We mentioned in our previous article which are the best clubs in Belgrade focused on electronic music. Now, we move to some serious names in our local scene.  

DJ Marko Nastic

Marko Nastic, is globally recognised by many as one of the Top South Eastern Europe artist as producer & DJ performer. Marko and friends accomplished and built one of the most vibrant club scenes in Balkan, the one that inspired writers of Mixmag, The Face, DJ and NME to write about.

In carrier long almost 20 years Marko has done more than 200 releases including rmx and co productions. He is most famous for his high end 3 decks sets which gave him opportunity to tour globe many times and to be resident of Exit festival. Currently releasing on his label Sake &Vinyl Only and Ama. 

DJ Dejan Milicevic 

For many years Dejan has been on the scene,started dj-ing at the age of just fifteen and rolling for around eighteen years now. After winning lots of prizes in 1997 and 1998 everything started to happen. As a part of the KneDeep family he played all the major events by now and also had the ex Yugoslavian region covered at the same time having every weekend full of new experiences. His music style is a mix of house and techno that has a flavor of a long and experienced career. The year 2011 was the year of the debut album release from this artist after more than 80 EP's in his music life , Trust and the Purpose (Gillesku Records) sold out all vinyl copies just in 5 days and made a great success. New album "Just Keep Talking Girl" has just been released in August 2012 on Plastic city label and also got a huge feedback from the audience. 

For the past 5 years Dejan is collaborating with Burn energy drink company and working as their music ambassador,also giving lectures on a regional level for Burn Audio Tool software and making it available to everyone. 

In 2014 Dejan launched a new vinyl-digital label called Tit0 (Tit Zero Recordings ) hitting the first EP with legendary Dj Rush on the microphone.

DJ Lea Dobricic 

Winner of Burn Studios Residency contest 2013, resident DJ at prestigious Ibiza club - Privilege, playing on Elrow parties on Ibiza and in Barcelona.

She is charismatic, very talented and attractive. She has been into music since 2005 and created a boom in recent few years, performing in the most prestigious European clubs and festivals. In a short time, she shared decks with a lot of important names in electronic world music scene such as Laurent Garnier, Luciano, Richie Hawtin, Umek, Dubfire, Marco Carola, Anja Schneider, Miss Kittin, Azzari & III, Beltek, Supernova, Claude VonStroke, Carlo Lio, Layo & Bushwacka, Silicone Soul and many others.

She spins catchy mix of deep house, tech house, minimal and techno, always with a precise technique and extreme elegance and brings freshness and incredible energy in a unique way.

Identical energy is felt in her production as well, and she proved her talent in May 2010, winning the first place among hundreds of applicants on Remix Contest "Stefano Noferini - Papi". The remix was published on Deeperfect records.

From that moment she establishes cooperation with many influential record labels such as Bosphorus Underground Recordings, Italo biusiness, Freshin, Butane recordings, Lovable Fairy Tale, Killing Machine, No-Logic...

DJ Filip Xavi 

Promoter, Producer and a DJ from Belgrade. Resident of the techno cathedral Drugstore in Palilula. The guy who understands what contemporary techno is all about. 

Beyond House Collective 

One of our favorite DJ collectives in Belgrade. Guys that never disappoint. Beyond House is a party serial & music collective from Belgrade-Serbia, specialist in pure underground dance music with depth and soul.

In case you are visiting Belgrade, we of caurse recommend our City Break apartments situated in the central districts and near many Belgrade clubs, 

Guide to Electronic Music Venues in Belgrade

Since the 90's Belgrade is a home of underground clubs focused on music genders as house, techno, progressive, drum & bass....It started with iconic club Industrija (Industry), than Omen, Barutana and Mondo. Today, from those mentioned only Barutana is open for visitors again and stands in the Lower part of Kalemegdan fortress. During the winter season it works as a DOT club, in Francuska 6 street. Here you can catch local DJs, collectives and the foreign DJs. 

