• For history buffs - A must see is the "Spanish/Latin Bridge" on the river in downtown Sarajvo. This bridge is where on 28 June 1914 Arch-Duke Fraz Ferdinand of Austria (and his wife Sophie) were assassinated. Historians widely hail this event as the catalyst that began World War I.

• Sarajevo's surrounding hills offer fantastic views over the city, but some landmines from the war still exist on some of them. To be safe, stick to paved roads and sidewalks and do not walk into fields, grass, or wooded areas. Also be alert for stray (and possibly rabid) dogs when venturing out of the city. The hills also offer a taste of suburban Bosnian life, including some of the surviving wooden mosques from before the war.

If walking up these hills seems too much like hard walk, simply walk up to the old bastion wall and get a view over town from there. Follow the river towards the hills and, where it makes a right hand bend and the main road goes through a tunnel, there's a slip road that goes up, over the tunnel and doubles back towards the bastion. Alternatively, find your way through the war cemetery at the top of the old town.

There is now a walking guide to Bosnia's 2000m peaks. It is called Forgotten Beauty and is available from the 'Buy Book' book shop in the center of Sarajevo (In English and Bosnian).

• Go to famous Olympic Stadium and follow a match of Sarajevo Football Club. Though football quality is low it is interesting to follow a match in a stadium which hosted the opening ceremony of 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympic Games peacefully just a few years before civil war broke out.

• Visit one of the many cemeteries located within city limits. With white marble grave stones for those who gave their lives at their 20s during civil war these cemeteries are quite visit worthy.

• See Markale market place, very close to Bascarcija, which marked the start of NATO intervention and thereby end of the civil war after a Serbian bombing which took the life of some 40, including Croats and Serbs as well. Markale was bombed two times, first in Feb 1994 and second in Aug 1995. First is important in terms of casualties and second is important in terms of initiating NATO military intervention.

• Vrelo Bosne. The beginning of the river Bosna where the water is pure and ice cold. Here you can walk in a beautiful park, picnic and spend the whole day without ever getting bored.

Events

• Sarajevo Film Festival, [2]. Held annually during August, the festival has a reputation of being one of the best in Europe (if you compared the funds used).

• Sarajevo Jazz Festival, [3] - Held during first week of November since 1997

• Sarajevo Winter International Festival, [4]. The first festival was held in 1984 during the Olympic Games in Sarajevo. Since then, it has been held regularly each year and brings into the city various artists from around the world. The interesting thing about the festival is that it has never stopped even during the war.

• Old Town - The cobbled streets, mosques and Oriental style shops at the heart the city are a world away from Europe, and when the call-to-prayer starts, one could be forgiven for thinking that they were actually in the Middle East. The most interesting thing (you call it the most amazing thing as well) is that you could actually be walking by a Catholic church, Orthodox church and a Synagogue and hear the Islamic call to prayer at the same time.

• Latin Bridge - This bridge bears a plaque commemorating the assassination of Archduke of the Austrian Hungarian empire Franz Ferdinand, the event that sparked the beginning of World War I. On the Bridge itself was a memorial to the assassin Gavrilo Princip, but this was removed during the 1992-1995 War. Bosnia was at the end of World War Two the biggest haven for Balkan and European Jews who found a perfect environment to build their society back.

• Bosnian Historical Museum- The moving display on the siege of Sarajevo is a must-see - if you are able to cope with the pictures of the maimed citizens after shelling of markets. Wonder at the photos of an ineffective UN providing armored vehicles citizens could wait behind before risking sniper fire to cross the street. And you will be heartbroken by the pictures drawn by children.

• National Museum - Statistic displays of the natural and human history of Bosnia and Herzegovina - most interesting is the traditional Turkish style homes of Sarajevo prevalent in the nineteenth century.

• Sarajevo Tunnel Museum - This museum shows the tunnel which was used to ferry supplies into the besieged city during the conflict and is next to the airport. Taxi from the center city costs around 17KM one way. Entrance to the museum is 5KM. It is open 7 days a week from 9 to 5. Get the number three (3) tram to the end of the line from the city center. Then get a taxi to the Tunnel Museum and walk back to the tram station if it's a nice day (takes about half an hour). The tunnel itself is in the garden of a house so don't be worried if you think you're headed into suburbia!

The city is very tourist friendly - once you get to the city center. There is a tourist info office in the center of town, take the #1 tram in front of the station and it will take you to town or just walk for about 20 min going right out of the train station and follow the river.

By plane

Sarajevo Airport (IATA: SJJ) is located in the suburb of Butmir and is relatively close to the city centre.

