The afternoon hours shed a flattering light on Sarajevo's Miljacka canal in the historical quarters, all surrounded by modern high-reaching towers. Photo courtesy of Green Visions

Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina

This month, whl.travel local partner Dzenita Delibasic of Green Visions delivers the scoop on Sarajevo, capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Sarajevo never fails to capture the imagination. Whether it fascinates with its rich history of Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian influences, intrigues curious minds with sights like the Latin Bridge where Franz Ferdinand’s assassination triggered World War I, or charms with its towering green surrounding mountains, unquenchable cafe culture and friendly hospitality, Sarajevo is a place that exceeds expectations.

These handcrafted beaded slippers are a colourful Sarajevo specialty item that visitors love to bring home as a cosy memento. Photo courtesy of Green Visions

Day Trips

On your city tour of Sarajevo you’re brought to the city’s beating heart, the Old Town’s main square – Baščaršija – which has for a long time been the most happening place in town. All around it are old houses and cobblestone streets filled with numerous tiny shops where you can pick up the perfect gift for loved ones back at home.

In the nearby surrounding area, you will be captivated by the Old Town Hall (National Library), built in 1896 on the banks of the Miljacka River just across the street from Inat Kuca (Spite House), a well-known restaurant. Within just a few hundred metres of there is a wide range of historic sites such as Brusa Bezistan (a former trading centre that is now the Sarajevo City Museum), the Orthodox Church (1539), the Synagogue (1581), the Roman Catholic Cathedral (1889) and Gazi Husrev-beg’s Mosque (1531), to name just a few. If you wish to see how people lived in the time of the Ottomans, there is the Svrzina House, a Turkish-style house of well-known Muslim families.

Part of Sarajevo's beauty is its relative proximity to rural mountain villages like Lukomir, where old Bosnian ways of life are still preserved today. Photo courtesy of Green Visions

Once you get your fill of the busy city centres and wish to escape into the mountains, we recommend a trip that combines both culture and nature. A day trip to Lukomir – at 1,469 metres above sea level it’s Bosnia’s highest village – combines a glimpse of life in the mountains with a visit to the local ancient stecci (medieval tombstones). Lukomir villagers still adhere to the ‘old way’ of doing things, including wearing traditional dress and the occasional turban or fez. This is the perfect place to understand a bit more about the realities of living in a Bosnian mountain village cut off from the outside world during the winter months.

A more active outdoor alternative is to join us on one of our snowshoeing trips which, thanks to the masses of deep, powdery snow that falls on the surrounding mountains, are becoming more and more popular in this part of the world. Nothing compares to the tranquillity of snowshoe walks far away from the crowds through pristine and snow-covered fairytale forests and mountain peaks.

Sarajevo is a great jumping-off point for winter sports such as snowshoeing, which is gaining popularity in the region. Photo courtesy of Green Visions

Shopping

The perfect place to start shopping in Sarajevo is in the centre of the old town Baščaršija. On Kazandziluk Street, for example, old coppersmiths work at making fantastic coffee and tea sets. Other artisans produce handmade shoes and slippers, Bosnian and Persian carpets and high-quality gold jewellery.

Modern stores are in the shopping centres like BBI on Titova Street and Alta on Marijin Dvor. Fresh and organic fruit and vegetables can be bought at the Markale Market close to the Eternal Flame War Memorial.

And when that’s all done, it’s always time for a coffee in one of many cafés, where you experience the laid-back atmosphere typical of Bosnian coffee culture.

Coppersmith Street is one of the characteristic pedestrian arteries of Sarajevo's Old Town. Photo courtesy of Green Visions

Restaurants

If you desire a beautiful view with affordable tasty traditional Bosnian food, go to Kod Bibana restaurant.

Vegetarians and seafood lovers will enjoy Karuzzo, a small but comfy place next to the Markale Market. Inat Kuca, mentioned above, offers a great variety of local food in an authentic Bosnian atmosphere.

For a refreshing pint of good beer on a hot summer night, head to the Pivnica (Brewery) restaurant near the Franciscan Church on the left side of the Miljacka River. Its got excellent food and is the only Bosnian brewery that produces dark beer. Eager to try local and international wines instead? Visit Noovi Wine Bar situated on a small hill above Djece Sarajeva Park on Tina Ujevica Street. Do not forget to order their mind-blowing mali kolaci (small chocolate cookies).

Sarajevo's Markale Market is popular with locals filling their baskets with fresh produce for their families. Photo courtesy of Green Visions

Local treats

Cevapi, small and tasty sausages served with pita bread and onions, are ubiquitous, but best in the many cevabdzinica shops in Sarajevo, two of the most famous of which are Zeljo and Petica, both in the old town.

Another traditional treat is burek, baked pastry filled with meat that can be bought in a buregdzinica. After this filling snack, treat yourself to a hurmasica, a date-shaped pastry soaked in a very sweet syrup sauce, or tufahija, stewed apples with a walnut filling.

Night Out

As soon as the Sarajevo weather warms up, the entire length of Strosmajerova Street is crowded with the tables and chairs of its flanking coffee bars. From there, depending on your desire, you can choose between a cosy little Mediterranean restaurant like Barhana, at number 8 Djulagina Cikma Street, and staying late at the popular Cafe Opera, which is a kind of a mini-club with lots of local events like live music, DJ performances and thematic evenings.

Strosmajerova Street in the Old Town of Sarajevo is the hub of the city's chill cafe culture by day and vibrant nightlife after dark. Photo courtesy of Green Visions

Lovers of ethnic cuisine, cocktails and wine will be among good company in Hacienda. This Mexican cantina is not only a lounge bar and restaurant, but also one of the best clubs in Sarajevo. Elsewhere, you can dance through the night in Sarajevo’s Basement disco or spend a relaxing evening with a cup of unbelievably delicious hot chocolate in the Cafe Zlatna Ribica (goldfish). This small bar is in the immediate vicinity of the Eternal Flame and its fin-de-siècle interior is decorated with sewing machines and other paraphernalia.

Whether it is summer or winter there is always some Sarajevo cultural event you can attend, like the Sarajevo Film Festival, the music of Baščaršija Nights, the arts-oriented Sarajevo Winter Festival and the MESS Sarajevo International Theatre Festival.

I stand for a minute under some old gracious lime trees with their sweet smells and know that I am home in Sarajevo. With one simple scan my eye catches the blacksmiths, leathersmiths and goldsmiths carrying on the special, yet dying, skills of their forefathers.

In the evening, after a long day, I enjoy the warm gusts of wind that drive me home along the Miljacka river. I feel a shift in people’s energy. Our day is ending. Some of us rush home to be with our families, while others enjoy cooling down in the many small neighbourhood streets, cafés and on the numerous benches alongside the river.

I climb up again to the old fortified walls of Sarajevo and turn around for one last glance at the city before returning to my little green oasis on the Mošćanica river. The sun is setting and the fire in the sky illuminates the city and surrounding mountains. I now realise that during my daily walks I continuously rediscover Sarajevo, over and over again. It is a place full of surprises. A place to sooth your senses. A place to discover even if you have lived here all your life.

As many of you know, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a small and mountainous country, with a majestic melange of climates, mountain ranges, rivers and unique towns and villages. It is Green Visions‘ wish to open up our home to all those interested in understanding how time, nature and sometimes tumultuous events shaped these lands. We look forward to showing you our sacred garden, which we call Bosnia and Herzegovina.