{"id":127315,"date":"2020-01-01T09:00:07","date_gmt":"2020-01-01T09:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hostelworld.com\/blog\/?p=127315"},"modified":"2020-01-01T09:00:07","modified_gmt":"2020-01-01T09:00:07","slug":"things-to-do-in-sarajevo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hostelworld.com\/blog\/things-to-do-in-sarajevo\/","title":{"rendered":"Things to do in Sarajevo: searching for street art and sunset spots"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sarajevo is quickly emerging as one of Europe\u2019s hottest budget travel destinations. Surrounded by mountains and hugging the River Miljacka, Sarajevo\u2019s mix-up of Asian and European influences is intoxicating. Hardly anywhere on earth boasts more for modern history nerds \u2014 from the shot that sparked World War One to the first Winter Olympics held by a socialist state and the longest siege of a capital city in modern warfare. Combine that with cutting-edge museums, a must-visit brewery and buildings caked in street art, and you\u2019ve got yourself one of Europe\u2019s most exciting new backpacker spots<\/a>. Oh, and crazily cheap prices \u2014 plus the proximity to Split<\/a> and Dubrovnik<\/a>, each only four hours\u2019 drive away \u2014 don\u2019t hurt either.<\/p>\n

Wondering what to do in Sarajevo? From mosques and markets to abandoned Olympic venues, these are the best things to do in Sarajevo.<\/p>\n

1. Wind back the clock in Sarajevo’s Old Town<\/h2>\n

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Google \u2018Sarajevo\u2019 and the postcard pics that pop up are of Ba\u0161\u010dar\u0161ija, the old Ottoman marketplace. This beautifully preserved bit of Asian architecture houses cafes, shisha joints, eateries and places to pick up a souvenir, including many metal trinkets fashioned out of artillery and shrapnel left behind by the siege. The 15th<\/sup> century bazaar retains the atmosphere it did half a millennium ago, particularly around the pigeon plastered central Sebilj fountain in the middle of Ba\u0161\u010dar\u0161ija square.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t miss the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque, the first mosque on the planet to receive electricity in 1898. Next door is the Old Clock Tower, the only public clock in the world that keeps lunar time, where the same clock keeper has calibrated the astronomical measurements every week since the 1960s. Now that\u2019s dedication.<\/p>\n

2. Have dinner at the Spite House<\/h2>\n

When Austria-Hungary took control of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878, they wanted to build a new town hall. But they didn\u2019t account for one very stubborn man. Money couldn\u2019t convince Benderija to move out of his home right next to the River Miljacka, until years of negotiation (and a literal bag of gold) convinced him to budge\u2026 with one huge condition: the new government had to move his house brick by brick over the other side of the river. The reconstruction was dubbed Inat Ku\u0107a<\/a> \u2014 the Spite House \u2014 and it\u2019s now one of the city\u2019s favourite restaurants, where you can taste Bosnian classics like cevapi, cevapi and more cevapi.<\/p>\n

The city hall they built, by the way, is one of the city\u2019s most stunning structures \u2014 Vije\u0107nica<\/a> is an extravagant tiled, faux Moorish masterpiece damaged during the siege, but restored by 2014. It\u2019s now a museum where you can marvel at the spectacular patterned interior.<\/p>\n

Opening times:<\/b><\/p>\n