Palace of Princess Ljubica
In the early 19th century Kneza Sime Markovića street was at the heart of Serbian Belgrade and it was here that Prince Milos Obrenović chose to have his palace built. It became his official residence in 1831, but he never felt comfortable with its proximity to the Turkish garrison in nearby Kalemegdan Fortress and soon moved away to his Topfider estate. Princess Ljubica, his wife, was left to live here with their children. She stayed here until 1842, when her son Prince Mihailo was deposed. Although few of the objects currently on display are directly related to her, most have been sourced from that era. Designed by Nikola Zivković (1792-1870), the architect of the Church of St Mark (see p54), the mansion has an Oriental exterior that illustrates how the ruling class were still heavily under the influence of Ottoman culture despite having gained sovereignty in 1830. The interior plan is also typically Levantine with separate male and female areas occupying the bay windows on the upper and lower floors and a marblefloored hammam (Turkish bathhouse) below. However, the creeping influence of Western culture is apparent in rooms that contain Oriental rugs and Turkish coffee jugs alongside hefty Baroque furniture imported from Paris, Budapest and Vienna.
mgb.org.rs

National Museum Dominating Republic Square next to the National Theatre stands a strikingly grand Neo-Classical building, dating from 1903, which originally housed a bank before becoming the home of the National Museum in 1951. Founded in 1844 and recently reopened following years of protracted renovations, the museum boasts a vast collection covering many floors. It begins with stone and bone tools dating back over half a million years to the Palaeolithic era, and subsequent rooms trace the complex history of the region through the Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages. The highlights of the collection include gold jewellery from a Bronze Age tomb and the famous Dupljaja Cart, a threewheeled model chariot led by a pair of ducks. Further rooms focus on the Roman era, the arrival of the Serbs, their medieval kingdoms that fell to the Turks and the eventual establishment of modern Serbia. www.narodnimuzej.rs

Museum of Contemporary Art Set in a park at the confluence of the Danube and the Sava, this distinctive building consists of six elevated angular cubes. Designed in 1965 by renowned Modernist architects lvanka RaspopoviC (b. 1930) and Ivan Antic (1923-2005), it is an exemplary model of Serbian modern architecture. Recently reopened after lengthy renovations that began in 2007, the museum has a fine permanent collection of 20th-century modern art from acriaa the world and the former Yugoslavia, and also hosts regular temporary exibitions. www.msub.org.rs

Ethnografic Museum Housed in a somewhat grim 1934 Functionalist building that was once the Stock Exchange, the Ethnographic Museum gives visitors a colourful introduction to Balkan folk traditions and houses a treasure trove of vivid Balkan folk costumes that reflect both the ethnicity and social status of the wearers. Split into regions, the ground floor collection emphasizes the stylistic differences that often came about due to local circumstances. The vast Dinaric mountain region of Southern and Western Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and continental Montenegro was almost completely dependent upon cattle and sheep breeding, so its folk dresses, examples of which are on display here, were made of homespun wool and heavy cloth. Yarn coloured with herbal dyes was used to embroider geometric and floral decora-tions specific to regions, villages and families. There are also a few silver chest plates known as Coke that were attached to the outfits of Dinaric men — worn in combination with a flintlock pistol tucked into a broad leather belt, they were consid-ered heroic and manly. etnografskimuzej.rs

Nikola Tesla Museum Venerated as a Serbian national hero, Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) appears on the 100-dinar bank note and has had the city's international airport named in his honour. One of the geniuses of the modern age, he is best known for his pioneering work on x-rays, radio transmission, induction motors, wireless com-munications and alternating current electricity supply — the latter is now used around the world. He registered over 700 patents during his lifetime, and in 1960 the international unit for measuring magnetic fields was named after him. Despite spending most of his adult life in the US, Tesla asked that his ashes be brought to Belgrade after his death; this memorial museum was established in 1952 to house them. Hugely popular, the museum receives more visitors than any other in Serbia. Set in a grand mansion built in 1929, it exhibits Tesla's diaries, writings, project drafts, personal effects and a gold-plated spherical silver urn holding his ashes, as well as models of his various inventions. The hourly lectures in English are a must for visitors as they provide a fascinating insight into the workings of many of Tesla's inventions. nikolateslamuseum.org

Palace of Princess Ljubica In the early 19th century Kneza Sime Markovića street was at the heart of Serbian Belgrade and it was here that Prince Milos Obrenović chose to have his palace built. It became his official residence in 1831, but he never felt comfortable with its proximity to the Turkish garrison in nearby Kalemegdan Fortress and soon moved away to his Topfider estate. Princess Ljubica, his wife, was left to live here with their children. She stayed here until 1842, when her son Prince Mihailo was deposed. Although few of the objects currently on display are directly related to her, most have been sourced from that era. Designed by Nikola Zivković (1792-1870), the architect of the Church of St Mark (see p54), the mansion has an Oriental exterior that illustrates how the ruling class were still heavily under the influence of Ottoman culture despite having gained sovereignty in 1830. The interior plan is also typically Levantine with separate male and female areas occupying the bay windows on the upper and lower floors and a marblefloored hammam (Turkish bathhouse) below. However, the creeping influence of Western culture is apparent in rooms that contain Oriental rugs and Turkish coffee jugs alongside hefty Baroque furniture imported from Paris, Budapest and Vienna. mgb.org.rs

Kalemegdan Fortress Dominating the confluence of the Danube and Sava Rivers, the formidable Kalemegdan Fortress (from kale meaning "fortress" and meydan meaning "field") was one of the most foughtover strategic points in southeastern Europe. It was first settled by the Celts, then the Romans, and then refortified by the medieval rulers of Serbia and expanded during the Ottoman and Austrian occupations, slowly evolving into an extensive complex of buildings blending various architectural styles. Today, it is Belgrade's most popular park, offering views of the Danube from its bastions.