Getting to/from the airport can be problematic: there is no direct public transportation, and taxi fares to/from the airport are surprisingly expensive for the short distance - your best bet is to take a taxi to the tram terminus at Ilidža and board the tram for the last part of your journey, cost 1.6KM. Alternatively you can take bus 36 to Nedžarići (1.6KM), the bus stop is located somewhere on the main road outside the airport parking lot. At Nedžarići you can change for a tram to the city center (again 1.8KM). Bus 36 runs about every 30 minutes. Service hours are 6-23 Mon-Fri, 6-8 and 14-18 Sat and 8-15 Sun.

• Banja Luka with BH Airlines
• Belgrade with JAT Yugoslav Airlines
• Budapest with MALEV
• Cologne with BH Airlines
• Frankfurt with BH Airlines
• Istanbul with Turkish Airlines& BH Airlines
• Ljubljana with Adria
• London (Gatwick) with British Airways
• Mostar with BH Airlines & Croatia Airlines
• Munich with Lufthansa
• Stuttgart with BH Airlines
• Vienna Schwechat with Austrian Airlines
• Zagreb with Croatia Airlines& BH Airlines
• Zurich with BH Airlines

By train

Train services across the country are slowly improving once again, though speeds and frequencies are still low. Much of the rail infrastructure was damaged during the recent conflict, and lines have been opened on a priority basis, though not to the high level of service pre-war.

Interrailnet (official Interrail website) has a good map of the European rail network

From/To Hungary

The night train service Budapest Déli-Sarajevo ended on December 15, 2006. A day train now leaves Budapest (Keleti pu. station) daily at 9.30, arriving in Sarajevo at 21.39. One-way tickets cost 52 Euro but the return ticket is actually cheaper at 48.10 Euro (11,600 forint + 750 forint compulsory reservation). There is a dining car. You will be bothered at least four times for your passport, and around four times for your ticket, and once by very nosy and insistent EU customs staff.

The return train departs at 7:14 every morning for Budapest, via Osijek, in Croatia, and costs 96 KM. It arrives at Keleti pu. station at 19:03. For more information visit Hungarian Timetable or Hungarian State Railways (in Hungarian).

From Croatia

There are two trains each day between Sarajevo and Zagreb.

• Daytime

A train leaves Zagreb daily at 08:57, arriving in Sarajevo at 18:05 - this train continues onto Ploče, arriving there at 22:13

The return train to Zagreb, via Zenica, Doboj and Banja Luka, departs at 10:27 (having started in Ploče at 06:20). It arrives in Banja Luka at 15:25 and finally into Zagreb at 19:47.

A ticket should cost 24EUR/170KN. The train does NOT have a dining car on board, though men with trolleys will board the train at various points on the journey. Be advised to bring supplies beforehand!!

• Overnight

There is also a recently-introduced overnight service operating between the two cities for the same price. This train does not have sleeper cars and has an inconveniently-timed border crossing to ensure you won't get a full night's sleep!

A train leaves Zagreb at 20:49 arriving in Sarajevo at 06:11. The return train leaves Sarajevo at 21:20 and arrives in Zagreb at 06:43.

See below for trains to/from Ploče.

From Ploče via Mostar

There is another train route from Ploče in Croatia to Sarajevo via Mostar. One of the most beautiful and scenic rail routes in Europe, travelling through lakes and mountains with many tunnels and switchbacks.

Trains depart Ploče daily:

• 06:40, arriving in Sarajevo at 10:18, via Mostar at 08:04
• 16:50, arriving in Sarajevo at 20:50, via Mostar at 18:29

Trains from Sarajevo to the south:

• 07:00, arriving in Ploče at 11:00, via Mostar at 09:30
• 18:18, arriving in Ploče at 22:06, via Mostar at 20:40

Single tickets from Sarajevo to Mostar cost 9.90KM (return: 14.10KM). Additional trains operate each day to the town of Konjic (about half way between the two cities). Holders of an ISIC student card can get a 30% discount.

See the Croatian Railways website for more information.

By car

Roads in Bosnia are often only a single lane in either direction, and due to the mountainous topography tend to be very windy and speed limits are lower (mostly 80kph). Beware of trucks and people dangerously overtaking on any road. There are many tunnels, and you must always drive with your lights ON (day or night).

• From Zagreb (Croatia) - taking direction to Slavonski Brod - Derventa - Doboj - Zenica - Sarajevo

• From Adriatic Sea - taking ferry Ancona - Zadar, then by car Zadar - Split - Metkovic - Mostar - Sarajevo.

• From Belgrade (Serbia) - taking direction to Sabac - Zvornik - Vlasenica - Sokolac - Sarajevo.

There is a company which offers connections by mini-van or private cars between Sarajevo and Belgrade, the name of the company is GEA Tours, the company is based in Belgrade and Podgorica. It is compulsory to contact before the departure either by phone or by email. The Belgrade office telephone number is +3812686-635,2686-622,2643-840,2685-043, the address is Kneza Milosa 65-Belgrade, the email is: gea@eunet.yu A single journey between Sarajevo and Belgrade costs 30 Euros and it takes about 5 hours and a half to 6 hours.

