97 of the best · the Balkans
The Best Things to See in the Balkans
Old towns and fortresses, monasteries, bridges and Roman ruins: the sights that make a journey across the Balkans.
Our 97 favourites, listed A–Z · Updated October 2026
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Insiders' picks
Three Balkan stories we would show a friend first.
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Video 3 photosTivat’s yachting heart
Porto Montenegro
Tivat’s former naval arsenal, reborn as a superyacht marina lined with cafés, boutiques and homes.
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3 photosFortress on a peninsula
Porto Palermo Castle
A triangular fortress on a little peninsula in a calm bay just south of Himarë.
Porto PalermoExplore View on map
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3 photosFrescoes of 1191
Church of St George, Kurbinovo
A modest church above Lake Prespa, its interior painted with frescoes dated 1191.
The full list: Sights, A–Z
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Sights
Slovenia 9
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Video 3 photosCliff-top castle
Bled Castle
Bled’s castle, first recorded in 1011, set on a cliff 130 metres above the water.
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3 photosMercury, lace, žlikrofi
Idrija
A UNESCO-listed mercury-mining town in the hills west of Ljubljana, famous for bobbin lace.
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Video 3 photosHome of the Lipizzaners
Lipica Stud Farm
Founded in 1580, the stud farm that is the original home of the Lipizzaner horses.
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3 photosBuilt into a cliff
Predjama Castle
A castle set into the mouth of a cave halfway up a sheer cliff, about 10 km from Postojna.
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3 photosMedieval Brda village
Šmartno
A walled medieval village at the heart of Brda, with towers, stone lanes and a vinoteka.
Šmartno 13, 5211 KojskoExplore View on map
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3 photosBell tower views
St George’s Church & bell tower
Piran’s hilltop parish church, with a bell tower modelled on St Mark’s in Venice.
Adamičeva ulica, 6330 PiranExplore View on map
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3 photosCistercian since 1136
Stična Abbey
A working Cistercian abbey founded in 1136, home to the Slovene Museum of Christianity.
Stična 17, Ivančna GoricaExplore View on map
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3 photosPiran’s marble oval
Tartini Square
Piran’s oval marble square, once the inner harbour, with Tartini’s statue at its centre.
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Renaissance villa
Vila Vipolže
A Renaissance villa in Goriška Brda, with a restaurant, vaulted cellar and six rooms.
Vipolže 29, 5212 DobrovoExplore View on map
Sights
Croatia 20
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2 photosRavine hermitage
Blaca hermitage
Monks founded this hermitage in a remote Brač ravine in the 16th century; now a museum.
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3 photosAll-stone cathedral
Cathedral of St James
Šibenik’s stone-built cathedral, with its frieze of 71 carved heads, is UNESCO-listed.
Trg Republike Hrvatske 1Explore View on map
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3 photosA quieter base
Cavtat
A palm-fringed harbour town south of Dubrovnik, with a mausoleum by Ivan Meštrović.
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3 photosSymbol of Zadar
Church of St Donatus
A massive round church of the 9th century, raised on the paving of Zadar’s Roman forum.
Šimuna Kožičića BenjeExplore View on map
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3 photosByzantine mosaics
Euphrasian Basilica
A UNESCO-listed basilica in Poreč, lit by sixth-century Byzantine mosaics in gold.
Ulica Eufrazijeva 22Explore View on map
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3 photosFortress on the rock
Fort Lovrijenac
A fortress on a sea rock outside Dubrovnik’s western walls, and a summer festival stage.
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3 photosHarbour and fortress
Hvar Town & the Fortress
Hvar’s yacht-filled harbour town, watched over by a Venetian fortress on the hill.
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3 photosFishermen’s town
Komiža
A fishing town on the west coast of Vis, with beaches and a museum in a Venetian tower.
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3 photosWalled peninsula
Korčula old town
Korčula’s walled medieval town, its fishbone streets running out from St Mark’s Cathedral.
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3 photosWalled hilltop town
Motovun
A medieval walled town high above the Mirna valley, its vineyards and truffle woods.
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3 photosRoman arena
Pula Arena
Pula’s first-century amphitheatre, its outer walls still standing almost whole.
Flavijevska ulica bb, 52100 PulaExplore View on map
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3 photosHarbour peninsula
Rovinj old town
Colourful houses climb a peninsula to St Euphemia’s church, its tower modelled on Venice.
