Niš – birthplace of Constantine the Great, Mediana and the Skull Tower

Niš is Serbia’s third-largest city and one of the oldest in the Balkans. The Romans called it Naissus, and around AD 272–280 it was the birthplace of Constantine the Great, the emperor who legalised Christianity and founded Constantinople. Just two and a half hours from Sofia, it makes a great day trip for history, good food and shopping.

What to see

Mediana – the remains of a luxurious 4th-century imperial residence on the edge of town, with floor mosaics, baths and colonnades under a protective roof.
Niš Fortress – an 18th-century Ottoman fortress built on Roman and Byzantine foundations. Inside are a park, cafés, a lapidarium and summer stages.
The Skull Tower (Ćele Kula) – a grim but powerful monument. After the Battle of Čegar in 1809, the Ottomans set the skulls of fallen Serbian rebels into a tower. Today it’s preserved inside a chapel.
Liberation Square and pedestrian Obrenovićeva Street – the heart of the city.
The Red Cross concentration camp – a Second World War memorial.

Food

Niš is the place to try Serbian grills: pljeskavica, ćevapi, vešalica and uštipci, with kajmak and ajvar. For breakfast, have burek with yoghurt.

Sukovo Monastery

On the way back, past Pirot, is Sukovo Monastery (Dormition of the Virgin) – a peaceful monastery with beautiful frescoes by a painter from Samokov. A perfect coffee stop.

Itinerary

8:00 – leave Sofia via Kalotina and Pirot.
11:00 – Mediana (about 1 h 30 min).
Lunch in central Niš.
Afternoon – the fortress, the square and the Skull Tower.
16:30 – head back, with coffee at Sukovo Monastery, reaching Sofia around 20:30.

Practical tips

Time zone – Serbia is 1 hour behind Bulgaria.
Currency – the Serbian dinar (RSD). Cards are widely accepted.
Roaming – Serbia isn’t in the EU, so mobile data can be expensive without a package.
In August the fortress hosts the Nišville jazz festival.