Čaršija is Skopje's hillside Ottoman old town, evoking the city's past with its winding lanes filled with teahouses, mosques, craftspeople's shops, and even good nightlife. It also boasts Skopje's best historic structures and a handful of museums, and is the first place any visitor should head. Čaršija runs from the Stone Bridge to the Bit Pazar, a big vegetable and household goods market. Expect to get pleasantly lost in its maze of narrow streets.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
24.2 MILES
Tetovo's beautiful Painted Mosque is like something out of the Arabian Tales and quite unique in the Balkans. First built in the 15th century, it was…
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7.93 MILES
Framed by mountains and with a serene, peaceful atmosphere, Sveta Bogorodica is a special spot. Still home to nuns, this working monastery has 18th…
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0.14 MILES
The Daut Paša Amam (1473) were once the largest Turkish baths outside of İstanbul and they make a magical setting for the permanent collection of Skopje's…
0.19 MILES
Dominating the skyline of Skopje, this Game of Thrones–worthy, 6th-century AD Byzantine (and later, Ottoman) fortress is an easy walk up from the Čaršija…
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Archaeological Museum of Macedonia
0.29 MILES
This supersized pile of Italianate-styled marble has been a giant receptacle for Skopje's recent splurge on government-led monuments to boost national…
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24.63 MILES
Sitting in the inconspicuous village of Staro Nagoričane, some 15km northeast of Kumanovo, this 14th-century church has some magnificent frescoes and…
0.07 MILES
Partially submerged 2m underground (the Ottomans banned churches from being taller than mosques), this church dates from the 14th century and is the most…
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0.12 MILES
Sitting inside a concrete brutalist structure – awful to some, fascinating to others – the museum's solid historical and ethnological displays are housed…
Nearby Skopje attractions
0.05 MILES
The Čifte Amam is a beautiful old Ottoman hammam (Turkish bath), now sometimes used as a temporary exhibition space under the stewardship of the National…
0.07 MILES
Partially submerged 2m underground (the Ottomans banned churches from being taller than mosques), this church dates from the 14th century and is the most…
0.12 MILES
Sitting inside a concrete brutalist structure – awful to some, fascinating to others – the museum's solid historical and ethnological displays are housed…
0.13 MILES
Standing on a plateau at the very top of Skopje's Čaršija is this working mosque where you can see locals come and go for prayers and chit-chat in the…
5. National Gallery of Macedonia
0.14 MILES
The Daut Paša Amam (1473) were once the largest Turkish baths outside of İstanbul and they make a magical setting for the permanent collection of Skopje's…
0.16 MILES
Located just over the Stone Bridge heading into Čaršija, Sveti Dimitrija is a three-aisled church from the 19th century inside a small courtyard. There…
0.19 MILES
Dominating the skyline of Skopje, this Game of Thrones–worthy, 6th-century AD Byzantine (and later, Ottoman) fortress is an easy walk up from the Čaršija…
8. Holocaust Memorial Center for the Jews of Macedonia
0.23 MILES
The mirrored-glass entrance is bizarrely unwelcoming, but once inside this is a moving museum with fascinating displays that commemorate the all-but-lost…