                                                                   20/44 Boat 

Belgrade classic, the Tube is just around the corner in Simina street in Dorćol neighborhood. It's one of the most popular clubs in Belgrade. Some of the world class DJs played here, such as Dixon, Adam Beyer, Nina Kraviz, Steffi...Unfortunately, now its more focused on a local djs and the crowd became much younger. 

On the river, the best boat is 20/44. For many years this club manage to keep up with good reputation and its open during the entire year. Entrance is around 3 to 4 euros. Music section ranges from deep house and disco to Detroit techno.  Also, some of the world class Djs played here as Nicolas Jaar, Mike Huckaby and similar. 

When it comes to underground music; techno, house and experimental Drugstore club is definitely a winner. It's open during Fridays or  Saturdays. The club can host over 1000 people and has three rooms. Interior is industrial and raw , since its a former slaughter house. 

                                                                 Drugstore club, Palilula 

For commercial house, don't miss Sound and Hot Mess rafts on the river. Prices are a bit upscale. 

In Belgrade there's everything for everybody, you just need to know what are your desires. 

In case you need accommodation don't forget City Break Apartments are the best and most private you can find. 

Alternative Clubbing in Belgrade

Belgrade is a home of many alternative clubs. Some of them are oriented towards pop, rock, gothic, but several of them are jazz clubs. Today, we present some cool venues that we like to visit. 

                           Bitef Club 

Peron 

Peron stands in the creative district of Savamala, near the city centre. Music program is focused on rock, indie, 80.s and pop. Currently, it's one of the most popular clubs in the city. In this spot you can catch some of the local djs as Marko Gangbenger, Ognjen Krstic or some of the tribute bands as the Gift. Prices are decent and folks are friendly. 

Location: 12 Braće Krsmanovića

Bitef 

This is well known Belgrade club. It used to be situated in the building (ex church) alongside with Bitef alternative theatre, right next to Bajloni green market. This year club moved to Metropolita Petra street in Palilula. The focus is on local and foreign bands. During the summer Bitef moves to Kalemegdan fortress summer stage. Bitef also organizes MUSICOLOGY festival in July at the fortress. 

 KST 

Klub studenata tehnike is literary "everlasting club". Iconic, alternative spot that began to work as a bar back in the 50's. In the book of a local author, it's described as "the club where the time has stop, in the country where everything has stopped". It is located in the basement of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering near Vukov spomenik. Music selection ranges from Gothic and EBM to ex Yugoslav rock and pop. The crowd consists of students and high school pupils. 

Povetarac 

Povetrac is one of the coolest splavs/rafts on the river. Here you can catch the real summer vibe of Belgrade. It's usually crowded so prepare yourself for that. It offers a variety of music styles, such as hip hop, drum & bass, mush ups, alternative....Crowd is both local and international. Beer is a most common drink. Cocktails are not trendy in this club. 

Location: Brodarska BB

                                                                          

                                                                                Peron club 

Jazz Club Čekaonica

Čekaonica jazz club moved from the top of BIGZ building into Bitef near Bajloni market some time ago, since the BIGZ is sold. Now, it stands in Drinčićeva street in the historical neighborhood of Dorćol. Čekaonica is labeled as the "best jazz" club in town by many musicians and music lovers. 

If you decide to visit Belgrade we can offer our fully equipped City Break apartments in the city centre.

5 Reasons to Visit Belgrade

Travel journalists and bloggers around the glob write and speak about Belgrade in the most positive contexts. This city is labeled as the "upcoming European metropolis" and the "Europe's latest urban success story" by NY Times. We present our five good reasons why you should visit Belgrade.

Position 

The city stands on the confluence of Sava and Danube rivers, in the spot where Pannonian plane meets the Balkan peninsula. With all the suburbs Belgrade includes a population of 2 million. Rivers enable Belgrade port, but also spectacular views, clubs and barges on the rivers, islands and beaches such as the Big war island, Ada Ciganlija lake and shorelines Ada Huja and Ada Medjica. The weather is mostly nice consisting of 4 seasons. 

