Things to Do in Novi Sad
Since it was my third time going to Belgrade, I decided to find some time and finally take the Novi Sad tour. Interestingly, I also had a feeling like maybe I shouldn’t go. I guess I should have listened to that feeling because I don’t think it’s necessarily a must-see place, but of course, if you’re staying in Belgrade for more than a few days, it can be worth a visit. Even though I couldn’t visit everything in the guide, I added recommendations from our Belgrade friends in the group. For those who haven’t read my Belgrade post yet, I was in Belgrade this time for a spotters meetup of the Spottedbylocals travel app, where I’m also a writer.
As for my first impressions of Novi Sad, it’s a quieter city compared to Belgrade. The colorful small houses give it a more charming vibe compared to Belgrade’s old apartment buildings. The usual city layout we’re familiar with — a main square with a church and cafes around it — is also present here.
How to Get to Novi Sad?
Based on locals’ recommendations, I took a train from Belgrade Train Station (Prokop). The tram (numbers 40 and 41) from my hotel to the train station was very crowded, and I regretted not taking a taxi. Also, unfortunately, Maps doesn’t give accurate public transportation times in Belgrade. They mostly use Moovit to track times and vehicles, as explained by two Serbian youngsters who helped me with the train. There’s a ticket office inside the train station, and you can use a credit card at the ticket office in Belgrade, but oddly, even though there’s a POS terminal in Novi Sad, they only allowed cash. You can also buy tickets from machines using a card.
One of the trains is a slow train, taking about 55 minutes, and the other is a fast train (Coko) that takes 36 minutes. The price difference is nearly double. Due to the timing, I took the slow train to get there and the fast one to return. The fast train only stops at New Belgrade, while the slow one passes through several stations. (You can check the timetable here.) With the slow train, you can also visit the town of Sremski, which locals said is small but lovely.
It’s about a 30-minute walk from the Novi Sad train station to the city center. You can also take buses to the center from the bus stop in front of the train station, but Maps doesn’t offer transportation suggestions here, unfortunately.
There’s also the option to travel to Novi Sad by bus, but I didn’t try that. Additionally, you can purchase tours through apps like GetYourGuide.
Places to Visit in Novi Sad
Since I didn’t want to waste much time, I didn’t do a detailed tour. Also, since it was Monday, unfortunately, the museums were closed.
First, I head to the main square. The Name of Mary Catholic Church greets me in the square. Although it looks grand from the outside, it’s one of those churches with a simple interior. Right across from the church is the Town Hall, with a statue of Svetozar Miletic, one of Serbia’s important figures who once served as the mayor of Novi Sad, standing in front of it. Behind the church is the Saint-George’s Cathedral, though I didn’t go inside. It wasn’t a large cathedral like the others in Europe.
A bit further from the church, there are stores lined up side by side. I happened to go into an H&M, and I’m glad I did because there’s a beautiful painting on the ceiling as you go upstairs, with exquisite detailing and a lovely door. I’m undecided whether this H&M or the one in Barcelona is the most beautiful.
On the other side of this street, cafes and restaurants are lined up across from each other. Despite it being Monday, they weren’t empty. At the end of the cafes, there’s a religious building called Vladicanski Dvor. I’m not sure if you can go inside, but it looked like a pleasant building from the outside.
There’s also a market set up in Republic Square. Near Republic Square, I saw many people sitting in front of an ice cream shop called Chocolato, so I checked its rating, and it was quite high. The ice cream scoops were large; I got one scoop of hazelnut and one scoop of banana. The banana had a strange smell, so I couldn’t eat it, but the hazelnut was excellent.
One of the places on my list but which was closed when I went was the Museum of Modern Art, also located near the river and recommended by locals. I was a bit disappointed to miss it. Opposite the museum is Dunavski Park, which is a lovely spot to rest, with a small pond in the middle. There’s also a monument next to the pond, though I’m not sure of its significance. At one of the exits of this park, there’s a small coffee shop called Izlet, recommended by our Belgrade friend. When I went, there were a few people in line, and since I would have had to wait, I skipped it. There’s not much outdoor seating, so you can take your coffee and relax in the park. Locals also recommended the Galerija Matice Srpske, but it was also closed on Monday. Svilara, which has been converted from a silk dyeing factory into a cultural and art space, hosts concerts, performances, and exhibitions. You can follow the exhibitions and events there.
From here, I walked down to the riverside and crossed over the bridge to Petrovaradin. The girls I met on the train said the view of Novi Sad from the fortress here was beautiful. Despite the heat, I climbed up to the fortress. The surroundings of the fortress are nice, with seating areas, but I’m not sure how impressive the view is.
I had an iced Americano at a place called SAT in one of the cafes on the fortress. It came with a side of Turkish delight for the first time, but despite being up high, it wasn’t very breezy, unfortunately. The prices weren’t much different from the city center, despite being a tourist spot, thankfully.
Although I wasn’t overly impressed by the view from the fortress, the colorful houses on this side were nice, and there were also tourist vendors around the fortress. You can take photos of the tile-covered roofs of Petrovaradin from the steps.
Those who had visited before also suggested going to the beach (Strand), where there are nice cafes along the river, but I didn’t have time because I didn’t want to walk any more or miss the train during rush hour. So, I walked back to the train station. On the way back, I stopped by a bakery called Evropa near the station to get a cheese pastry, but the woman gave me almost three portions without asking, and the bottom was burned, unfortunately. 🙁
Although I couldn’t go, here are some restaurants locals recommended: Kuca Mala, Atrium Hamam’s rooftop, Spajz, and Ribarac.
