Novi Sad & Vojvodina: the back story

Novi Sad sits beneath its great fortress on the Danube, with Sremski Karlovci and the hills of Fruška Gora a short ride away. Together they make one of the easiest and richest escapes from Belgrade.

The fortress on the rock

The Habsburgs raised Petrovaradin on a rock above the Danube, and its ramparts still give the best view of Novi Sad. Guides lead the way into the underground military galleries, and the clock tower famously runs with its hands reversed. Each July the walls fill with music, when EXIT, which began in 2000 as a student festival, takes over the fortress.

A baroque town on the river

Across the water, Liberty Square gathers the neo-Gothic Name of Mary Church and the City Hall, with pastel 19th-century streets leading off it. A short ride away, Sremski Karlovci keeps a perfect baroque centre: the Patriarchate, the Cathedral of St Nicholas, the gymnasium of 1791 and the Four Lions Fountain. Its family cellars pour bermet, the town’s sweet, spiced dessert wine.

The holy mountain

Behind the town rise the wooded hills of Fruška Gora, known as the Serbian Holy Mountain and a national park since 1960. More than a dozen Orthodox monasteries stand among the trees, with vineyards, walking trails and wide views over the plains of Vojvodina.

The clock tower at Petrovaradin Fortress has its hands reversed.

Our advice: take the Soko fast train from Belgrade to Novi Sad, then a local bus or taxi on to Sremski Karlovci.