                                                                Kalemgdan fortress 

   

History

Belgrade is marked with turbulent and long history.  Believe it or not, it's one of the oldest cities in the entire old continent. Due to its geographical position, the city was a frequent target of eastern, northern and western invaders. The first city was made by Celtics and it was named Singidunum. Romans occupied Belgrade in 1st century AD. The trademark of the city is Kalemegdan fortress and park located in the city center. 

                                                                      The Tube club 

Nightlife 

Everybody heard about it. It's not a secret that Belgrade has the most vivid nightlife in the Balkans. The most popular clubs are of caurse splavs (barges on the rivers) and indoor clubs in Savamala and  Dorćol neighborhoods. If you prefer mainstream and popular clubs don't skip Shake & Shake, Freestyle, Sound, Hot Mass, Drugstore play on the banks of the Sava river. 

But, if you prefer more alternative venues, than you can attend parties on the boat 20/44 and Svemirska kafana. In Savamala neighborhood cool clubs are Peron, Kc Grad, Brankow and Mladost. For lovers of techno and hard groove we recommend Barutana in the lower part of  Kalemegdan fortress, well known the Tube in the neighborhood of Dorćol and a techno cathedral Drugstore in the neighborhood of Palilula.   

                                                                 Savamala 

Savamala creative district 

On the riverfront, in the municipality of Savski venac and below Kalemegdan fortress stands Savamala. In the recent years it become the creative and the clubbing district of Belgrade. Walls are covered with murals and graffiti and bars stand on every corner. There are also a few nice art galleries, such as G12 new media hub and Culture Centre Grad. 

                                                    Salon 5 fine dinning restaurant 

Emerging restaurant culture 

There are more than 400 restaurants in the city of Belgrade. The most famous are traditional, local taverns called kafanas in Sakadarlija street, in the city center. Here you can eat traditional dishes and hear some of the proper traditional music. Of course, many fusion and contemporary cuisine restaurants are emerging. Popular neighborhoods for dinning are Lower Dorćol, Zemun kej, Vračar and Beton hala venue on the riverfront. 

If we have convinced you to visit Belgrade, the next step would be to book apartment in the city and have a pleasent stay. We recommend our company City Break Apartments, located in the city center.  

What's so cool about Lower Dorćol?

In this article we are moving towards the neighborhood of Lower Dorćol. This is a historical neighborhood. It's old and in the past was a multicultural spot. Nowadays, not so much. But, still has its charms. One part of the neighborhood is residential, while the second part is ex industrial. Hospitality and catering industry are gaining momentum. Private sector is investing and rebuilding old warehouses, workshops and abounded buildings in the end of Dobračina street. 

 Cool coffee shops, hidden bars, restaurants and museums are emerging. 

There is a concept store called Rub in Knićaninova street, Owners don't like using social networks and promoting their business in that way. So, the costumers are made of locals. This concept store has a very lovely interior; a bar and a sofa, and a furniture shop. Music selection is unmistakable. 

Also the prices are very fine. Good spot for drinking beer, coffee or a glass of wine. 

    Photo: Višnja Jovanović 

Pržionica is one of the most original and the most popular coffee shops in Belgrade. Several types of coffee, vinyls, uncut visage and urban style. 

Radionica is a former workshop converted into a very cool bar, restaurant and a club. During the weekend its open until 4 am and hosts local and international DJ stars. During the day it works as a restaurant offering fusion cuisine. Good place for drinking cocktails and enjoying vivid interior design . 

Right next to mentioned, stands Šarlo bakery. Here you can buy wonderful salty and sweet pastry and bread. The owner is an old local DJ and a vinyl collector. 

    Photo: Višnja Jovanović

Don't miss Holesterol restaurant. That stands in the line. This is a modern Serbian kafana with traditional specialties. The food is fine and the prices are not overrated as in many other restaurants in Belgrade. 

Location: Dobračina 59B, 11000 Belgrade 

When it comes to contemporary cuisine Homa is one of the most prominent in Belgrade dinning scene. Fusion food and flavors and a rich wine selection are included in the offer. It was ranked No.1 on Trip Adviser website some time ago. Foreigners love it, so we definitely recommend also this one. 

