Overview to Sarajevo: Travel Guide and Tourist Information

  Iconic Housing Blocks in Sarajevo

Not many cities in Europe have had such a tumultuous recent history as Sarajevo. Now almost completely recovered from the damage caused by its siege in the early 90s, this rolling city with a charmingly Eastern lilt is growing into an increasingly attractive travel destination.

With only half a million inhabitants, the city is relatively small for a capital, and the center is easily negotiated on foot. Getting around is easy as the Mijacka River, which runs through the heart of the city, is always on hand to help you get your bearings.

Bascarsija, the old part of town, contains many of the city's points of interest. The cuisine is particularly good in these parts; a host of cafés and restaurants complement the extensive Bascarsija Market and provide a wonderful array of culinary delights.

Sarajevo is famed for its (sometimes precarious) religious diversity but, these days at least, there exists a relatively peaceful coexistence of various beliefs. The heart of the Old Town is dotted with Gazi Husrev-bey’s Mosque, an Orthodox Cathedral and a Jewish Museum.

A little further on from the cathedral, the Vjecna Vatra building is well worth a look with its eternal flame burning day and night to commemorate fallen war heroes. The National Museum and (particularly moving) Bosnian History Museum also explore the ins and outs of past wars.

For something less somber, the Turkish quarter makes for an intriguing stroll. Its cobbled streets and mosques provide a further reminder that, whilst Sarajevo is known internationally for its troubled past, it's actually (broadly speaking) a multicultural and peaceful place.

Sarajevo may not be the trendiest of European capitals, but it’s an engaging place nevertheless. Few cities are so clearly in the midst of an exciting post-war regeneration, and the sense of enthusiasm this brings is both palpable and highly infectious.

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