As convivial as a rakija toast – and at times just as carousing – Novi Sad is a chipper town with all the spoils and none of the stress of the big smoke. Locals sprawl in pretty parks and outdoor cafes, and laneway bars along pedestrian thoroughfare Zmaj Jovina, which stretches from the town square (Trg Slobode) to Dunavska street, pack out nightly.
Petrovaradin CitadelFORTRESS
Towering over the river on a 40m-high volcanic slab, this mighty citadel (tvrđava) is aptly nicknamed 'Gibraltar on the Danube'. Constructed with slave labour between 1692 and 1780, its dungeons have held notable prisoners including Karađorđe (leader of the first uprising against the Turks and founder of a dynasty) and Tito. Have a good gawk at the iconic clock tower: the size of the minute and hour hands are reversed so far-flung fishermen can tell the time.
Within the citadel walls, a museum offers insight (sans English explanations) into the site's history. The museum can also arrange tours (300DIN) of Petrovaradin's creepy – but cool – underground passageways.
Museum of VojvodinaMUSEUM
This museum houses historical, archaeological and ethnological exhibits. Building 35 covers Vojvodinian history from Palaeolithic times to the late 19th century. Building 37 takes the story to 1945 with a harrowing emphasis on WWI and WWII.
The Petrovaradin Citadel is stormed by thousands of revellers each July during the epic EXIT Festival. The first festival in 2000 lasted 100 days and galvanised a generation of young Serbs against the Milošević regime. The festival has been attended by the likes of Chemical Brothers, Gogol Bordello and Patti Smith...and an annual tally of about 200,000 merrymakers.
The bus station (Bul Jaše Tomića) has regular departures to Belgrade (520DIN, one hour, every 10 minutes) and Subotica (600DIN, 1½ hours), plus services to Užice (1120DIN, five hours) and Zlatibor (1300DIN, six hours). From here, four stops on bus 4 will take you to the town centre: nip down the underpass and you'll see Trg Slobode on emerging.
Frequent trains leave the train station (Bul Jaše Tomića 4), next door to the bus station, for Belgrade (288DIN, 1½ hours) and Subotica (384DIN, 1½ hours).
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