Things to Do in Sarajevo

Lying north of the River Miljacka and forming the original heart of Sarajevo’s Old Town (Stari Grad), Bascarsija is a vibrant, bustling Oriental bazaar where several mosques and hammams (baths) date back to 1462, when the country was under the Ottoman rule. Starting life as a caravanserai, with accommodation for travelers and stabling for horses, its foundations were laid by Isa-Beg Ishaković, who was the first Ottoman governor of Bosnia. Over time, Bascarsija grew into a labyrinthine district of cobbled alleyways and shaded lanes, and by the 17th century it was a thriving trading hub with thousands of workshops practicing scores of crafts from coppersmiths to potters and jewelers, all existing amid the mosques and minarets.

Despite an 1879 fire destroying almost half of the bazaar, today its intriguing spider’s web of pedestrianized backstreets spans out from the landmark 19th-century Sebilj Fountain. Many of the alleyways and are still crammed with cluttered artisan stores spilling over with copper pots, gold, ceramics and hand-embroidered shawls, as well as cozy little cafés offering eastern delicacies such as stuffed dolmas and meat-filled burek.

Bascarsija is the medieval Oriental bazaar lying at the heart of Sarajevo’s Stari Grad (Old Town), where mosques and hammams (baths) date right back to 1462. The most important and grandest of Bascarsija’s mosques is Gazi Husrev-beg, named after a Turkish governor of Bosnia and built in 1530 in Ottoman style by the Persian architect Adžem Esir Ali. Originally a complex of prayer halls, madrasa (Koranic school), medieval soup kitchen for the Muslim poor, wash room and library, the mosque was badly damaged during the Balkan wars of the 1990s but has been extensively reconstructed; today its distinctive dome once more forms the heart of Bascarsija and its spiky minaret is a landmark visible all over Sarajevo. 

The ornate entrance to the mosque is surrounded by marble and decorated with gilding; inside its gleaming white walls are adorned with Arabic inscriptions, the ceilings hung with golden chandeliers and the floors covered in handmade carpets gifted by Muslim visitors from overseas. The mosque’s peaceful courtyard is dominated by an elaborate wrought-iron fountain – once used for ritual washing – and is the resting place of many pre-eminent Bosnians, including the 19th-century poet Safvet Bey Bašagić and the leading politician of the 1930s, Dr Mehmed Spaho.

This city with stunning hillside scenery has a name that literally means “between the mountains”. Its epic landscapes and brilliant green views attract Catholic pilgrims from across the globe, thanks to reports that the Virgin Mary was sighted here. According to locals, apparitions started in 1981. Sice then, some 40 million people have made their way to the town of Medjugorje in hopes of bearing witness or being healed. 

Travelers can attend daily mass in English or Croatian at St James Church or one of the other cathedrals that dot the countryside and journey up the well-marked path on Apparition Hill, where one of the first sightings of the Virgin Mary is said to have occurred. It’s possible to stop for prayer and contemplation at the famed Blue Cross statue, which sits at the foot of the hill or climb nearby Mt Krizvec, where a 29-foot high crucifix was built. Visitors will find deep religious roots in this stunning hillside community.

Curiously innocuous considering its momentous role in 20th-century history, the Latin Bridge spans the River Miljacka between Obala Culina Bana and Obala Isa-Bega Ishakovića in Sarajevo. Built in Ottoman times, its four stone arches date back to at least 1565 – although a wooden one may have preceded it – making it one of the oldest bridges in the city.

By the advent of the 20th century, Turkish rule in Bosnia had long been superseded by the expansion of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and unrest was brewing across Europe. On June 28, 1914, Serbian mercenary Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie while they were on a state visit to Sarajevo, choosing the northern corner of the Latin Bridge to commit his crime and sparking the political events that lead directly to the outbreak of World War I. Today a plaque marks the spot, and there are portraits of Princip and Franz Ferdinand on the exterior of the Museum of Sarajevo 1878-1918, which stands by the Latin Bridge and chronicles the saga of the assassination and its tragic aftermath.

The Sarajevo Tunnel is an underground tunnel turned war museum, and the best way to learn about the Siege of Sarajevo in Bosnia. Dug out by hand with shovels and picks, the 2,625-foot (800-meter) tunnel served as a lifeline for the city in 1993, connecting the Dobrinja and Butmir neighborhoods to the free Bosnian territory just beyond the Sarajevo Airport. After the Bosnian War ended, the house whose cellar served as an entrance to the tunnel was turned into a museum.

Visitors can watch an 18-minute movie about the war, the blockade and the tunnel experience, and view photographs, maps, military equipment and uniforms, as well as a variety of tools and documents. Visitors can also enter about 20 meters of the tunnel. The museum is a stop on nearly all war-themed tours of Sarajevo and guides can offer valuable insight and perspective.

The National Museum was founded in 1888 when Bosnia was under control of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and moved to its present, regal Art Nouveau accommodation in 1913 as its collections grew. It was closed during both world wars and its complex of galleries was heavily damaged during the 1,425-day Siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s. Due to political in-fighting and lack of funding, the beleaguered museum shut again in 2012 but happily reopened in September 2015 to display some of its four million artifacts in a series of light-filled galleries; during this 

last closure staff worked unpaid to conserve the museum’s exhibits.

Along with a 300,000-volume reference and research library, the museum has three departments (archaeology, ethnology and natural history) crammed with medieval art, ancient armor, stuffed bears and countless other treasures covering thousands of years of Bosnian history. The ethnology selections are particularly strong, highlighting the multi-cultural nature of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s culture with an appealing mix of Bosnian, Serbian, Muslim and Jewish ethnic costumes. Neolithic ceramics from the excavations at suburban Butmir are the centerpiece of the archaeology collections; and to view the museum’s prize piece, the priceless Sarajevo Haggadah (Jewish Passover manuscript), call two days in advance of your visit.

With worn steps straggling up a steep and rocky cliff side on the left banks of the Neretva River, Počitelj is a warren-like, stone-built and fortified village with its origins in the late 14th century. Over the following centuries it expanded under Turkish occupation and is now UNESCO World-Heritage listed for its enchanting combination of medieval and Ottoman architecture. Počitelj is wrapped in fortified walls and entry is through a gate topped by a 16-meter (10-foot) clock tower; the soft stone townhouses and winding alleyways are overshadowed by the tumbledown medieval fortress and octagonal watchtower standing guard on the hill behind the village. The ornate minarets of the domed Hajji Alija mosque were built in 1562, destroyed during the Balkan Wars of the 1990s and subsequently restored along with the madrasa (school) and hamam (baths); from the mosque’s terrace there are unparalleled views across the rocky landscape and down the Neretva river valley. 

Počitelj was at its most powerful during Ottoman occupation of the Balkans but slowly lost importance following the advent of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1878. By the late 20th century, the picturesque village was a haven for poets, writers and painters but it was virtually abandoned during the heavy bombing of 1993. Thanks to investment from the EU, an artistic community is slowly resettling there and bringing the cobbled alleyways back to life.