Where is Skadarlija?

Located in the municipality Stari Grad (Old Town), this vintage street attracts visitors and locals for a variety of reasons. When I first arrived at the street I was really intrigued by how artistically the restaurants and other buildings were decorated and designed. There were tons of bright colors, beautiful murals and even lines of fresh flowers covering entire facades.

History of Skadarlija

The reason for all of this eclectic, artistic influence starts back in the 1830s, when Gypsies began to settle in the area. Up until 1872, the neighborhood was in fact referred to as the “Gypsy Quarter”.

During the last parts of the 19^th century, the area began to develop with a distinctly bohemian character, where writers, actors and other artists began to move into the neighborhood and frequent the kafanas. Some of the original restaurants such as Tri šešira, Dva jelena and Zlatni bokal are still open today. I didn’t visit them during my visit, so I can’t give any recommendations. It seems they are a bit expensive though.

Also located in this area is the home of Đura Jakšić, a famous Serbian painter, poet, writer, bohemian, dramatist and patriot who lived and died in Skadarlija. You can still visit his home today, where they host a variety of cultural activities and events.

During our tour of Belgrade, the guide mentioned that many of the artists that lived in and around Skadarlija would spend time in the kafanas, watching the rowdy drunkards as inspiration for their work. How much truth there is to that I don’t know, perhaps it was also a great excuse to have a few drinks themselves!

Over the course of its history, the area has been regularly visited by poets, writers, musicians, actors and other artists from not only Serbia, but the entire Yugoslav area and beyond. Celebrities and other famous people have visited the area, including Jimi Hendrix and Alfred Hitchcock.

Skadarlija Today

Today, the artistic influence is still heavily felt if you visit the area, and while the aesthetics may be enough to draw in a visitor at first glance, the many traditional Serbian kafanas are a reason to make them stay. When I was there a few summers ago, we sat out on one of many terraces, listened to live music and chatted with the other guests. There, you will also find many options to try some traditional Serbian dishes.

While I would recommend going there for sure, I realized on my last visit that it has also become a really popular tourist spot in Belgrade, which makes me nervous that you may be paying for the location, rather than the quality of the food. Regardless, it is still a really popular spot to go during the dinner time and you can find tons of people sitting outside on the terraces during the warm months and generally just enjoying life and socializing with each other, a seemingly constant theme from my experience in Serbia.

[Wikipedia]

Stari Grad is the historical heart of the island of Hvar (not to be confused with the city of Hvar, located on the other side of the island).

Located at the end of a long, protected bay, surrounded by excellent agricultural land has long made Stari Grad an ideal settlement for inhabitants. The area of the town today was first settled by the Neolithic tribes of the Hvar culture, who occupied the island between 3500 and 2500 BC (not too long ago…). They traded with other settlers around the Mediterranean and remains of their existence as well as their successors, the Illyrian tribe, such as pottery and other artifacts have been found in the area.

Stari Grad gets its original name, Faros or Pharos, from the ancient Greeks who formally settled there in 384 BC. The nearby plain was designed and constructed with roads and designated standard fields were divided up. Today, the Stari Grad Plain is considered one of the best-preserved examples of ancient Greek agriculture throughout the Mediterranean and is currently a UNESO World Heritage Site.

Over its long history, Stari Grad has been home to many different groups such as the Romans, the Slavs, the Venetian Republic, the Turks, the Austrian Empire and finally part of the Dalmatian Kingdom, part of the larger political body of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Visiting the town today, it almost feels as though you’ve stepped back in time. Tourism has become the main income for the town; though not large enough overpower the “authentic” feel. There are still many magnificent archaeological sites that date back to pre-history and classical times. The Stari Grad Museum also displays collection of artifacts from local sites, both land and sea.

Some of the most famous sites include: the Old Town Walls, Greek Settlement, Stari Grad Plain, Roman Villas, Maslinovik (Greek tower in the Stari Grad Plain), and Glavica (Illyrian fort above Stari Grad).

We went during the month of July, when summer was at its hottest point. Warmed by the warm summer sun, but surrounded by a pine tree forest, Stari Grad is one of the few places in Dalmatia that provide a cool, fresh breeze all throughout the year.

The town also has a really nice, slow-paced, relaxed atmosphere. I can imagine its location on the water, the fact that it is an island, perhaps because it is so small (with about 2,000 inhabitants), or maybe it has the inherent wisdom that comes from being over 5,000 years old that makes it that way. Either way, it is a really great place to visit. There is also a small stone platform at the edge of the town where you can swim and the sunset is unbelievable!

There are also some nice little restaurants and cafés in the city center that are open day and night. The town lights up beautifully in the evening, perfect for a stroll along the promenade by the harbor.

To get to Stari Grad, we took the ferry from Split to Ferry Port Stari Grad, which took about two hours. You could walk to the town from the port, or take a bus. We ended up taking the bus because it was super hot out that day. We did find, however, that region didn’t have too much available to book online. We just bought the tickets for the ferry and bus on the spot, which seemed to be the normal procedure.

It has also become popular for residents to turn the historic buildings into accommodation, which means you could end up staying in a really cool place. We, for example, stayed in a castle in the center of town!

[Wikipedia], [Hvar Info]