Belgrade Passport is not just another guidebook, it’s an adventure through Belgrade – one you craft yourself.It’s an invitation to citizens and visitors alike to discover the city through walking, socializing, and having fun – a call to collectors who enjoy gathering ‘trophies’ (stamps) and uncovering the hidden gems of the city.
Throughout the journey across galleries, institutions, courtyards, and streets that preserve the spirit of Belgrade, at each of the 10 selected locations, one stamp is waiting for you – some of them you’ll find with ease, others will require you to ask around.
At the Europe House, on the corner of Knez Mihailova and Zmaj Jovina Street you pick up your passport, get the first stamp and uncover your first story. You write your name in the passport, start with your walk, and get ready to hear what the city has to tell you. From there, the journey is yours to shape—choose the order in which you visit the locations, how often you return, and what discoveries you make along the way. Each stamp can be placed anywhere on the page dedicated to that location.
When you collect all the stamps – the real adventure begins. Bring your completed passport to the Europe House until December 15,your passport will be ‘canceled’ and you will earn the chance to win one of the interesting rewards.
The Europe House
Entering the Europe House feels like visiting
a relative you don’t see every day, but you know
you share the same roots. A blue flag hangs
on the wall, but the roof is still unmistakably
Belgrade’s. Inside, the talk is about trade,
digitalization, education – things that may sound
complicated until they’re translated into the
simplest question: “How do we live better?”
Belgrade doesn’t come here as a student, but
as a partner with a question, an idea, and a cup
of coffee or tea in hand. The European Union
serves here as a compass, and sometimes as
a mirror.
Open to All
The Europe House is a place where culture never
stands still – it’s where people think, discuss,
perform, and create. Explore exhibitions,
attend plays and performances. Listen in on
panels about sustainability, women in sports,
cultural heritage and science, as well as
business and diversity. Discover Books at the
Center, stay for Film Friday, or come back for
a children’s workshop. Find, watch, discuss –
the doors are always open.
French Cultural Center
At the entrance to the French Institute,
Belgrade tips its hat. In the Union building, behind
glass and books, there’s a scent of Paris –
not the one from postcards, but the one that
speaks slowly and reads aloud. Here, everyone
has tried at least once to learn French out of
love, for a film, or simply out of stubbornness.
An evening at the Institute doesn’t begin with
wine – it begins with an idea. Exhibitions hang
on the walls, philosophy fills the halls, and in the
corridors there is a silence that knows how to
listen. Belgrade and Paris don’t meet here from
a distance – they meet like old friends who
don’t agree on everything, but never skip dinner
together. Once you’ve collected your stamp,
stop by Kalemegdan to see the Monument of
Gratitude to France: a work by Ivan Meštrović
that symbolizes the long friendship between
the two nations.
Je l’aime, je vis
In the heart of the Union building, the French
Institute is not a place where culture is merely
shown – it’s where it happens. Film caravans,
Molière Days, comic book and digital festivals,
Teatroskop, and francophone music – all open,
dynamic, and accessible. Here, people of all ages
learn the language, in classrooms and online.
French courses, bilingual education programs,
and official exams (DELF, DALF, and TCF levels)
are part of everyday life. The Institute is also
a space for debates on contemporary issues
and a partner in major scientific projects. With
its network of media libraries and the digital
platform Culturethèque, learning and inspiration
are always within reach. Join in, choose a topic,
learn something new – or simply stay longer
than you planned.
Belgrade University Rectorate
Today, this building houses the Rectorate of the
University of Belgrade – rooted in the past,
yet turned toward the future. On its façade,
an inscription reads: “Miša Anastasijević to his
homeland.” And that says it all. In that single
sentence lives a time when people believed
that education could safeguard the state better
than an army. The building does not shout,
but it speaks to anyone who knows how to
read between the lines. It does not seek to
charm, but to remind: that enlightenment is not
measured by a diploma, but by responsibility.
That European values do not come from outside
– they are renewed from within. And that the
strongest foundation of a nation is a book,
not stone.
Dositej Obradović
When Dositej arrived in Belgrade, he spoke of
Paris, Halle, and London, and of Europe’s great
voices of the Enlightenment. Back in 1808,
when Belgrade was still a small town on the
banks of the Sava and Danube, he founded
the Great School, which later grew into the
University of Belgrade, formally established
in 1905. From the ideals of the Humboldt
model of free learning and research to the
Bologna Process that still connects Europe’s
universities today, the city became part of
a community where knowledge means freedom.
More than 90,000 students learn, explore, and
create here, their University ranking among the
top 1.9% in the world. In Students’ Park, across
from the Rectorate, stands Dositej’s monument,
reminding passersby of his pledge: “The
education of youth is the thing most needful
and most beneficial unto man in all the world.”
