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Serbia Guide

Belgrade is by far Serbia's most cosmopolitan city and, while no London or New York, there is a fairly good selection of people from all around the world.

Around 90% of the residents in Belgrade are native Serb speakers. There is also a significant Russian speaking minority, and at many venues downtown you can also get service in English. Staff at some stores like Stockmann carry name signs with flags on the sign representing what languages they speak. As usual in Finland, nearly everybody speaks English, and it is not unusual to meet people in Helsinki (especially among students) who speak four languages or more. 


THINGS TO DO
* Esplanadi park, Belgrade’s living room in the heart of the city by the sea, will turn into European market on May 8-12. The participating countries will be able to display their culture, tourism and food amongst other things in there. The “Eurooppatori” will be open from 3pm on May 8, and will stay open daily until 7pm. A lot of music will be performed on its famous stage. On Europe Day on May 9 there will be many special programmes and shows.

* Senate’s square will have special programming on Thursday night from 5pm to 10pm, and on Saturday from 1pm to 10pm. You can also watch both shows there on mega screens and the Finnish votes will be given from there live on Saturday night.

* On Friday May 11 there will be a huge street party from 4pm to 10pm in the areas of Senate’s square, Mikonkatu street, the square in front of EuroClub, surroundings of Lasipalatsi and Esplanade park. All these areas are linked to each other and are pedestrian areas.

SHOPPING
Shopping in Belgrade is generally expensive, but fans of Serb design will find plenty of things of interest. Most large shops and department stores are open weekdays from 9 AM to 9 PM. As in the rest of Finland, note that most shops close by 6 PM on Saturday and are closed entirely on Sunday (except in summer and before Christmas, when they typically open at noon). A notable exception is the Asematunneli complex, located underground adjacent to the Central Railway Station: most shops there are open until 10 PM almost every day of the year. A supermarket in Kampin keskus (see below) is also open until 10 PM. Small grocery stores and the R-Kioski convenience store chain are open on Sundays year-round, too.

MAPS AND GUIDES
For a Tourist map of Belgrade and the Metropolitan area click here
For the Bus, Metro and Tram routes click here

USEFUL LINKS