Is Podgorica worth visiting, and what is there to do in Montenegro's capital?

Why the city looks the way it does

Podgorica was almost entirely destroyed by bombing during the Second World War and rebuilt as a functional Yugoslav capital. That is the single fact that explains the city: there is almost no historic fabric, and what stands is 20th-century.

The result is a place that photographs badly and lives well. Wide boulevards, a lot of concrete, a lot of green space between the blocks, and a population that spends its evenings in cafés rather than in a preserved centre.

For anyone interested in architecture, this is a genuinely rewarding city. Blok 5 and the surrounding neighbourhoods are a showcase of Yugoslav modernist housing — vast honeycomb concrete blocks set in open parkland. It is not picturesque, but it is specific, and it is disappearing elsewhere in Europe.

What to actually do

• Stara Varoš, the old town: the only Ottoman-era quarter to survive, with narrow lanes, old mosques and the Clock Tower (Sahat Kula).

• Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ: looks medieval, completed in the 21st century, with a heavily gilded interior. Look for the fresco of Tito, Marx and Engels in hell — it is real, and it is the most talked-about detail in the building.

• The bridges: the cable-stayed Millennium Bridge over the Morača, and Skaline, the old Ribnica river bridge with Roman origins, at the confluence.

• Gorica hill: a pine-covered park immediately above the centre, for a walk or a run and a view back over the city.

• Njegoševa Street and the downtown blocks: café territory. Montenegrins take coffee seriously and sit over it for hours; join them.

The day trips are the real reason to base here

Podgorica works as a hub, and this is its strongest argument:

• Lake Skadar National Park: 30 minutes south, Europe's largest lake, with boat trips, water lilies and serious birdlife. Reachable by road or train.

• Niagara Falls on the Cijevna river: 10 to 15 minutes out of the centre, a small waterfall and canyon good for swimming and riverside restaurants.

• Šipčanik wine cellar: the Plantaže winery operates out of a former underground military aircraft hangar, with millions of litres of wine stored in the tunnels. A genuinely strange and good tour.

• Dajbabe Monastery: a 19th-century Orthodox monastery built into a cave.

We finished our Montenegrin loop here in September 2023 after Kotor, Žabljak, Nikšić and Ulcinj, and two nights was the right amount — one for the city, one for Lake Skadar.

Who should skip it

Be honest about this: if you have three days in Montenegro and want coast and old towns, Podgorica is not where to spend them. Kotor, Budva and the bay are 1.5 to 2 hours away by road, and the capital will feel like a detour.

Skip it if you want a beach holiday, if you are travelling purely for medieval architecture, or if you have a tight itinerary and flights in and out of Tivat.

Come if you like untouristy cities, socialist and post-socialist urban history, cheap good food, or if you need a transport hub — the airport and the main rail and bus lines all converge here, which makes it the practical base for the country's interior.

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