Yugoslav Film Archive
A calm waiting lingers in the Film Archive. For
the frame that looks back at the viewer, for the
face that reminds us of someone we’ve never
met, for the darkness that is not darkness at
all, but a key to understanding. The archive –
now digital – preserves not only films, but also
the silence between the spoken words. Each
screening is a ritual, every seat in the hall an
invitation to become part of the film. With the
support of the EU, film reels have been digitized,
yet the spirit of burning celluloid still lives on in
the eyes of the audience. The Archive is a place
where reality pauses – so that life can go on.
Through the Film Reel of Time
Every day except Monday, the Film Museum is
open – with exhibits that include a 19th-century
panorama, Edison’s kinetoscope, and cameras
that changed the history of moving pictures.
Upstairs you’ll find the faces and stories of our
cinema. In the same building, you can watch
restored classics, the nitrate film festival, and
forgotten gems, while conversations with
filmmakers open a new chapter of cinematic
creation. The Olga Dobrović Library, with its
23,000 titles, is open to everyone. At the
Cinematheque, time flows backward, forward,
and in circles, while preserving more than
100,000 films, original reels, posters, and
costumes. Seize the chance to watch a missed
classic – or discover a film you never knew
existed. The Cinematheque doesn’t return you
to the past – it shows it from a new perspective.
Goethe-Institut Belgrade
Experience Germany – through learning,
culture, and encounters
In the very heart of Belgrade, on the pedestrian
stretch of Knez Mihailova Street, stands
the Goethe-Institut: a place where you can
experience the world of the German language
and explore themes shaping contemporary
German society. Here, you can browse – or lose
yourself – in a library of several thousand books,
visit exhibitions by renowned artists such
as Dunja Trutin, Tanja Ostojić, or Milica Dukić,
listen to live readings by authors like Andrea
Grill, join discussions on the works of Jenny
Erpenbeck and Thomas Mann, watch the latest
German films at GoetheFEST, or simply enjoy
a coffee while chatting in a language you’re just
beginning to learn – or already speak fluently.
Willkommen
The Goethe-Institut offers German language
courses for all ages and levels, as well as events
that bring together art, contemporary topics,
and people from across Europe. In programs such
as language cafés, art cafés, or literary cafés,
German is not learned only from books – but
through experience, conversation, and exchange.
From Belgrade to Berlin, the Goethe-Institut
connects ideas, cities, and people. Everyone is
welcome – whether you come for the language,
the culture, or simply out of curiosity.
Instituto Cervantes
Housed in the former Zora Palace – a cultural
monument and witness to Belgrade’s rich history
– this cultural center is known as the
go-to Spanish spot in Serbia’s capital. Right
in the heart of the city, many Belgraders took
their first steps in learning Spanish here, while
Spanish artists brought the vibrant spirit of
Andalusia, the Pyrenees, Barcelona, Madrid, the
Mediterranean, and the Atlantic, leaving their
mark on Belgrade. The Cervantes Institute
officially opened in Belgrade in December 2004.
For the past twenty years, it has been dedicated
to celebrating the shared language and
cultural heritage of Spain and other Spanishspeaking
countries.
Cuenta con nosotros
At the Cervantes Institute, Spanish is not
learned only from dictionaries – it is discovered
through encounters with different cultures,
through exchange, film, music, and more. Along
with courses in the heart of Belgrade and
online classes, this is where the doors to the
Spanish language open, where internationally
recognized DELE exams are held. The José Hierro
Library is a meeting place for book lovers, but
also for board games, workshops, and themed
clubs. This autumn and winter, the Cervantes
Gallery will host the exhibition “Ivo Andrić and
Spain”, alongside numerous concerts and book
launches. If you’re curious about life in Spain
as lived by people from Serbia, listen to the
podcast “My Spanish Story”. Step in, listen, take
part... we’re here for you!
Belgrade Sales Gallery
Kosančićev Venac is a historic slice of Belgrade
where traces of time and art, destruction
and renewal, are still visible. Once, a view
toward Zemun meant looking toward Europe.
In this elevated part of the city, Austria was
continuously present – not only as a neighbor,
conqueror, and defender, but also through the
values that helped shape the city. Today, the
Austrian and French embassies stand in this
quarter. Kosančićev Venac breathes art – from
the studios of the Academy of Fine Arts to the
galleries, every section carries its own story.
On every street corner, you’ll meet young people
creating or searching for inspiration for their
next project. In an early 20th-century building,
you’ll find the Belgrade Sales Gallery. Explore
this gathering place for artists and art lovers to
discover your stamp.
Kosančićev Venac
As the oldest preserved quarter of Belgrade,
Kosančićev Venac was the first urban area
built outside the walls of Kalemegdan, where
you can still see remains of the city’s earliest
suburb – Roman settlements and necropolises
of Singidunum. The cobblestones underfoot
carry traces of the past, while the view of
the river, bridges, and horizon paints a picture
of a city in constant change. Greet Mika Alas,
mathematician and passionate fisherman, whose
monument stands across from the house at
Kosančićev Venac 22, where he lived and died.
