Bosnia-Herzegovina Lukomir Sarajevo

6 Things You Shouldn’t Miss (But Might) in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina


Last Updated on March 25, 2018.

Falling in love with Sarajevo was pretty much instant for me. Before I could even see it in the daylight or really knew anything about it, there was just something that I was immediately attracted to which to this day I still can’t fully explain. Then again, that’s true love for you.

Sarajevo

I’ve already put out there why you shouldn’t miss Sarajevo on your next trip to Europe based on my first visit, but now after my second, third, and fourth trip, it’s time to share some things I don’t think you should miss once you finally get there.

1) Zlatna Ribica

Golden fishy (address: Kaptol 5) has to be one of my favorite cafe/bars in the world and I think once you set foot in the place you will understand why. It’s fabulously kitschy and cozy – like your elegant, hoarder Grandmother’s living room on crack. Would take days, maybe weeks, to fully inspect all the random “stuff” hanging, sitting, and floating around in that place. Add some of their delicious rakija into the mix and it could even take years.

Ribica Sarajevo

 

2) Kino Bosna

While we are on the topic of rakija and international cocktails, Kino Bosna (address: Alipašina 19) is a bar you should know about. Actually it’s just an old movie theater that was turned into an establishment that serves alcoholic beverages and kids get wild, but nevertheless… It’s not on any of the main bar drags and a tad nondescript from the outside which is why it’s easily missable.

Though kind of a dive and if you’re over 25 you might be the oldest person in there, the drinks are the cheapest I’ve seen in Sarajevo and it’s full of interesting characters who may or may not serenade you with some Mariah Carey, Guns n’ Roses and Freddie Mercury if the mood is right. Basically it’s a place to at least try if you like the nightlife, to boogie, and not spend a fortune on it. Then move on.

 

3) Cevapcici at Zeljo

You can get cevapcici/cevapi all around the Balkans, but cevapi in Sarajevo is pretty much a legend. There are cevabdzinicas on every corner it seems, but there is one – actually 2 – that stand out above all the rest in my mind and that is Zeljo 1 and Zeljo 2 (named after a local football club). So nice they serve it twice and just diagonal from each other on Kundurdiluk in the center of Bascarsija.

Zeljo Sarajevo

For less than $7 you can get a pretty bomb meal that includes 5-10 cevapi (mixed beef and lamb sausages) with onions in somun bread and a glass of kiselo mlijeko (sour milk). Make sure you ask for it with kaymak (creamy cheese deliciousness). You won’t regret it unless you are vegan or lactose intolerant, and your taste buds will thank you.

Zeljo Sarajevo

*Cigarette at the end is totally optional, but will definitely earn you some invisible high fives from the older gen who remember a time when they were actually included in the price of a meal.

 

4) Baščaršija and Stari Grad’s authenticity

Baščaršija (Sarajevo’s old bazaar) and Stari Grad is a rare exception of an “old town” that has maintained its authenticity even though it is the city’s most popular tourist attraction. Sure you can still find some tacky souvenir shops and overpriced bars and restaurants here and there, but for the most part it has kept it real and stayed relatively cheap which you can feel on any given day walking through its stone streets. It’s a place for locals just as much as tourists which is becoming increasingly hard to find in Europe.

Basarscija Sarajevo

Old dudes sitting around for hours drinking čaj/kafa or playing monster chess in the main square near the Orthodox church, locals and tourists eating a feast of cevapcici elbow-to-elbow for less than the price of a Diet Coke in Paris, the cool kids smoking hookah and drinking Bosnian coffee like it’s going out of style with the sounds of ezan in the background. It’s easy to overlook just how pure it all is if you’re not paying attention or have your nose in a guidebook so just sit back, relax and soak it all in because this is one of the things that makes Sarajevo such a unique European capital.

Basarscija Sarajevo

Basarscija Sarajevo 2

Basarscija Sarajevo

5) Tunnel of Hope

If you’re headed to Sarajevo and were unaware that from 1992-1995 it was under the longest siege of a city in the history of modern warfare, it won’t take you long to notice. Bullet holes and mortar damage still stain a large percentage of the city’s buildings and sidewalks which is impossible to ignore and inevitably makes you feel a little bummed.

