Centred on what foreigners nickname Pigeon Square, with its ornate gazebo-like Sebilj drinking fountain (built in 1891), Baščaršija is the very heart of old Sarajevo. The name is derived from the Turkish for 'main market' and it's still lined with stalls, lively (if tourist-centric) coppersmiths' alleys, grand Ottoman mosques, caravanserai (inn) restaurants and lots of inviting little cafes.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
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This affecting museum had its genesis in a 2013 book edited by Jasminko Halilović, in which he asked a simple question of survivors of the Sarajevo siege:…
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This gallery uses stirring photography, video footage and audio testimonies of survivors and family members to create a powerful memorial to the 8372…
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A storybook neo-Moorish striped facade makes the triangular Vijećnica (1896) Sarajevo's most beautiful Austro-Hungarian–era building. Seriously damaged…
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Reopened in 2018 after being destroyed during the war, Sarajevo's cable car once again shuttles people on a nine-minute ride, climbing 500m to a viewpoint…
5.44 MILES
During the 1992–95 siege, when Sarajevo was surrounded by Bosnian Serb forces, the only link to the outside world was an 800m-long, 1m-wide, 1.6m-high…
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1.47 MILES
Bosnia's biggest and best-endowed museum of ancient and natural history is housed in an impressive, purpose-built quadrangle of neoclassical 1913…
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1.55 MILES
Somewhat misleadingly named, this small yet engrossing museum occupies a striking, still partly war-damaged 1960s socialist-modernist building originally…
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The 1537 Kuršumlija Madrasa building is distinctive for its pointed chimneys and the lead roof from which it takes its name. Although built as a religious…
Nearby Sarajevo attractions
This ornamental drinking fountain, looking more like an enclosed oriental gazebo, dates from 1891 and marks the centre of Baščaršija's central square.
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Sitting behind a curtain of mature trees and a triple-arched porch, this elegant octagonal mosque has been providing solace within the bustle of the…
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While the final form of this outwardly austere stone church dedicated to the archangels Michael and Gabriel dates to 1730, it was founded considerably…
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Built in 1551 as a silk-trading bazaar, this elegant two-storey building is topped with six green-metal domes and encircled by shops. It's now a branch of…
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Bosnia's second Ottoman governor, Gazi Husrev-beg, funded a series of splendid 16th-century buildings, of which this 1531 mosque, with its 45m minaret, is…
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The 1537 Kuršumlija Madrasa building is distinctive for its pointed chimneys and the lead roof from which it takes its name. Although built as a religious…
0.12 MILES
A storybook neo-Moorish striped facade makes the triangular Vijećnica (1896) Sarajevo's most beautiful Austro-Hungarian–era building. Seriously damaged…
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This elegant stone tower sports an Islamic prayer clock, which is adjusted daily so that dusk is the moment when the hands appear to show 12 o'clock. It…