Skopje, the eclectic capital city of North Macedonia, is enjoying a growing reputation as a budget-friendly European city packed with culture, great food and a wide range of activities – from museums to cable cars. The city’s story is told, in part, through its meandering architectural styles, with Ottoman-era mosques standing side-by-side with Yugoslav modernist masterpieces and neoclassical new builds.
We have been lucky enough to visit Skopje twice. Our first visit in 2015 was part of an adventure through the Balkans by bus, whilst our second visit in October 2023 saw us spending more time exploring smaller towns and cities in North Macedonia.
Based on our trips, here are our recommendations for the best things to do in Skopje. We’ve split these into morning, afternoon and evening activities – with more than enough to cover several days in the city.
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The best morning activities in Skopje
Mornings in Skopje are for strolling and relaxing. Whilst the city wakes up, grab a coffee and a burek and explore the modern corners of central Skopje. South of the Vardar River, you can find everything from busy bakeries to museums and memorials.
1) Admire the quirky architecture of the Skopje 2014 project
Best for: A glimpse of the city’s ambition
For the uninitiated, walking around Skopje’s city centre can be a confusing experience. Concrete apartment blocks stretch across the skyline like trees in a forest. Brutalist buildings stand opposite Ottoman-era mosques. A crumbling fortress stands tall above the river.
Along the river banks, an eclectic array of gleaming-white neoclassical buildings draw glances from photographers and, often, derision from locals. Along with dozens of statues of heroes from the region’s storied past, these buildings are the end-product of the gargantuan Skopje 2014 project.
The project was the brainchild of the government in the early 2010s, intended to thrust the city – and the country of North Macedonia – onto the world stage with dozens of new buildings and monuments.
The story of Skopje arguably began a few decades earlier, in 1963, when a devastating earthquake destroyed much of the city. In the years to come, much of the city was rebuilt with conventionally unattractive modernist architecture. Skopje 2014 was, therefore, seen as an opportunity to introduce more classical architecture to the city centre, as well as to celebrate Macedonian history via dozens of statues and monuments.
The fruits of the expansive, extensive project can be seen the moment you step foot in central Skopje – from the sweeping expanse of Macedonia Square to the opulent facade of the Archaeological Museum.
How to do it: Head to the banks of the Vardar River and admire the new buildings from the Bridges of Civilisation and Art.
2) Take a free walking tour
Best for: First-time visitors to Skopje.
One of the best ways to discover Skopje is by taking a free walking tour – and there’s one operator that stands head and shoulders above the rest.
Zoran and the Free Skopje Walking Tours team take you on a three-hour adventure around the city centre. From the winding streets of the old Ottoman bazaar to the history of the Macedonian Salad, the tour gives you the lowdown on Skopje and North Macedonia.
We highly recommend it, particularly if you have just arrived in Skopje. It’s a great way to learn about the city’s story and catch a glimpse of life in North Macedonia.
How to do it: To book a free walking tour, head to the Free Skopje Walking Tours website to check the latest times. There are currently two tours every day, one at 10am and the other in the afternoon – either 3pm or 5pm, depending on the time of year. To book your place, simply drop them an email using the address on the website. Don’t forget to bring some cash to tip at the end of the tour.
3) Stroll over the Stone Bridge
Best for: A walk through history.
Surrounded by the opulent buildings of the Skopje 2014 project, Skopje’s Stone Bridge is a small sliver of history stretched across the Vardar River.
The bridge connects the modern Macedonia Square with the old bazaar and dates back to the mid-1400s. Built by the Ottomans, it has historically been a site of executions – including the anti-Ottoman rebel Karpoch, who was executed in 1689.
Today, it remains a crucial artery for people navigating the city centre and is a microcosm of life in modern Skopje. People stop to take selfies against the backdrop of the archaeological museum. Sweetcorn sellers ply their wares at both ends, sweet smoke billowing into the air from the stalls.
Top tip: The Stone Bridge is one of the best photo spots in Skopje, with excellent views of the river and Macedonia Square.
4) Eat some burek
Best for: A hearty breakfast on the go.
A staple of every bakery and supermarket across North Macedonia and the Balkans, burek is the breakfast snack of choice for locals.
Crispy layers of wafter thin filo pastry containing ground meat or crumbly feta cheese. It’s greasy, filling and utterly marvellous. You can find burek in two varieties – sliced, like a cake, or in long, thin rolls. Both are delicious, but the rolls are arguably easier to eat.