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3 photosCream cake and charm
Samobor
A small town west of Zagreb, with a pretty square, a stream and kremšnita cream cake.
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Video 3 photosLanes and fortresses
Šibenik old town
Stone stairs and lanes climb from Šibenik’s waterfront to the St Michael and Barone forts.
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3 photosWorking salt pans
Ston Saltworks
Salt is still harvested here by sea, sun and wind, as in the days of the Dubrovnik Republic.
Pelješki put 1, 20230 StonExplore View on map
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3 photosCastle above a lake
Trakošćan Castle
A romantic castle on a wooded hill above a Zagorje lake, with furnished rooms and walks.
Trakošćan 4, 42250 LepoglavaExplore View on map
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3 photosUNESCO World Heritage
Trogir old town
A walled town of stone lanes, Radovan’s cathedral portal and the Kamerlengo fortress.
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3 photosBaroque former capital
Varaždin
A baroque town of palaces and churches, once Croatia’s capital, with a moated old castle.
Šetalište Josipa Jurja Strossmayera 1Explore View on map
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3 photosMedieval walls
Walls of Ston
Medieval walls that once ran about 7 km across Pelješac, linking Ston with Mali Ston.
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3 photosMarble peninsula
Zadar waterfront and old town
Marble lanes, Romanesque churches and the Riva promenade fill Zadar’s old peninsula.
Sights
Bosnia & Herzegovina 14
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3 photosStone bridge, 1574
Arslanagić Bridge (Perović Bridge)
A 16th-century Ottoman bridge of graceful arches, rebuilt stone by stone over the Trebišnjica.
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3 photosAt the Buna spring
Blagaj Tekke
A dervish house set at the foot of a towering cliff, where the Buna river pours from a cave.
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3 photosByzantine-style hilltop church
Hercegovačka Gračanica
A Byzantine-style church on Crkvina hill, with the finest view over Trebinje.
Crkvina bb, 89101 TrebinjeExplore View on map
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3 photosSeat of Bosnian kings
Jajce Fortress & old town
The walled hilltop citadel of the last Bosnian kings, crowning Jajce’s old town.
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3 photosSix-arched bridge
Konjic
A Neretva town with a six-arched stone bridge of 1682, halfway between Sarajevo and Mostar.
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3 photosThe postcard view
Koski Mehmed-paša Mosque
A riverside mosque of 1618–19 whose minaret frames the finest view of Stari Most.
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3 photosThe highest village
Lukomir
A shepherds’ village of steep-roofed stone houses at about 1,500 metres, above a canyon.
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3 photosSinan over the Drina
Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge
Mimar Sinan’s eleven-arched bridge over the Drina, built 1571–77 and listed by UNESCO.
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An Ottoman home
Muslibegović House
An Ottoman family residence in Mostar, kept as a museum and also run as a guesthouse.
Osmana Đikića 41Explore View on map
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3 photos18th-century walled town
Old Town of Trebinje (Kastel)
Trebinje’s walled Ottoman quarter on the Trebišnjica, with its mosques and clock tower.
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3 photosHillside Ottoman town
Počitelj
A walled Ottoman town of stone houses, mosque and hammam climbing above the Neretva.
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3 photosMostar’s UNESCO icon
Stari Most (the Old Bridge)
Mostar’s single stone arch over the Neretva, finished in 1566 and listed by UNESCO.
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2 photosAbove the Lašva valley
Travnik Fortress
A medieval fortress, strengthened by the Ottomans, high above Travnik’s old town.
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3 photosMedieval monastery, glass floor
Tvrdoš Monastery
A riverside monastery where a glass floor reveals the foundations of a 4th-century church.
Tvrdoš bb, 89101 TrebinjeExplore View on map
Sights
Serbia 13
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Video 5 photosA director’s wooden village
Drvengrad (Mećavnik)
Emir Kusturica’s timber village on Mećavnik hill, built in the local style above Mokra Gora.
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3 photosNine cliffside towers
Golubac Fortress
A medieval fortress of nine towers scaling a cliff where the Danube enters the Iron Gates.