By bus

There are two bus stations in Sarajevo, the main bus station ('autobusna stanica', by the train station) serving Croatia and most other international destinations, as well as destinations within the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. There is also another bus station in Eastern (Serb-dominated) Sarajevo on the outskirts of the city serving the Republika Srpska and destinations in both Serbia and Montenegro.

To get to this bus station (called 'Lukavica' or 'Istochno Sarajevo') it is probably easiest to book/order a taxi (cost from the Turkish Quarter was around 15KM in September 2005). If you prefer public transport, use 103 and 107 bus/trolleybus, exit at the last station, and ask people how to get to Lukavica bus station (it is within walking distance). Be warned that Lukavica is the name of suburb/district, not just the bus station! In this bus station, Cyrillic script is prevalent so you should probably check the spelling of your destination.

If arriving at Lukavica (ie if you have come from Serbia or somewhere in the Republika Srpska), be advised that if you do not want to pay for a taxi, buses and trolleybuses to the city centre depart from a terminal around 200m from where the international buses arrive. If you want Bosnian currency there is a Visa/Mastercard cash machine (bankomat) at the nearby shopping centre.

At the main street in central Sarajevo there is an Eurolines office where is possible to get bus tickets to any other country, also it is possible to get ticket to any other major cities in Bosnia like Mostar although they do not run the services, they only provide the tickets. A ticket to Zagreb costs 30 Euros, May 2008 prices and it runs three times a day.

It is also worth advising that if you do not speak Bosnian pretty much fluently, it can be rather hard to get good advice from the bus station. Double-check with the tourist office as they can often confirm the existence of a route or timetable that the staff at the bus station have denied!

From the main bus station, there are several buses a day to/from Mostar which also stop at Konjic and Jablanica along the way. These leave at 6, 7, 7:35, 8, 8:15, 9, 9:30, 10:30, 11:30, 12:30, 14:30, 15:30 and up to 18, and journey time is approximately two and a half hours. Single tickets cost 13.50KM, return tickets are 19KM. There are also buses to Split (5-6 hours) and a daily bus to Dubrovnik which leaves at 7am and costs 40KM/160KN.

There are several buses a day from the main bus station to Banja Luka. These leave at 5:00, 07:55, 09:15, 14:30, 15:30 and 16:30. Journey time is approximately 5 hours.

The bus ride to Podgorica in Montenegro takes about 7 hours but is an absolutely amazing ride through some wonderful countryside (mostly through Republika Srpska). One of bus goes at 14:00. Cost is 27 KM or 14 Euro, Euro is acceptable.

Buses to Tuzla leave from the main bus station approximately every hour every day. The journey takes approximately 3 hours, and costs around 11KM (June 2006).

There is a daily bus to Graz and Vienna (Centrotrans/Eurolines), leaving from the main bus station at 8am, reaching Graz at 7:45pm and Vienna around 2 hours later. A one-way ticket is 44 euro (note that when I asked for a cheaper student ticket, the seller told me that this includes only Bosnian students). You will have to pay the driver 2KM to transport luggage. There are frequent stops on the way, including for food and toilets. Do not rely on this "food stops" very much as the drivers stop at the places like local coffee etc. The problem is that it is not any petrol station and you have to have the currency of the country where you are. The longest 30 min. stop is at one village local coffee in Croatia, and if you don't have any Croatian money, you'll be waiting in front of the bus for 30 min. unable to buy anything but coffee or non-alcoholic drinks.

Do not waste your time in Sarajevo if you want to travel with Eurolines and buy your ticket ASAP because the buses to European Union use to be very crowded.

The journey to Belgrade takes about 7-9 hours and was 28KM (bought from the bus driver) in September 2005. The bus departs from Lukavica bus station in Eastern Sarajevo. There are several buses a day. As of April 2007, there is now a daily service from the main bus station, cost 35KM.

There are many bus lines linking most towns and cities in Bosnia and Hercegovina. See Centrotrans for details (in Bosnian only). Check the transport sections of other destinations for more information. From Germany you can go by Euroliner (Centrotrans is part of it), have a look on Touring.de.

On all intercity buses you pay a fee for luggage. This fee of about 0.5 to 1 euro per piece of luggage is paid to the driver upon boarding. Some drivers are rather picky about being paid in exact change in the correct currency (sometimes a local currency, at other instances requesting to be paid in Euros) and sometimes also refuse to be paid in too small coins. So keep some change ready.

