This must-visit museum houses an invaluable collection of more than 200,000 artefacts representing the fascinating, tumultuous history of Yugoslavia. Photographs, artworks, historical documents, films, weapons, priceless treasure: it’s all here. It can be a lot to take in; English-speaking guides are available if booked in advance via email, or you can join a free tour on weekends (11am in English, Serbian at noon). Marshal Tito’s Mausoleum is also on the museum grounds; admission is included in the ticket price.

Looming over Belgrade and topped with the tallest tower in the Balkans (204.5m), Mt Avala is a city landmark that makes for a pleasant break from the capital’s bustling streets. The broadcasting tower, originally completed in 1965 but levelled by NATO bombs in 1999, was rebuilt in 2010 and now offers picture-perfect panoramas over Belgrade and beyond from viewing platforms and a cafe. Nearby, the Monument to the Unknown Hero by Ivan Meštrović honours Serbian victims of WWI.

One of Belgrade’s top cultural sights, this recently renovated museum is a treasure trove of 20th-century art from the ex-Yugoslav cultural space. The 1960s concrete-and-glass modernist building, surrounded by a sculpture park, has great views towards the Belgrade Fortress across the Sava River.

Conceptual art features prominently, including a 1970s video called Freeing the Memory from the region’s most famous artist (and Belgrade native), Marina Abramović. One section is dedicated to the 1920s Yugoslav avant-garde magazine Zenit and the Zenitism art movement associated with it.

Lack of funding for renovations kept Serbia’s National Museum mostly shuttered for 15 years, but its much ballyhooed 2018 reopening has been a great source of national pride – it awoke from the dead on Vidovdan (28 June), the country’s national day – and for good reason. Built in 1903 and reconstructed multiple times over the years, the museum’s latest €12 million makeover frames some 5000 sq metres of exhibition space over three floors.

Meet the man on the 100RSD note at one of Belgrade’s best museums, where you can release your inner nerd with some wondrously sci-fi-ish interactive elements. Tesla’s ashes are kept here in a glowing, golden orb: debate has been raging for years between the museum (and its secular supporters) and the Church as to whether the remains should be moved to Sveti Sava Temple.

This impressive collection of works by contemporary Serbian artists became Serbia’s first private museum in 2010, but remains somewhat hidden even though it’s housed in a magnificent 1920s building in the heart of pedestrianised Knez Mihailova. The eclectic interior is a fitting backdrop to the range of styles on display. The permanent collection is a great overview of the main trends in Serbian art from the second half of the 20th century. The museum also hosts temporary exhibitions and events.

The ivy-swathed Ružica Church looks innocuous from the outside; inside, you’ll find chandeliers made by WWI Serbian soldiers from spent bullet casings, swords, rifles and cannon parts as well as numerous frescoes, including those by famous Russian academy artist Andrei Bicenko. The church was originally an arsenal, then a military chapel before its restoration in 1925.

Commissioned between the two world wars by soon-to-be-assassinated King Alexander I of Yugoslavia, the Royal and White Palaces in Belgrade’s exclusive Dedinje neighbourhood were residences of King Peter II and used by the communist regime after WWII. Today they are home to the descendants of the Karađorđević dynasty and can be visited only by guided tour.

In summertime, join the hordes of sea-starved locals (up to 250,000 a day) for sun and fun at this artificial island on the Sava. Cool down with a swim, kayak or windsurf after a leap from the 55m bungee tower. Take bus 52 or 53 from Zeleni Venac. Ada Ciganlija, colloquially shortened to Ada, is a river island that has artificially been turned into a peninsula, located in the Sava River’s course through central Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. The name can also refer to the adjoining artificial Lake Sava and its beach. To take advantage of its central location, over the past few decades, it was turned into an immensely popular recreational zone, most notable for its beaches and sports facilities, which, during summer seasons. Owing to this popularity, Ada Ciganlija has been commonly nicknamed “More Beograda” (“Belgrade’s Sea”).