Snapshot: Novi Sad, Serbia

Snapshots are mini town/city guides for smaller places or cities I have only experienced briefly. Here’s a little snapshot of Novi Sad.

Downtown Center

What are one’s first impressions of Novi Sad?

With a population of just over 250,000, Novi Sad is a lot more laid back than the capital. It’s small, but it’s got a thriving bar scene on the weekends and the venues are far superior for mingling than in Belgrade. Novi Sad is also a student city, so try get there during term. The fortress side of the river is a nice place to stay and is pretty in a ye auld Saxon kind of way, but it’s a 20 minute walk from the action—unless you go during the world famous EXIT festival.

What are the women like?

Miss Novi Sad contestant

The standard of women in Novi Sad in lower than that of the capital. It’s a subtle decline and not as dramatic as, let’s say, going from Kiev to Lviv within Ukraine. The reason for this may be attributed to demographics. The city is only 78% Serb and is dragged down by less attractive ethnic groups like the Hungarians, the Slovaks, and the Croats. That said, the quality is still better than the vast majority of European cities.

Novi Sad girls are more approachable than those in Belgrade. They are a little less traditional and considered more liberal. Combine that with the slick bar scene and you got the perfect place to meet a nice local girl.

For more detailed information on the Serbian look and character, check out my city guide on Belgrade.

If you want to check out more Serbian beauties, click here.

Where should I go at night-time?

Novi Sad is not short of places to drink. Midweek in summer it was dead, but on the weekend, the choice became almost overwhelming. We spent a lot of time with locals and got a pretty comprehensive low down on the place. Avoid the abundance of café bars if you want meet people.

If it’s a weekend, a good place to warm up is on Katalicka Porta Square. There are loads of students and young people drinking cans on the street and there’s a good atmosphere. Grab a couple of cans in the offy nearby and get chatting.
Next, there is an “in the know” little cul-de-sac with 3 or 4 alternative bars. There is one cool Rakia bar there that does a great variety of delicious varieties of the local poison (try the honey). If you walk down the main pedestrian street, Zmaj Jovina, look out for a small arched lane way with a big “Pizza” sign over it.

Finally, the best street is a bar strip called Laze Telečkog. There are loads of bars here and all of them are well set up for mixing. This is the place to be.

Note: I only speak form my experience. The midweek scene may be different in the winter when students are about.

Laze Telečkog

Any other recommendations/advice?

We stayed at an amazing duplex owned by Fortress apartments. They have BBQ facilities. The first night we invited groups of cute girls over for a BBQ / house the next night. 9 girls showed up and it was the best night of our trip.

We were also able to score 10 grams of weed for €90 on Katalicka Porta Square. It was busy as it was a Friday and we got our hands on it in only 30 mintues.

Bottom Line

Definitely worth checking out, but go during the weekend.

RELATED CONTENT :

The Novi Sad/Belgrade Discussion thread.