Belgrade events this weekend

The Military Museum sits right inside Kalemegdan, the upper town of Belgrade Fortress, up where the Sava meets the Danube. Honestly, the setting does half the work — before you even buy a ticket you can wander the ramparts past rows of tanks, artillery pieces and captured hardware lined up along the old walls, some of it dating back to WWII. That outdoor part is free to roam and a guaranteed hit with kids who want to climb on big metal things. Inside, the collection runs chronologically and covers a lot of ground: Roman and Greek arms, medieval Serbian armor and crossbows, then both World Wars and right up to the 1999 NATO bombing, where the headline piece is a chunk of the downed US F-117 stealth jet. It's a genuinely deep collection, a bit old-school in presentation, but worth it. Best move is to fold it into a longer walk around the fortress and the river views — you're already in one of the best spots in the city. Open Tue–Sun 10:00–17:00; closed Mondays Free entry on the last Sunday of every month

Princess Ljubica's Residence (Konak kneginje Ljubice) is a little gem tucked into the old town near Kosančićev venac, and the building itself is the main event. Prince Miloš Obrenović had it built around 1830 for his wife, Princess Ljubica, and it's one of the best-preserved examples of Balkan-style architecture left in Belgrade — that distinctive Ottoman-Serbian look from the period, with some western baroque touches mixed in. Think thick walls, low ceilings, and rooms that feel genuinely old rather than restored-to-death. Inside, it's a proper house-museum: the rooms are furnished in 19th-century style with period furniture and decorative arts, including the famous Turkish-style corner seating, low coffee tables, and braziers that show how the family actually lived. It's small and atmospheric — an hour does it. The real draw, if you can time it, is “A Coffee with Princess Ljubica,” where a curator in period costume plays hostess over coffee and rahat lokum. Book that ahead; it's not always running. Open Tue–Sun (Sun until 14:00); closed Mondays Free entry on the last Saturday of every month

The National Museum of Serbia is the country's oldest and biggest museum, and it sits right on Trg republike (Republic Square) — basically the heart of downtown Belgrade, the spot everyone uses as a meeting point. The building itself is a grand early-1900s affair from 1903, restored and reopened a few years back after being shut for what felt like forever, so it's in good shape now. Here's the thing to know: this is a proper encyclopedic collection, running from prehistory and antiquity through medieval Serbian art up to 18th–20th century painting. The headline piece is the Miroslav Gospel, a 12th-century illuminated manuscript that's the oldest surviving Cyrillic Serbian document and a UNESCO Memory of the World entry — though it's so fragile it's usually shown as a facsimile, not the original. Give yourself a couple of hours; the permanent display spans several floors and it's a lot to take in. Sundays are free, which is great but also busier. Worth checking what temporary exhibition is on before you go. Open Tue, Wed, Fri, Sun 10:00–18:00; Thu, Sat 12:00–20:00; closed Mondays Free entry every Sunday

The Museum of Applied Art sits in the heart of the old town, just off Knez Mihailova on a quiet street near Topličin venac at Vuka Karadžića 18 — an easy detour if you're already wandering Stari Grad. It's housed in the Čelebonović Palace, a handsome two-story Beaux-Arts building from the late 1920s, all marble staircase and wrought-iron railing, the kind of interior that's part of the experience. Here's what it actually is: applied and decorative arts rather than paintings. The collection runs to tens of thousands of objects across centuries — furniture, ceramics and glass, textiles and costume, metalwork and jewelry, plus photography, prints and contemporary design. It's a lot, and not all of it is on view at once. The thing to know is that the rotating exhibitions and the museum's salons are usually the real draw, often stronger and more current than the permanent display. So check what's showing before you go — that's what makes or breaks the visit, and it's a small, manageable stop, not a half-day affair. Open Mon–Sat 11:00–19:00; closed Sundays Free entry on the last Saturday of every month

The Museum of Jovan Cvijić is the memorial house of Serbia's most famous geographer, tucked away on a quiet street in the Stari Grad neighborhood — not somewhere you stumble onto by accident, which is part of the charm. Cvijić built the house in 1905 to his own design, and the thing everyone notices first is the facade and interior: painted by his friend Dragutin Inkiostri Medenjak in a national-romantic, Balkan-folk style, all rich colors and ornamental detail you don't see on the buildings around it. Inside, it's exactly what a memorial house should be — small, personal, lived-in feeling. They've kept his study, his library, and a lot of his personal things: manuscripts, photographs, furniture, applied-art pieces, the stuff of an actual working scholar's life rather than a polished gallery. It's an intimate, low-key visit rather than a big museum day out, so it pairs well with wandering the old town. If you care about architecture, the painted decoration alone is worth the stop. Open Tue–Sun; closed Mondays Free entry on the last Saturday of every month

The Zepter Museum sits right on Knez Mihailova, Belgrade's main pedestrian street, so you'll basically walk past it whether you mean to or not. It's tucked into one of the handsome old facades near the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, and the location alone makes it an easy stop while you're wandering the strip. Here's the thing to know: this is a private museum, opened in 2010 by Madlena Zepter and registered as Serbia's first private art museum. The whole place is built around one person's collection of Serbian and Yugoslav modern art, mostly from the second half of the 20th century onward. What that means for a visit is that it's compact and focused rather than sprawling. You're looking at paintings, drawings, sculptures, and installations from postwar Serbian modernists through more recent names, well hung across a few floors. It won't eat your whole afternoon, which is honestly a plus, and it pairs nicely with the rest of Knez Mihailova. Don't expect blockbuster crowds; it's a quieter, curated kind of spot. Open Tue–Fri 12:00–20:00, Sat–Sun 10:00–20:00; closed Mondays Free entry every Sunday

Join the sushi-making workshop with Mana, founder of the Manaya initiative. You will learn about the culture and history of sushi, as well as how to prepare traditional nigiri and futomaki. The workshop will be conducted in English with the option of translation into Russian.