Introduction
In this guide to Skopje, I will detail my trip and recommend 10 great things to do in the city. You can also read about some great food to eat.
Skopje is a small city within a small country. North Macedonia is a small nation, created from the break-up of Yugoslavia, situated in the south of Europe in the Balkans. It’s home to various cultures, and the city is shared by the Macedonian majority and Albanian minority, with some Turkish sprinkled in.
The Macedonians can conflict with Greece and Bulgaria because of their name and history, but if you visit here, you can see the identity and culture the Macedonians have forged for themselves within their nation.
Before I visited, I didn’t know what to expect from the city. I’d researched online and saw the strange neo-classical architecture built as part of the ‘Skopje 2014’ campaign and heard about the statues.
I came at the beginning of February and stayed for 3 days, so not the high season, but it was still reasonably busy. Mostly with locals going about their day and some tourists, but this meant most of the tourist places weren’t too crowded. The weather was great and mostly sunny, it was only cloudy a few times in the morning.
The atmosphere is very relaxed and you can chill and take it easy in many areas. From the central square, by the river, or in the grand bazaar, you’ll find a café with good coffee to sip and relax. I’ve heard people call the city tacky because of its architecture but I didn’t feel this way. Honestly, I liked how strange and weird it looked. You can explore different areas and find something cool to look at, either neo-classical or brutalist architecture, a new statue, or a park.
What to do in Skopje
10 best things to do.
1. Visit the centre
If you walk into the centre you’ll come across the majority of the neoclassical buildings and many statues. The main area sits along the Vardar River. On the south side is the Alexander statue, a spacious square with stalls, and a collection of cafes and restaurants.
There are many bridges to choose from when crossing the river, and as they are all designed and decorated a certain way you’ll find yourself crossing back and forth a few times. The famous Stone Bridge which is a symbol of the city and appears on Skopje’s coat of arms, walk over and look at the views of the river. Then walk across the ‘Bridge of Civilisations in Macedonia’ and see the statues of classical thinkers. Then walk back again, along the ‘Bridge of Art’ which is decorated with statues of Macedonian artists and musicians.
2. Visit the Old Bazaar
The bazaar in Skopje is one of the oldest bazaars in Europe. The area it currently sits on has been a merchant district of some kind since the 12th century. Since the Ottoman conquest, it was the central heart of the city, and the Turkish influences can be felt when walking through the small and winding streets. It feels like a small piece of Istanbul was plonked down in Skopje. The area is also filled with Turkish restaurants and cafes which adds to its atmosphere.
You can find a lot of delicious foods here, from pide, lahmacun, durum kebab, and various grilled meats and other dishes. Also, sit in a café and enjoy a Turkish coffee and dessert. You can pick baklava or try something else. I went to a nice café and asked for baklava but they had run out so I tried something at random called sekerpare which was delicious.
3. Kale Fortress / Skopje Fortress
After leaving the Bazar you can walk up the hill to find Kale Fortress.
The fortress sits atop a hill in the centre of the city. It seems slightly forgotten about when you go in, luckily it is free. There is a lack of information anywhere so best read up on your phone. However, you can walk along the walls and up to some towers. The walls also offer some great views of the city so definitely come here on a sunny day.
4. Go up Vodno Mountain and see the Millennium Cross
First, take a bus up the mountain until you get to the cable cars. From here you can buy a return ticket. Or you can hike up if you fancy. I took the cable car to the top where I enjoyed stunning panoramic views.
The north side of the mountain looks out across Skopje and the valley, then turning West you can see the huge and beautiful Shar mountains. When I visited in February the peaks were capped with snow adding to the raw beauty of the landscape. Turn south and you can see the Jakupica mountain range, hopefully you can spot Solunska Glava, or Thessaloniki Head, named so as it is believed you can see Thessaloniki from its peak.
5. Discover the Statues
As you can see from the photos in this article there are a huge amount of statues in Skopje. Skopje has essentially become famous for the amount. It is quite jarring at times when you’re in an area in the centre and surrounded by various statues. There is always something new and interesting to find and when you look at one and turn around another appears.
Some are dedicated to Macedonian heroes, historical figures, and other statues are quite random like the little shoeshine boy. Try and see how many you can find in the city.
6. Learn about Macedonian history
There are various museums in the centre that you can pick from. I only went to one, ‘The Museum of the Macedonian Struggle’. Now I would recommend reading up on Macedonian history before coming here ( Yes strange, as you would learn in a museum anyway). But if you don’t know, there are contentions between Bulgaria and Greece over history and naming. So read up on these issues first.
The museum itself is interesting and has a lot of information about the struggle for independence. However, at times it mostly feels like a wax museum with the amount of wax figures. It can also be very text-heavy.
7. Matka Canyon
Outside of Skopje is the beautiful Matka Canyon (Matka means womb so the meaning is essentially Woman Canyon) the mountain is believed to look like a pregnant woman, hence the name. In Matka Canyon is Matka Lake, an artificial lake held back by a dam, one of the most popular outdoor areas in North Macedonia that attracts many visitors.
