City Rating: Skopje
Population: 470’000
Date of visit: March 2018
Attractions & sights: 3/5
Nightlife: 3/5
Safety: 4/5
Infrastructure: 3/5
Low budget factor: €€€€/5
Total: 👍👍👍/5
The city in a nutshell:
Skopje is the 3rd most populated city of the ex-Yugoslavian countries. The Macedonian capital is lively, cheap and surrounded by beautiful nature. Although Skopje is a unique city, it has similarities with other Balkan capitals, mostly with Sarajevo. Still, Skopje is less Ottoman influenced than the Bosnian counterpart, as the majority of the citizens is Christian-orthodox.
Where to stay:
The city is walkable, but being close to Macedonia Square is still the best choice.
The Good:
Macedonia Square with its Alexander the Great-statue is gorgeous and there are plenty of restaurant and cafés around. Apparently, the government upgraded the city centre in recent years and it now has become one of Europe’s most beautiful. The square, the statues and some of the buildings nearby remind you of Rome. Speaking of statues, Skopje must be the statue capital of Europe. I have rarely seen so many than in the Macedonian capital.
Visiting the Old Bazaar is a must when in Skopje. It’s a remnant from the Ottoman Empire and also in an area with Turkish cafés and mosques. The small alleys are lovely and it’s a great place for people watching.
Generally, there are a lot of sights and attractions in this small city. People who are into museums will be spoilt for choice, but visiting the beautiful nature outside of the city is also an option. Lake Matka and Vodno Mountain are not far from the city.
A big plus are the cheap prices like everywhere in the Balkans (except for Croatia). Our centrally located 4-star-hotel cost 30 Euros per night, a meal in a fancy restaurant shouldn’t cost more than 10 Euros and a drink in a bar is 4-5 Euros.
Nightlife in Skopje is decent and I would rate it average for Europe. There are a lot of bars and a few nightclubs in the city. We ended up at Epicentar, which was small and packed but pretty good. The other club that was recommended to me was Stanica 26 (Станица 26), I didn’t have time to check it out though.
The Bad & The Ugly:
There aren’t many minuses, but the city is full of stray dogs. Some people might see this as a plus though.
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