Skopje is among Europe's most entertaining and eclectic small capital cities. While an expensive and rather kitschy government construction spree has sparked controversy in recent years, Skopje's new abundance of statuary, fountains, bridges, museums and other structures built to encourage a national identity has visitors' cameras snapping like never before and has defined the ever-changing city for the 21st century.
Yet plenty survives from earlier times – Skopje's Ottoman- and Byzantine-era wonders include the 15th-century Kameni Most (Stone Bridge), the wonderful Čaršija (old Turkish bazaar) where you can get lost for hours, Sveti Spas Church, with its ornate, hand-carved iconostasis, and Tvrdina Kale Fortress, Skopje's guardian since the 5th century.
Ploštad MakedonijaSQUARE
Fronted by a Triumphal Arch, this square is the centrepiece to Skopje's audacious nation-building-through-architecture project and has massive statues dedicated to national heroes in it. The towering, central 'Warrior on a Horse' is bedecked by fountains that are illuminated at night.
Holocaust Memorial Center for the Jews of MacedoniaMUSEUM
This moving museum commemorates the all-but-lost Sephardic Jewish culture of Macedonia through a range of photos, English-language wall texts, maps and video. The display documents the Jewish community's history in Macedonia, beginning with their expulsion from Iberia and ending in WWII, when some 98% of Macedonian Jews (7144 individuals in total) perished in the Holocaust.
Museum of the City of SkopjeMUSEUM
Occupying the old train station building where the stone fingers of the clock remain frozen in time at 5.17am – the moment Skopje's great earthquake struck on 27 July 1963 – this museum is unsurprisingly focused on that horrific event, and the display includes video footage and photos of the immediate aftermath. It's a moving display about an event that left 1070 people dead.
Memorial House of Mother TeresaMUSEUM
This extraordinarily ugly and frankly bizarre, retro-futuristic structure contains a display of memorabilia relating to the famed Catholic nun of Calcutta, born in Skopje in 1910. Look out for the Mother Teresa quotations on plaques around the city centre as well.
ČaršijaNEIGHBOURHOOD
Čaršija is the hillside Turkish old town of Skopje and evokes the city's Ottoman past with its winding lanes filled with teahouses, mosques, craftsmen's stores, and even good nightlife. It also boasts Skopje's best historic structures and museums, and is the first place any visitor should head. Čaršija runs from the Stone Bridge to the Bit Pazar, a big, busy vegetable market purveying bric-a-brac, household goods and anything random. Expect to get pleasantly lost in its maze of narrow streets.
Sveti Spas ChurchCHURCH
Partially underground (the Turks banned churches from being taller than mosques), this church dates from the 14th century and is the most historically important in the city. Its dark interior boasts a stunning wood-carved iconostasis 10m wide and 6m high, built by early-19th-century master craftsmen Makarije Frčkovski and brothers Petar and Marko Filipovski. It's rather tricky to find as its sunken design means it doesn't really look like a church from the outside.
Tvrdina Kale FortressFORTRESS
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 and its ramparts offer great views over city and river. Inside you'll find various archaeological finds from neolithic to Ottoman times.
Museum of Contemporary ArtMUSEUM
Definitely a highlight of Skopje, this excellent museum is housed in an impressive building at the top of a hill with wonderful city views and an extraordinarily good collection for a city of Skopje's size. The museum was formed in the aftermath of the devastating 1963 earthquake, with artists and collections around the world donating works to form a collection that now includes works by Picasso, Léger, Hockney, Alexander Calder, Jasper Johns, Meret Oppenheim, Christo and Bridget Riley.
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