Highlights of Southeast Europe

(Serbia, FYR Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro)

Day one

Arrival at Belgrade airport, welcome and transfer to the hotel.

Optional evening boat tour "Belgrade from rivers".

Day two

Belgrade - sightseeing tour (same as in Grand Tour 1)

Day three

Today, you will enjoy a full day excursion outside Belgrade. You will travel along the Danube and visit the Grgeteg monastery. Later, continue to Sremski Karlovci. After a visit of the old town including the Patriarchate, Lady of Peace Chapel (Kapela Mira), Karlovac High School and the cathedral, you will visit a local wine cellar and enjoy a wine tasting.

Day four

Our first stop is in Topola the birth place of Serbian royal family Karadjordjevic and we will visit their memorial church.

In Kragujevac we will visit Museum of WWII and continue to visit the World Heritage Site of Studenica Monastery considered to be the crowning achievement of medieval culture and art in Serbia.

Skopje is not only the capital but also the largest city in the Republic of Macedonia. Our exploration of this historical city starts with a walking tour the old part of the town, where lies the Stone Bridge - a symbol of Skopje. Here we visit some of the marvels which include the Church St Spas, (famous for its marvelous iconostas from 17^th c), the Old Bazaar, Fortress Kale (with walls dating back from the 6^th c), Mustapha Pasha Mosque, Daut Pasa Bath (a masterpiece of Islamic civil architecture from the 15^th c). Overnight in Skoplje.

Day five

Continuing to Ohrid, we cross the National Park of Mavrovo with its majestic lake, river, gorges and waterfalls and culminate the day with a visit to the Monastery of Sv Jovan Bigorski, famous for its iconostasis carved in wood and by its particular nice location on the slope of the mountain. The old part of the town was known in ancient times as Lychnidos, the City of Lights. Slavs gave it the name of Arida in the 10^th c, and it became a major center of culture and art for this area. It is the cradle of Slavic written language and literature, from where the alphabet called Cyrillic was created by the two brothers Cyril and Methody. Ohrid is also known as the "City of 365 churches" and we visit, not all, but the most important ones. Visiting Tsar Smuili  fortress from the 10^th c, St Kliment from the 13^th c, St Sophia from the 11^th c, and St Panteleimon from the 9^th c, we culminate the tour of Ohrid with a walk through the local bazaar.

Day six

Before crossing into Albania, we visit the famous Monastery of Sv Naum. We go around Lake Ohrid and enter Albanian before arriving Berat. Berat is known as a "city of one thousand windows", and is a declared as a museum city. Within its walls there are dwelling houses and the Onufri Museum, with paintings by this outstanding painter from the 16^th c, as well as paintings from his son Nikola. In the old part of the town we visit several Byzantine churches.

Day seven

We drive from Berat to Durres Albaniaa second largest city and one of its oldest town. Legend has it was founded by the Illyrian King, Epidamnos, who called it by his own name and named the port after his grandson, Dyrrah. It was for centuries the largest port on the Adriatic and got back into world highlights when in 1939, the Italian troops met brief but fierce resistance, and those killed defending it are now regarded as the first martyrs of the War of National Liberation. Our visit here includes the Roman amphitheatre and, time permitting, the archaeological museum. We visit the Roman Baths behind the Aleksander Moisiu Theatre on the central square. We then drive to the capital city of Tirana relatively a new town, founded in 1614 located on the site of a Byzantine fortress. Tirana has been the capital of Albania since 1920 and lies at the foot of Dajti Mountain. Our vist here includes the Skanderbeg Squared in the centre of the town, the 1789 old Mosque of Ethem Bey, the 1830 Clock Tower and the Palace of Culture housing the Opera. Overnight.

Day eight

Kruja was the centre of the 15^th c. Albanian resistance under Skanderbeg against Ottoman Turks. The street leading up to the castle is built in the style of a Turkish bazaar. Shkoder, in Illyrian times known as Scondra one of the oldest cities in Europe and the traditional centre of the Gheg cultural. Shkodra is rich with historical monuments, including the old Illyrian Rozafa Castle, Mesi Bridge. We take a scenic drive alongside Lake Skadar to the Montenegrin coast to Budva. Budva is a medieval town - definitely the most attractive tourist place on the Riviera.

Day nine

Morning sightseeing of Boka Kotorska Bay, lunch and transfer to airport or departure to Dubrovnik with possible extension for stay in Dubrovnik.