Hotels near Zemun Old Town and Gardos Tower

Zemun feels like a different city. Until 1918 it sat inside the Austro-Hungarian empire while Belgrade proper was Ottoman - and the Danube between them was the frontier. The pastel-coloured Habsburg townhouses, the neat river promenade and the Baroque church spires still declare that heritage. The Zemun quay (Kej Oslobodjenja) is Belgrade's most popular waterfront strip, packed with fish restaurants like Saran at number 53 and a paved cycle path that reaches Ada Ciganlija in one hour.

Above the old town rises Gardos Hill, crowned by the 36-metre Sibinjanin Janko Tower - officially the Millennium Tower, built by Budapest in 1896 to mark 1,000 years of Hungarian statehood. The climb up Grobljanska cobbled lane past the 1745 Nikolajevska Church takes 10 minutes and the view from the top platform covers the confluence of the Sava and Danube, the fortress, New Belgrade and the Pancevo bridge. Salas 034 restaurant at Sindjeliceva 34 does the classic Vojvodina slow-cooked lamb (Monday-Saturday 13:00-23:00, Sunday 10:00-22:00).

Pro Tip: Come at 18:00 in summer for sunset from Gardos Tower, then walk down to Kej Oslobodjenja for grilled Danube fish at Saran. Return by bus 15 to Zeleni Venac (25 minutes) or by taxi for around 700 RSD.