You can buy burek from any bakery in Skopje. However, one of the most popular spots is Silbo, which is open 24 hours a day – except Sundays.
5) Have a coffee on Macedonia Street
Best for: A morning caffeine hit.
Skopje is packed with places to get a great coffee. Many of the best cafés are in the old bazaar. However, we think it’s worth spending a little time in the modern area of the city – particularly if you’re looking to grab a coffee.
Stretching from Macedonia Square to the earthquake museum, Macedonia Street is a classic jumble of apartment blocks, cafés and bars. It’s also home to the Mother Teresa Memorial House and the Church of Saint Constantine and Helena, which is seemingly under eternal construction.
With dozens of cafes and bars attracting lively groups at all times of day, we think Macedonia Street is one of the best spots in Skopje to grab your morning coffee. It’s the closest thing Skopje has to a street like Širok Sokak in Bitola – although, admittedly, it isn’t quite as good.
Make sure you try: Gorki is one of the best cafes on Macedonia Street, serving both coffee and beer. Their fries are a particular hit with locals.
6) Take a look around the Mother Teresa Memorial House
Best for: Learning the story of one of Skopje’s most famous citizens.
Once you’ve sipped your coffee, take a short stroll to the Mother Teresa Memorial House. The world-renowned nun is one of Skopje’s most celebrated figures. She was born in the city in August 1910 and lived there for 12 years before moving to India to begin her life of service to God.
The Memorial House commemorates Mother Teresa’s work. Opened in 2009 on the site of the church where she was baptised, it is now one of Skopje’s most popular attractions.
Inside, a small chapel still hosts intimate services, whilst an exhibition area tells the story of Mother Teresa’s life – from her childhood in Skopje to her Nobel Peace Prize-winning missionary work.
How to do it: The Mother Teresa Memorial House is open every day from 9am to 8pm (Monday to Friday) and 9am to 2pm (Saturday and Sunday). Entrance is free.
7) Visit the Museum of the City of Skopje
Best for: Getting an understanding of Skopje’s story.
26 July 1963 is perhaps the darkest day in Skopje’s recent history. At 5:17am, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck the city, killing over a thousand people and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless.
Much of the city was completely destroyed, requiring years of large-scale work to restore, rebuild and regenerate.
A few hundred metres from the Vardar River, the old train station building suffered heavy damage during the quake. The clock on the entrance is frozen in time – marking the exact moment the earthquake hit. Today, the building is home to the Museum of the City of Skopje.
Inside, you can learn about the city’s history – including the events of July 1963, with an exhibition dedicated to the earthquake and its aftermath.
How to do it: The museum is open from 9am to 5pm Tuesday to Saturday, and from 9am to 1pm on Sundays. It is closed on Mondays. Entrance is free.
8) Buy a book from one of the old kiosks
Best for: Bagging a bargain to read on the journey home.
Spend a little time in Skopje, and you can’t help but notice the myriad wooden kiosks piled high with row upon row of old books. These kiosks are a staple of the city, blending subtly into the background. In fact, it’s easy to miss them.
It’s worth having a browse, even if you can’t find a book that you like. Don’t be put off by the graffiti on the outside or the oft-surly owners. You never know what you might stumble across if you have a rummage around.
How to do it: The kiosks are scattered around the city, but there is a row of them by the Vardar River.
The best things to do during an afternoon in Skopje
After spending your morning exploring modern Skopje, fuelled by rich coffee and filling burek, we recommend turning your attention to the north side of the river. Here, Skopje’s storied past comes to life in a melee of cobbled streets, caravanseries and crumbling fortress walls.
9) Visit the Macedonian Holocaust Memorial Center
A stone’s throw from the Stone Bridge, the Macedonian Holocaust Memorial Center not only charts the horrific events of the Second World War, but also tells the broader stories of the Jewish population across the region.
Through extensive exhibits, artefacts and multimedia, the museum brings centuries of turbulent history to life in an informative and moving way. The material can be heavy-hitting, but the message it portrays is important.
How to visit: The Macedonian Holocaust Museum is open 9am to 7pm, Tuesday to Friday, and 9am to 3pm on Saturdays and Sundays. It is closed on Mondays.
10) Enjoy some lunchtime kebapi
Best for: A classic Balkan dish.
If you’ve burned off the burek and worked up an appetite, we recommend seeking another of Skopje’s classic dishes – kebapi.