Ridan bb, 12223 GolubacExplore View on map
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3 photosFruška Gora frescoes
Krušedol Monastery
An early 16th-century Fruška Gora monastery, rebuilt in the 18th century, rich in frescoes.
Krušedol, Fruška GoraExplore View on map
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3 photosPrehistoric riverside site
Lepenski Vir
A prehistoric Danube settlement of carved, fish-faced stone heads, shown under a glass roof.
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3 photosNovi Sad’s main square
Liberty Square & the old town
Novi Sad’s main square, framed by a neo-Gothic church and City Hall, with café streets beyond.
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3 photosA figure-of-eight line
Mokra Gora & the Šargan Eight
A narrow-gauge line between Tara and Zlatibor that loops up the mountain in a figure of eight.
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3 photosBaumhorn’s great dome
Novi Sad Synagogue
Lipót Baumhorn’s yellow-brick synagogue, crowned by a 40-metre dome, in the old centre.
Jevrejska, Novi SadExplore View on map
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3 photosTwelve-sided dome
Novo Hopovo Monastery
A Fruška Gora monastery with a rare twelve-sided dome and 17th-century frescoes.
Novo Hopovo, Fruška GoraExplore View on map
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3 photosThe reversed clock
Petrovaradin Fortress
A vast Habsburg stronghold on a rock over the Danube, with guided tunnels and a back-to-front clock.
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Video 5 photosVillage life preserved
Sirogojno Open-Air Museum
Log houses and farm buildings from across Zlatibor, rebuilt and furnished as they once were.
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3 photosBaroque on the Danube
Sremski Karlovci
A small baroque town on the Danube below Fruška Gora, home of bermet, a sweet spiced wine.
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3 photosUNESCO monastery
Studenica Monastery
A 12th-century monastery of white marble churches and celebrated frescoes, west of Kopaonik.
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3 photosCabin in the river
The House on the Drina
A tiny wooden house perched on a rock mid-river at Bajina Bašta, a much-photographed sight.
Sights
Montenegro 14
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3 photosBudva’s seaward bastion
Budva Citadel & the churches of the old town
The fortress at the sea end of Budva’s old town, with a cluster of churches in the square below.
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3 photosOn a valley rock
Ćelija Piperska Monastery
A monastery of 1637 on a rock above the Bjelopavlići valley, home to St Stefan Piperski’s relics.
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Video 3 photosHigh above Sutomore
Haj-Nehaj fortress
The ruins of a 15th-century Venetian fortress on a hilltop above the sea near Sutomore.
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2 photosHerceg Novi’s high point
Kanli kula
An Ottoman fortress of 1539 crowning the top of Herceg Novi’s old town, with views over the bay.
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VideoCourt life in Cetinje
King Nikola’s Palace
King Nikola’s modest red residence in Cetinje, now a museum of Montenegro’s royal court.
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3 photosA royal seaside palace
King Nikola’s Palace, Bar
King Nikola’s seaside palace of 1885, now Bar’s Homeland Museum, set in a botanical garden.
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3 photosUNESCO World Heritage
Kotor Old Town
Stone lanes, small squares and Venetian-era palaces inside the walls at the head of the bay.
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3 photosMontenegro’s summit shrine
Njegoš Mausoleum, Lovćen
Njegoš’s granite mausoleum on Jezerski Vrh, up 461 steps, with views over much of Montenegro.
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3 photosAn island made by hand
Perast & Our Lady of the Rocks
A small baroque town on the bay, with boats out to the island church of Our Lady of the Rocks.
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3 photosMoved stone by stone
Piva Monastery & Piva Lake
A 16th-century monastery, moved stone by stone with its frescoes, above the turquoise Piva Lake.
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Video 3 photos
Tivat’s yachting heart
Porto Montenegro
Tivat’s former naval arsenal, reborn as a superyacht marina lined with cafés, boutiques and homes.
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Video 3 photosA city among olives
Stari Bar
The ruins of medieval Bar on a sheer rock, 4 km inland, surrounded by ancient olive groves.
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3 photosThe southern headland
Ulcinj Old Town
Montenegro’s southernmost old town, on a headland above the sea, steeped in tales of corsairs.
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2 photosOver the Tara canyon
Đurđevića Tara Bridge
Five concrete arches of 1940 spanning the Tara canyon, high above the green river.