Here once stood the National Library, destroyed
in the 1941 bombing, its remains still awaiting
a memorial center. At the beginning of the
street, built into the facade of a 19th-century
house, stands a bust of Ivan Kosančić, the
legendary Serbian knight, returned to its place
in 2018 after renovation – preserving tradition
and the memory of the struggle for freedom.
Gospodar Jevrem Street
In the shadows of its old shops begins a history
of encounters not written in books – yet still
carrying the scent of the Balkans. A Turkish
soldier, a Serbian boy – and the destiny of
these lands was changed at the crossroads
of Jevremova and Dobračina. For decades,
trade and politics blended here, quietly and
unobtrusively, leaving their marks day by day
– on faces, buildings, and borders. Even today,
as people hurry between the gardens of cafés
and restaurants, Belgrade remembers. It’s all
still here: commerce, dialogue, and the destinies
that once met and parted.
Blatobran Gallery
No city quarter is as dynamic as Dorćol, a historic
gathering place and source of inspiration for
great Serbian and international authors. Art is
still alive here today. On Gospodar Jevremova
Street, at the crossroads with Kapetan Mišina,
stands the former Belgrade branch of the
First Danube Steamship Company, founded in
Vienna. This 1926 building – also known as the
Hungarian House – is now home to the Cultural
institution Parobrod (steamship). Across the
street is the Blatobran Gallery, run by an art
collective that since 2007 has brought together
ceramicists, designers, and other artists,
inviting them to create, research, and exchange
ideas. In Blatobran, new concepts are born –
from socially engaged design to art installations
– and every workshop becomes an opportunity
for innovation and dialogue. Look for your stamp
here and explore unique ceramic artifacts.
Kula Gallery, Cetinjska street
In this gallery, art doesn’t ask for permission,
nor does it wait for applause. Cetinjska street
brings improvisation through graffiti, craft beer
taps, and signature cocktails, while the hum of
an exhibition is never far away. Among the
worndown industrial buildings and “cool” bistros, it
feels as if Belgrade has stepped beyond rules
and order. Here, art makes its own rules. No
abstractions, no pretenses. And those paintings
hanging on the wall? They’re not just paintings
– that’s Belgrade answering questions no one
has asked.
Creative Zaokret
In the industrial quarter of the old brewery –
one of the first in the city to use electric power
– Kula Gallery keeps alive the spirit of creativity
and artistic freedom. The brewery’s founder was
Ignjat Bajloni, a Czech who brought to Belgrade
the spirit of modern entrepreneurship. Today,
the nearby market bears his name. Kula Gallery
supports art projects, exhibitions, and socially
engaged initiatives, encouraging dialogue
between the local and European scenes. At
the same address, Cetinjska 15, you’ll also find
Zaokret – a café and creative community where
everyone can feel at home. Make a turn into
Zaokret: start with brunch, finish with craft beer
or cocktails – and don’t forget your stamp.
Data Commissioner’s Office
In the building where letters were once kept
before being sent, today arrive requests for
truth. The Commissioner for Information of
Public Importance and Personal Data Protection
– symbol of free access to vital information and
safeguarding of personal data – now sits in
a place with many pasts: post and telegraph
office, carrier of love letters and pension checks,
even a center of surveillance. It is no coincidence.
Where trust was once measured by the weight
of an envelope, today the scales balance the
right to protect personal data through access,
review, and copies. But the building remembers.
Its walls know how information travels, where
it pauses, and who intercepts it. Transparency
in modern style with touches of academic
architecture – this is Belgrade in a new age.
Three Entrances to the Main Post
Office Palace
The Main Post Office Palace stands at the
crossroads of the social and political currents of
the interwar period. Built in 1930, it merges the
award-winning competition design of Croatian
architects Josip Pičman and Andreja Baranji.
Modern in style, with a façade of academic
classicism, its clock and monumental columns
evoke institutions that shaped the city. The
section facing King Alexander Boulevard once
housed the National Bank and today hosts the
Constitutional Court, while the central part on
Takovska Street has never changed its purpose
and still serves as the Main Post Office. Each
step reveals layers of institutional history, and
the building itself bears witness to power and
trust. Continue your walk around the palace
– perhaps your stamp is waiting at the Data
Commissioner’s Office.
Passport is developed with the support of EU Delegation in Serbia and Europe house as well as in collaboration with 10 institutions, galleries, and collectives across Belgrade. Through each location, the Belgrade Passport builds a bridge between Belgrade and Europe.
Concept designed by „Stamp Hunt“ creative team.
Inspired with love for Belgrade.
First edition, Autumn 2025.