You can visit St. Andrew’s Monastery, hike around the canyon, or take a boat ride along the lake. The boat can also take you to Vrelo Cave, a small cave system further along the lake.
A small walk up some stairs will bring you to the entrance where the boat driver will turn on a generator to switch the lights on.
The boat ride is enjoyable as you skate through the water with sheer cliffs hugging you from either side. On a sunny day, the sun is south and you can see it down the lake as the light bursts into the valley and as shadows from the cliff slice through the landscape.
8. Memorial House of Mother Teresa
The memorial house was opened in 2009 and stands in the exact location of the church where Mother Teresa was baptised (the original church is no longer there). The memorial house is a small museum dedicated to Mother Teresa, showcasing a collection of her personal items and various documents and correspondence. It also houses a collection of photographs from her life. Above the museum is a small Chapel that runs services.
It was interesting enough but not big and won’t take long to see everything it has to offer. Luckily it is free.
9. Triumph Arch Macedonia
A large arch that brings forth images of the Arc de Triomphe. The arch was built as part of the ‘Skopje 2014’ redesign project and fits in with the other neoclassical architecture. The arch looks impressive and you can either sit at a café just outside enjoying a coffee or sit in the park on the other side.
10. Day trips to Pristina or Ohrid.
Skopje could mostly be seen within 2 or 3 days depending on how fast or slow you get through its attractions. If you stayed longer and had an extra day then definitely take a trip to Kosovo’s capital Pristina or Ohrid on Lake Ohrid.
Pristina is only 2 hours by bus so you could get an early morning bus there and a late one back. The bus to Ohrid is the same and the journey takes about 3 hours. Both these locations are enjoyable additions and make a good day trip.
Eating
I had a very positive experience eating in Skopje. The service was always great and the servers were friendly and attentive. If I didn’t know about something they were happy to explain it to me and give me a recommendation. And if you’re like me and are from Western Europe, the food is very cheap and reasonably priced.
One such time was when I went into a kebab shop to get a durum. The server recommended I try an Adana durum, from Adana kebab, and I can’t recommend this enough now. It was delicious and had a great blend of spices. Writing this now is making me salivate.
Find a bakery and try some Macedonian borek, similar to its Turkish counterpart, it’s a thin and flaky pastry with various fillings, often meat, cheese, or both. I ate a cheese one for breakfast one day. I bought a huge slice for about £1.50 and it was so filling that I didn’t need a big lunch later.
Baba Cana
On the final day, I visited a traditional Macedonian restaurant called Baba Cana. They specialise in homemade traditional food. All their products are made in the restaurant each day.
I started with their fried cheese which had a texture like halloumi but a much stronger flavour.
Then I ordered their smoked sausage and the tavce gravce, Macedonian baked beans. The beans were recommended to me and I wanted to try one of the grilled meats at the restaurant as they make them in-house. However, I went alone and was deceived by how cheap the prices were, the portions were very big and I struggled to eat it all.
The tavce gravce was a delicious bean stew served in a large dish. The smoked sausage was served with potatoes and onions. I couldn’t eat everything in the end.
The best part is the meal came to 650MKD which is about £9. I seriously recommend visiting this restaurant. Their service was also great and my server was very attentive and happy to explain the menu to me. Thank god he warned me not to get an extra sausage.
Getting There – Sofia – Skopje – Sofia
Most people will probably arrive in Skopje by plane. However, the route I took was by bus from Sofia. I took the 7 am bus with Kaleia bus. I booked my ticket through Flixbus. The journey was straightforward enough. Arrive early to show your passport at the bus office then set off at 7 am. The bus there was mostly empty as this was low season so we could sit in any seat. The journey was nice going through some of the Bulgarian mountains and looking at the small villages and towns along the way.
Once we neared the border the road took us up the mountains winding up towards the border crossing. We arrived about 9.30 am, had our bags checked, went through passport control, and were through at about 10.00 am. It was pretty quick as there weren’t many passengers luckily. Though we stayed on the bus on the Bulgarian side, we had to get off on the Macedonian side when they checked our passports.
Once we were through the drive down into Macedonia was very picturesque. The road goes down the mountains and cuts through a valley with small villages lining the roads. It was enjoyable taking in the rugged scenery. The journey to Skopje took another 2 hours arriving at 11 am (12 pm Bulgarian time).
Coming Back:
On the way back I took the 5 pm bus, meaning it was already dark when we left so I couldn’t see much. As there were only 6 passengers we were taken in a much smaller bus. The journey was less interesting as it was dark the whole way. The border check was quick and easy, they didn’t check our bags this time, and the passport control was quick. We had a toilet break on the Bulgarian side then it was straight back to Sofia. We arrived an hour earlier than scheduled (10 pm instead 11 pm).
Hopefully this guide to Skopje has given you some good ideas on what to do when you visit and helps you plan your trip.
1 Comment
Comments are closed.