An insider’s guide to what to do on a short break in Sarajevo, including the best hotels as well as the topspots for foodies and fans of history.
Why go now?
At the end of the month, Sarajevo marks the 100th anniversary of the assassination of the heir to the Austrian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the event that triggered the First World War. There are exhibitions and tours coinciding with the centenary, but with its extraordinary cultural and religious mix and rich Ottoman heritage, Sarajevo is a city that merits a visit at any time. Surrounded by green hills and bisected by a river, it is a place of spectacular beauty, and though the scars of the siege of the 1990s are still evident, Sarajevans display heartening resilience and vitality. Right now, the city is in the grip of World Cup fever: on Sunday, tiny Bosnia & Herzegovina takes on mighty Argentina.
Getting there
Regent Holidays offers a three-night break to Sarajevo, staying at the City Boutique Hotel on a bed-and-breakfast basis, from £525 per person. The price is based on two sharing and includes return flights with Austrian Airlines via Vienna. There are no direct flights to Sarajevo from the UK, but other airlines with reasonable connecting flights include Lufthansa and Croatia Airlines. Another good option is to add a visit to Sarajevo on to a longer trip to Dubrovnik and southern Croatia.
Where to stay
Special treat
Hotel Michele (Ivana Cankara 27) is a deliciously quirky, arty bolthole that is the preferred choice of, among others, Bono and Richard Gere whenever they are in town (usually for the Sarajevo film festival in August). Perched on a hill a short walk from the centre; the Richard Gere apartment costs from £140 a night; doubles from £60, including breakfast.
Mid-range
The City Boutique Hotel (Mula Mustafe Baseskije 2, is a sleek, designer-style option in the Austro-Hungarian part of town with a very nice roof terrace. Doubles from £80; includes breakfast.
On a budget
The Franz Ferdinand Hostel (Jelića 4) is in a grand old Habsburg era building, with (slightly bizarrely) lots of photographic reminders of the assassination and battles of the Great War. But it is tasteful, modern, excellently located – and cheap. Private rooms (sleeping two) from £30 a night; dormitory beds from £8 per person, including breakfast.
On arrival
7pm
Head for Bascarsija – the heart of Ottoman Sarajevo – and take a table at Dverl (Prote Bakovica 12), a delightfully authentic spot with a garden-like glass-roofed terrace. Popular with locals and tourists alike, it needs to be booked in advance. Try the Dveri steak: rolled veal with smoked beef and cheese and grilled vegetables (£8).
Day one
9am
The historic centre of Sarajevo is best explored on foot. If you want to go with a guide, sarajevoinsider.com offers a number of tours, as do most hotels. Alternatively, it’s pretty easy to work out on your own. Key sights include the (Roman Catholic) Sacred Heart Cathedral (5), the (Serbian) Orthodox Church (6), the Jewish Museum (7) (located in what was a 16th century synagogue; entrance £1.20) and the Gazi Husrev-Bey’s Mosque (8). It doesn’t take long to understand why Sarajevo was called “little Jerusalem”.
11am
Take a break for tea or thick Turkish-style coffee in the courtyard at Morica Han (9) (Saraci 77), an inn dating back to 1551 and one of the best places in Sarajevo to people-watch and tune in to a way of life that feels much closer to Istanbul than Vienna.
1pm
Cevapi, minced beef sausage-style kebabs served with pita-style bread, raw onions and a cheesy sauce, is something of a Bosnian national dish. Try them at Petica (10) (Oprkanj 2); £3).
2pm
It would be impossible to come to Sarajevo and not to engage in its recent history and in particular the siege of 1992-1996. Many buildings still testify to the shellings to which the city was subjected on a daily basis. The most powerful insight into what happened comes at the small Tunnel Museum (Donji Kotorac, Tuneli 1; entrance £2) constructed to the west of the city underneath the runway at Sarajevo airport. It was through this tunnel during the siege that vital supplies were transported into the city and, going the other way, many fled to freedom.
4.30pm
Time to lighten the mood. Close to the tunnel is the mini spa town of Ilidza, where Franz Ferdinand and his wife stayed in June 1914. Walk, or take a pony-and-trap ride along the lovely tree-lined Velika Aleja avenue, which leads to Vrelo Bosne, an oasis of greenery and gushing streams of water in the middle of which is a lovely café/restaurant. A beautifully calming spot.
7.30pm
Head to hills above Sarajevo for dinner and bird’s-eye view of city as the lights begin to twinkle and the city’s mosques broadcast the final call to prayer. Kod Bibana (Hosin Brijeg) is the cheap and cheerful option, with great grilled squid and Herzegovinian whites – but buy a bottle rather than going with the house wine – about £15 a head); Park Pinceva (Iza Hrida br. 7) is the posher version (parkprinceva.ba/en).
Day two
9am
Start with coffee and a look at the period photographs in the Caffe Von Habsburg (Branilaca Sarajeva 13).
10am
Thus fortified, head to the Obala Kulina bana (formerly known as Appel Quay), the broad avenue along which the motorcade bearing Franz Ferdinand and his wife drove on June 28, 1914. Stop at the Latin Bridge and turn into Zelenih Beretki, the side street in which Gavrilo Princip fired the fatal shots. The Sarajevo Museum 1878-1918 (Zelenih Beretki 1; muzejsarajeva.ba; entrance 80p) commemorates that moment – and, more broadly, the controversial period of Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia.
12 noon
At the end of Obala Kulina bana is the Inat Kuna (Veliki Alifakovac 1), another Ottoman-style establishment with a great history, traditional Bosnian fare and a terrace with a view across the River Miljacka, to the magnificent neo-Moorish City Hall (which also played a role on that fateful day). A fitting place to take stock.
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