A compilation of departure times from the main station can be found here: http://www.sarajevo-tourism.com/bos/autobuskisaobracaji.wbsp

Hitch hiking

From Mostar, hitching a ride through the beautiful mountains up the M-17 road to Sarajevo is quite easy. Make sure you have a sign though and a Croatian language phrasebook would be useful. If you have trouble getting out of Mostar, change the sign to Jablanica where traffic will branch of NW to Banja Luka and then hitch on to Sarajevo from Jablanica. Sarajevo is a long thin city so try to get a lift into the centre. If not, get one at least to the tram tracks that go there from the west of the city limits.

Budget

Sarajevo has countless shops selling burek (meat pie, sold in layers by weight or by piece), cevapi and pizza stores. Pita (burek, sirnica, krompirusa, tikvenica, zeljanica etc) is a phyllo type pasty pie generally offered in several varieties - cheese (Bosnian cheese called "young cheese" similar to ricotta and never aged) (sirnica), cheese and spinach (zeljanica), pumpkin (tikvinica), and spicy potato (krompirusa). It is usually served and consumed with a traditional yogurt sauce which resembles sour cream.

• Ago Fast Food Pizzeria, Mula Mustafe Baseskije 17.

Mid-range

• Bambus, 71000 Sarajevo, #32, Ferhadija bb, 557-190. An amazing jewel of a restaurant in the downtown shopping district. You actually have to go down a small staircase and push a button to be buzzed in to the restaurant but once you are there you will be happy you took the time to find it. It is very classy, quiet, clean, English menu and the waiters speak English. Very good food at good prices. The food is cooked with pride and for the prices charged, it really is a good deal.
• Bosanska Kuca, Bravadziluk 3, Bascarsija. Seats inside and out in the heart of the old town with a wide range of traditional Bosnian food at reasonable prices. You can sit outside against the warm wall of the oven if it's chilly. Their Muckalica, a veal broth, is delicious and good value at €5.
• Capucino, Grbavica. Delicious Bosnian meals and the best pasta and pizza in the region. Capucino Restaurant is near river Miljacka in green area.
• Inat Kuca, Veliki Alifakovac 1, Bascarsija. An old Turkish house by the river converted to a lovely restaurant selling hearty stew-like meals.
• The Hacienda, Bazardzani 3, [5]. Mexican food, cocktails. Stays open late. Large portions at an average of 8-12KM for a main course, with very fresh ingredients and a pleasant atmosphere.
• Karuzo, Mehmeda Spahe bb. While it doesn't serve traditional Bosnian food, this restaurant features a vegetarian/fish based menu, with a mostly Italian influence (although sushi is also available). The pasta dishes are also highly recommended. Its a very intimate restaurant seating only 18 at a time, the chef takes your order prepares the food and serves it himself. Do be aware that you probably do need to have a good deal of time to spare - it can take a couple of hours before you leave.
• Mrkva and Zeljo (which has 4 different locations) are the favorite places for the locals to go and get the most Bosnian of meal: Cevapi which are breakfast looking sausage meat patties made with a mixture of ground beef and a special mixture of spices usually kept as the house secret. The patties are grilled to perfection and served in a warm pita-like bread called somun or lepina usually baked in brick ovens. Cevapi are usually accompanied by diced sweet onion and sour cream, although the possibilities are endless.
• Park Princeva, Iza Hrida br. 7, +387 61 222 708. Slightly more expensive than Inat Kuca, also serving Bosnian food. Located on one of the hills of the city, you have a beautiful view, especially around sunset, when you can hear the prayers from the mosques around the valley.
• Sarajevo Brewery - A large bar and restaurant near the Latin Bridge. Serves 'western' food, accompanied by a variety of beers brewed on the premises.

Splurge

• Moja Mala Kuhinja is a small and quaint pilot project restaurant owned by Bosnian celebrity Chef Muamer Kurtagic who has hosted an array of cooking shows on national and privately owned TV stations. The idea is that the whole cooking process is open for public and his customers can enjoy the artistry of cooking the food while being educated at the same time. His menu changes daily according to the availability of the freshest and best tasting organic ingredients. Most dishes served by Chef Muamer are inspired by some of the best restaurant in Germany where he worked and honed his skills for a number of years. The restaurant can only serve 15 guest or so at a time.

• Baghdad Cafe, Bazardzani 4 (across from Hacienda in Bascarsija), Tel: 033/ 121-121, [6]. Danceclub/hookah bar in one of the most crowded areas of the Old Town for nightlife.
• Central Cafe, Štrosmajerova 1 in the Bascarsija, Tel: 033/ 200-442 [7] - Cocktail bar with great music. Get there early or call to reserve a table. The place is very busy until midnight when people leave to hit the various nightclubs around town. The street is a whole promenade with many other cafes around.
• Tre Bicchieri Wine Store & Tasting Bar, Kranjceviceva 8, tel. + 387-33-222654, [8]. Long list of Italian wines. Very cozy and comfortable place. Good music & relaxing atmosphere.