Kepabi are small parcels of grilled minced meat served in portions of five or ten. Usually, you will eat your kebapi with some fresh bread and chopped onions.
To wash it down, we recommend keeping it simple. A classic Coca-Cola or Ayran (a fermented yoghurt drink) make for excellent accompanying drinks.
Where to eat kebapi in Skopje: There are countless grill houses dotted around Skopje, each serving its own twist on kebapi. The Old Bazaar is probably the best place in the city to try this famous dish. We particularly enjoyed the Rio grill house, located at the southern edge of the bazaar – great prices and excellent food.
11) Stroll the streets of Skopje’s Old Bazaar
Best for: The prettiest district in Skopje.
If there is one area of Skopje that we would happily return to again and again, it would be the Old Bazaar.
Historically, this was the centre of commerce during the Ottoman rule of Skopje. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of artisans and craftspeople would sell their goods among the narrow alleys.
Whilst most of the craftspeople have long gone, the Old Bazaar remains a centre of commerce. Hundreds of small businesses trade from the small stores – from clothing shops to silversmiths. Cafes and tea houses are also popular, with a few small areas entirely dedicated to food and drink.
How to do it: We recommend wandering without a map. You will stumble upon old caravanseries, ancient hammams, mosques and more. No matter where you end up, you are never far from the main street.
12) Visit the Church of the Ascension of Jesus
Best for: A few minutes of peace and stillness away from the noisy city.
At the top of the Old Bazaar stands a small Macedonian Orthodox church – the Church of the Ascension of Jesus. The church dates back to the Middle Ages, built during the Ottoman rule of Skopje.
The courtyard is an oasis of calm, blocking out the noise from the city beyond. Pomegranate trees grow in the corner, whilst the covered cloisters provide much-needed shade from the hot Balkan sun.
Today, it is one of the most important sites in Skopje. Visiting dignitaries often visit the courtyard to pay tribute to the grave of Gotse Delchev, a national hero who led an uprising against the Ottomans around the turn of the 20th century.
Inside the church itself, the painted walls and wooden carvings are remarkable. There is a small entrance fee, which is well worth paying.
How to do it: The Church of the Ascension of Jesus is open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
12) Take the cable car up Vodno Mountain to the Millenium Cross
Best for: Immense views of Skopje.
The Millennium Cross stands high above Skopje and offers magnificent views of the city. To reach it, you can hike nearly 1000 metres up the forested slopes of Vodno Mountain.
Most visitors, however, choose to take the cable car. The cable car starts a couple of hundred metres up the mountain and takes you on a pleasant ride above the treetops before dropping you next to the cross.
On a sunny day, you can see for miles across Skopje and beyond. There is a small cafe at the top, which is very popular on a warm summer weekend. Keen hikers can also set off from here to explore the rugged trails around Vodno.
How to do it: To reach the cable car base, take the 25 bus from central Skopje. A return trip on the cable car costs 100 MKD. Alternatively, hiking trails lead all the way to the summit from Skopje.
13) Watch a match at the Toše Proeski stadium
Best for: Anyone interested in football or sport.
Named after Toše Proeski, a celebrated singer from the city of Prilep whose life was tragically cut short in a car crash in 2007, Skopje’s national stadium hosts almost all of North Macedonia’s international football matches.
The stadium is also home to FC Vardar and FC Rabotnichki, who both play in the top division of the Macedonian football league.
How to do it: If you want to watch a match, the best way to get tickets is just to turn up at the stadium. Games in the Macedonian league are generally poorly attended, and you should be able to buy a ticket for around 100 MKD. European or International matches may be more popular and, therefore, more expensive.
How to spend your evening in Skopje
Having racked up a healthy step count while exploring Skopje, thoughts in the evening turn to golden sunsets and hearty dinners. Here are some of our favourite things to do during your evening in the city.
14) Watch the sunset from the Skopje Fortress
Best for: Golden hour
For those looking for a classic, sweeping view of Skopje, the Kale – fortress – is the place to be.
The fortress, which dates back to the 10th and 11th centuries in its current form, offers unbeatable views across both the Old Bazaar and Skopje’s modern city centre, as well as out towards the hills and mountains.
The fortress is popular at all times of day, but it can be particularly great at sunset. We recommend arriving one or two hours before the sun is due to set, which is when the light will be at its best.
Top tip: Try to time your visit to Skopje Fortress to coincide with the call to prayer. Carried on the wind from the nearby minarets, the call reverberates around the fortress, providing a magical soundtrack to a sunset stroll.