Location: Žorža Klemansoa 19, 11000 Belgrade 

   Photo: Višnja Jovanović 

If you like technology and culture drop by the Museum of Science and Technology in Skender Begova street. This institution is a hidden gem. It offers interesting exhibitions and artifacts such as the first computes, cameras, machines, instruments, photos and similar vintage items .   

If you prefer this cool neighborhood of Belgrade we would suggest to stay in our City Break Apartments . You can check out apartments Sweet, Central park and Mint.

Vračar Graffiti Guide

Vračar is a residential neighborhood of Belgrade located close to a city center. Next to municipalities of Stari grad and Savski venac, Vračar creates the central area of the city. It is known by cool bars, cafeterias and fancy restaurants situated in old villas, but also by high real estate prices, old and beautiful architecture, National library, the biggest orthodox temple in the Balkans "Sveti Sava", artisan settlement called Gradić Pejton, museum of Nikola Tesla and among other things by street art.  

     

 

                      Photos by B Local Travel 

If you wish to stay in this indeed fancy neighborhood of Belgrade, we suggest our apartments, feel free to search by location.

For this particular area we would recommend apartments Madera, Champagne and Val.  

Guide to Upper Dorćol's Venues

Dorćol is the most prominent neighborhood of Belgrade. It is located in the municipality of Stari grad-Old town. It begins 700 meters north from Terazije, the central square of Belgrade. It is divided in a two sections: Upper Dorćol, which covers the area from Akademski park to Cara Dušana and Bulevar Despota Stefana streets and the right bank of the Danube, Lower Dorćol used to be known as Jalija (Turkish Yali, bank). It boarders the neighborhoods of Stari Grad  and Jevremovac and Kalemegdan fortress, which is considered as part of Dorćol as well. 

                                                          Dorćol by Marija Velinov 

This is a historical neighbourhood of Belgrade. An area where the first city is created. In the past this was multicultural part of town, where Gypsies, Jews, Turks and Serbs lived. Before the Second World War Belgrade included three synagogues and thousands of Jews who had their own quarter in Dorćol, meanwhile after the bombing in the WWII just one synagogue survived. The most of the Jews left the Kingdom of Yugoslavia or were executed by Nazis. Today, the heritage of Jews and their story is presented in  the Jewish museum in Kralja Petra (King Peter's) street. 

Museum & Galleries: 

Ethnographic museum. 

This is one of the oldest museums in Serbia. It showcases national costumes, dresses and weapons from the wars and similar artifacts. 

Jewish museum 

Small museum located in the building of Kralja Petra street. It showcases artifacts and documents of life of the Jews in Serbia, 

                                                                Dorćol by Marija Velinov 

Culture Centre UK Parobrod 

This the official culture centre of Stari Grad municipality and one of the most visited culture center among younger urban population. In this spot visitors can catch cool art and design exhibitions, workshops and presentations and movie screenings. 

In the basement of the building stands Das Boot jazz club. Perfect place for drinking coffee during the day and listening to djs and live music during the night. 

Bars: 

Dorćol is a home of many different bars. You can check out Pastis bistro in 52B Strahinjica bana street or the famous Centrala bar in 6 Simina street. 

Restaurants:

I would suggest Tribeca restaurant on the corner of Kralja Petra and main street Knez Mihailova. This restaurant operates successfully for more than 10 years. 

Restaurant Jevrem has a beautiful garden and serves both traditional and international dishes. It stands in 36 Gospodar Jevremova street. 

                                                           Supermarket Concept Store 

Shopping: 

If you want to feel trendy and hip drop by Supermarket concept store in Višnjićeva street. This is the first concept store in the Balkans. This big place offers fusion cuisine restaurant, cocktail bar and one section that represents a store offering fashion items from both local and international scene. 

Club: 

The Tube is one of the most prominent clubs in Belgrade. It hosted world class djs from all over the glob such as Ben Klock, Jimmy Edgar, Nina Kraviz, Steffi and similar. It is oriented towards house and techno music. 

 Where to stay: 

Of cause we recommend our company City Break Apartments. We offer fully equipped apartments in this central area of Belgrade. You can check out our map and find apartments in your desired location for a very descent prices.