Sarajevo

Instead of focusing your attention on the grimmer legacies from the war though, you should make it a point to visit one of the more encouraging: the Tunnel of Hope – the ~800 meter passageway that was secretly dug to provide a means to transport people, food, war supplies and humanitarian aid from Bosnian held territory on the other side of the airport to and from the city. For now only about 20 meters of it remains open, but hopefully someday they will get around to reconstructing it completely.

Sarajevo surrounded city tunnel museum

Though small and not the easiest to get to using public transport (your own car or taxi is better, costs about 20 KM from the city center), the Tunnel Museum is a great place to pay respect to the resilience of Sarajevo and see firsthand one of the main reasons it survived being cut off from the rest of the world for nearly three and a half years.

Sarajevo Tunnel

 

6)  Its hills and mountains

If you only have time to do one thing on this list, let it be this one: get out and see the hills and nearby mountains.

Sarajevo Mountains

If you are brave enough to drive around Bosnia with your own car, that’s awesome. Just take a cruise one day and preferably with some sort of GPS system, but don’t stray from the roads because unfortunately land mines are still a reality. If you don’t have your own car, there are paths from the center that you don’t have to walk up far to get some pretty gorgeous views. Trebević is probably the easiest to get to and where you can also find the abandoned bobsled and luge track from the 1984 Olympics.

Abandoned Olympic bobsled Sarajevo

To have a real mountain experience, it’s probably best to find a guide or tour company to take you on some kind of a day trip to a place like Lukomir on Bjelasnica Mountain or Sutjeska National Park.

Though getting out of town for a bit may require the most effort if you are there without a car and limited on time, believe me, it’s worth it and such an important part of what makes Sarajevo Sarajevo.

Sarajevo Mountains 2

Have you been to Sarajevo? What did I miss putting on this list that I shouldn’t have?

 

11 Comments

  • Reply
    Francis Tapon
    November 13, 2013 at 11:25 am

    There’s good reason why it was the site of the 1984 Winter Games: it’s wonderful! Don’t forget to see the bridge where WWI got started.

    • Reply
      Larissa
      November 23, 2013 at 12:36 am

      Definitely can’t forget that! It’s already been decided that there will be a part two to this so that may just have to be added :)

  • Reply
    Franca
    November 23, 2013 at 5:12 pm

    I loved Sarajevo, such a beautiful city. I really want to go back there one day, the sooner the better. I won’t have any Cevapcici this time though, I became vegetarian since last time I was there.

    • Reply
      Larissa
      November 28, 2013 at 5:51 pm

      2014 is going to be a big year for the city, maybe will be a good time. I feel for you if now vegetarian though – that ever present cevapcici smell in Baščaršija would just be torture for me if I couldn’t eat it!

  • Reply
    Kara Brandt
    December 26, 2013 at 12:08 pm

    Such an interesting places to visit. I didn’t have any idea how beautiful Sarajevo,Bosnia And Herzegovina. I want to visit those places on your post. Will visit the country late next year. Thanks!

  • Reply
    Covinnus Travel
    January 6, 2014 at 11:11 am

    Definitely, Bosnia & Herzegovina is a wonderful country. I really enjoyed the Sutjeska National Park. So untouristy but so beautiful and wild.

    • Reply
      Larissa
      January 7, 2014 at 3:25 am

      Yes, loved Sutjeska! Will be writing more about the visit I had there soon :)

  • Reply
    Zuni
    October 25, 2014 at 8:17 pm

    Thanks for your comments and suggestions. I am an old timer gypsy traveler myself . Been on the road since 1970″ by traveling the Balkans I will have been to 100 countries . Most of them countless times. Travel is my drug ….

    • Reply
      Larissa
      November 11, 2014 at 7:23 pm

      “Travel is my drug” – I’ll cheers to that :)

  • Reply
    John
    January 10, 2015 at 12:52 pm

    I absolutely loved the view from Zuta Tabija (Yellow Bastion) – you can see the skyscrapers of the modern city and the minarets of the old Ottoman city together against the backdrop of the mountains. Such an amazing city.

    • Reply
      Larissa
      January 13, 2015 at 3:52 am

      Ahh, missing that view!

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