15) Have dinner at Old City House
Best for: A hearty meal in a buzzing atmosphere.
One of the most popular dinner spots for visitors to Skopje is the Old City House restaurant. In a quaint, historic building decked out in traditional Ottoman style, diners can enjoy a wide variety of classic Macedonian dishes.
Favourites here include lamb in a pot, baked pork ribs and the traditional Shopska and Macedonian salads – a staple of any good Macedonian meal. The restaurant can get very busy with both locals and tourists, creating an electric atmosphere, particularly on evenings with live music.
How to do it: Old City House is open until midnight, Monday to Saturday. It is closed on Sundays. During busy periods, we recommend making a reservation.
16) Have a beer at the Old Town Brewery
Best for: Beer lovers.
A welcome addition to the food and drink scene in the Old Bazaar, Old Town Brewery is a microbrewery that attracts a lively, international crowd.
The bar opened in 2009, and they have been serving their own craft beer since 2015. There are currently three different types of beer to sample – a Pilsner, an IPA and a Porter.
To help soak up the drink, the bar also offers an extensive food menu, with options ranging from meat-heavy mains to pizzas and burgers.
17) Go for cocktails at Owl
Best for: An impressive date-night spot in Skopje.
Across the river from the Old Bazaar, Owl serves Skopje’s best cocktails. The expert mixologists offer an extensive menu – from classics such as negronis to their own imaginative creations.
The atmosphere is relaxed and easy-going, with friendly service and a stylish interior. On sunny afternoons or warm, lazy evenings, their balcony – with views over the river – is the place to be.
Read next: Where to watch the sunrise in Ohrid.
18) Or have a çay and baklava in the heart of Skopje’s Old Bazaar
Best for: Living like a local in the Old Bazaar.
For a truly local experience on a warm evening in the Old Bazaar, head to the Lachi tearoom and see if you can bag one of their tables on the street. Order a coffee or Turkish tea, settle in and watch the world go by.
Across the road, the popular Mado Prom shop serves some of Skopje’s best baklava. The tearoom and the baklava shop have a partnership – operated via two-way radio. This means you can enjoy a drink from Lachi and a sweet treat from Mado Prom – a perfect way to spend an hour or two.
19) Stroll through Macedonia Square
Best for: A warm summer’s evening before heading home.
At the heart of Skopje, Macedonia Square comes into its own in the evenings. Groups of friends pack out the nearby cafés and bars. Joggers, cyclists, walkers – everyone crisscrosses the square on their way around the city.
When we visited, someone had brought a boom box. A small group danced, throwing out new moves for each track. Passers-by were encouraged, gently, to join in.
The statue of Alexander the Great towers over the scene, illuminated by powerful spotlights. If you haven’t already spent some time here, a warm evening is a great chance to enjoy the square.
If you have more time in Skopje…
For those lucky enough to have more time to explore Skopje, we think it’s worth exploring beyond the city centre. Therefore, our final advice would be:
20) Take a day trip
Best for: Anyone with time to see beyond the capital city.
Skopje is an excellent base for exploring the wider area. Thanks to the network of local buses, it is easy to escape the city on a day trip.
Popular options include a day trip to the nearby town of Tetovo, where a brightly coloured mosque draws hundreds of daily visitors.
Meanwhile, the Matka Canyon is the top choice for people seeking a sample of the great outdoors. You can easily reach the canyon by public transport using the 60 bus from the main station. However, plenty of operators provide guided tours to the Matka Canyon and beyond.
Some final hints and tips from our time in Skopje
From our experience exploring the city, here are a few final thoughts, hints and tips from us.
What’s the currency in Skopje?
The currency in Skopje is the North Macedonian Denar. You can check the latest exchange rates here.
What’s the best way to get around Skopje?
If you’re staying in central Skopje and are reasonably fit, the best way to get around is on foot. However, there is an excellent local bus network – you can buy a day ticket from the driver. This is particularly useful if you’re heading to the cable car or Matka Canyon.
What was your favourite thing to do in Skopje?
We loved the Old Bazaar. From tiny cafes to packed grill houses, we couldn’t get enough of the buzz as we wandered the tiny streets.
Did you feel safe when exploring Skopje?
We felt very safe, although we should say that we were rarely out late at night. Incidentally, we also found the area around the bus and train station to be fine – which isn’t always the case in European cities. As with any major town or city, you should take any necessary precautions.