Sights
Albania 13
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3 photosOn the Via Egnatia
Apollonia Archaeological Park
The ruins of an ancient city on a hill above the Myzeqe plain, with a monastery museum.
PojanExplore View on map
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3 photosStill lived in
Berat Castle (Kala)
Berat’s hilltop citadel, where families still live among Byzantine churches and stone lanes.
KalajaExplore View on map
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3 photosUNESCO since 1992
Butrint National Park
An ancient city between lake and channel, where Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Venetian layers meet.
ButrintExplore View on map
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3 photosSkanderbeg’s sea fortress
Cape Rodon
A rocky Adriatic headland north of Durrës, with castle ruins and a small chapel.
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3 photosAmong the Balkans’ largest
Gjirokastër Castle
A vast hilltop fortress over Gjirokastër and the Drino valley, with vaulted galleries.
KalajaExplore View on map
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3 photosThe thousand windows
Mangalem quarter
White Ottoman houses stacked up the hillside below Berat’s castle, window above window.
MangalemExplore View on map
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3 photosBuilt around 1770
Mes Bridge
An elegant humped Ottoman bridge over the Kir river, a short ride from Shkodër.
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3 photos
Fortress on a peninsula
Porto Palermo Castle
A triangular fortress on a little peninsula in a calm bay just south of Himarë.
Porto PalermoExplore View on map
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3 photosFacing Krujë
Preza Castle
A small hilltop castle near Tirana airport, with a restaurant within its walls.
Fushë PrezëExplore View on map
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3 photosCastle of the legend
Rozafa Castle
A hilltop fortress above Shkodër, looking over the lake and the Buna and Drin rivers.
Kalaja e RozafësExplore View on map
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3 photosA family tower house
Skenduli House
A painted Gjirokastër tower house, often shown by the family who own it.
Lagjja PalortoExplore View on map
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3 photosA tower of refuge
The lock-in tower, Theth
A thick-walled stone tower in Theth, once a refuge under the old customary law, the Kanun.
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3 photosAcross a wooden footbridge
Zvërnec Monastery
A 13th-century church on a pine-shaded island in the Narta Lagoon, north-west of Vlorë.
Sights
North Macedonia 14
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3 photosPrehistoric pile dwellings
Bay of Bones
A prehistoric village on wooden piles, rebuilt over the lake about 15 km south of Ohrid.
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3 photosA carved masterpiece
Bigorski Monastery
The monastery of St John the Baptist above the Radika gorge, famed for its carved iconostasis.
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3 photos
Frescoes of 1191
Church of St George, Kurbinovo
A modest church above Lake Prespa, its interior painted with frescoes dated 1191.
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3 photosOhrid’s postcard
Church of St John at Kaneo
A 13th-century church alone on a rocky point above Lake Ohrid, loveliest at sunset.
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3 photos11th-century frescoes
Church of St Sophia
Ohrid’s medieval cathedral, painted with frescoes from the 11th century.
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3 photosMosaics of the Basilica
Heraclea Lyncestis
An ancient city on Bitola’s edge, with a Roman theatre and early Christian mosaics.
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3 photosTowers and bridges
Kratovo
A hill town of stone houses and medieval towers, with arched bridges over its river.
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3 photosSt Clement’s monastery
Plaošnik
St Clement’s monastery site, with early Christian mosaic floors around a rebuilt church.
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3 photosCrown of the hill
Samuel’s Fortress
Massive medieval walls on the summit of Ohrid’s hill, with the lake spread below.
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3 photosFounded in 905
St Naum Monastery
St Naum’s monastery of 905, on a terrace at the lake’s southern tip, with peacocks in the garden.
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3 photosAn ancient crossroads
Stobi
The country’s best-known ancient city, where the Vardar meets the Crna Reka.
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3 photosWhere the river leaves
Struga & the Black Drim
The lakeside town where the Black Drim leaves Lake Ohrid, home of an August poetry festival.
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3 photosPainted inside and out
The Painted Mosque (Šarena Džamija)
Tetovo’s 15th-century mosque on the Pena, covered inside and out in painted florals.
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3 photosEvery 13–14 January
Vevčani Carnival
A masked winter carnival held each 13 and 14 January to mark the old-calendar New Year.
Every place here is also on our city guide for its country, linked from its page. Opening times and seasons change, so check with each place before you travel.