Podgorica, a city on the palm of your hand

You wish to be at the perfect place to start exploring Montenegro, the first ecological country in the world, known for its natural beauty, national parks, beautiful and warm people? Montenegrin Capital City, Podgorica, is such a place! Casually nestled in a valley bathed in five rivers, surrounded by vineyards and mountains close to Skadar Lake and Adriatic Sea, this city attracts people who love an active vacation and search for a perfect base for explorations.

Clock Tower by Ivan Mandic / Podgorica from air by Balsa Strugar / Millennium Bridge by Balsa Strugar

The hospitable city, which has changed its name five times during its turbulent history, will steal your attention with rich cultural content, perfect cuisine and selection of wines, but also with its very much alive nightlife. Podgorica enriches its variety through business, transit, excursion, sports-recreational and congress tourism, being the centre of all happenings. Here the winters are mild, while summers warm, with countless sunny days. The city itself has numerous outing areas, which are maximally used by lovers of fresh air and nature.

The bombings during the Second World War have destroyed much of Podgorica, but some cultural and historical monuments survived. You should always start your exploration from the heart of the city, Stara Varoš, where you can see the Turkish Mosque and the Clock Tower (Sahat kula) as witnesses of the ancient Ottoman Empire. Nearby bridge on the river Ribnica was founded by the Romans in the 5th century, while today it is visually complemented by the remains of Stefan Nemanja’s fortress.

If you are a fan of archaeology, do not skip the ancient city of Duklja on the slopes of Podgorica, an Illyrian fortress built 2000 years ago, with a necropolis and numerous tombs. Lovers of sacral buildings will enjoy exploring churches and monasteries, starting from the Church of St. George under the hill Gorica, after which the city was named. This church stands for over 900 years and is the oldest active church in Montenegro, while the most recent is the Church of Christ’s Resurrection from 1993, which is the largest Orthodox church.

Podgorica is home to the largest vineyard in Europe in a single complex. If you are a wine lover and wish to try some of the local products, be sure to visit the wine cellar of Plantaže Šipčanik. In the immediate vicinity of the vineyards stands a wonder of nature, Niagara Falls on the Cijevna River.

Duklja and Plantaze vineyard by Ivan Mandic

Festival by Nebojsa Medo Perkovic / Podgorica from air by Balsa Strugar / The Capital Plaza and CUE Podgorica by Vladimir Popovic

Montenegrin people are big sport fans and well-known rooters who have instilled fear in the bones of the visiting teams, countless times. Ideally positioned, the city offers sports fields, swimming pools, cycling trails, adventure park, running trails, outdoor gyms and recreational hills of Gorica and Ljubović.

The nightlife is ultra-popular. You will not only hear about the famous cafes, but specific streets to go out too. The city is divided into the old and the new centre, so you can choose to go out to the crowded and always cheerful Njegoševa and Bokeška street in the old centre, or focus on high fashion “point” around nearby Roman Square (Rimski trg) and The Capital Plaza – the largest business complex, with a shopping and leisure area and vivid restaurants and cafes such as the most famous in the city The Living Room.

Do you travel for business or to explore and enjoy? Over 40 hotels and similar accommodations in the city offer something for everyone, and the quality of the content is best illustrated by the reviews from the visitors coming from all over the world. They say that our hotel CUE Podgorica has been their number one choice and home of the said The Living Room.

Did you know that Montenegro is recognized as a country of painters? The most famous galleries are ULUCG, Museums and Galleries of Podgorica, and the Centre for Contemporary Art of Montenegro, which is located in the Petrović Castle in Kruševac Park, one of the most beautiful buildings and an unavoidable place for romantics. The Montenegrin National Theatre and KIC “Budo Tomović” are the two main performance centres, while the Montenegrin Symphony Orchestra is the most important musical ensemble. The citizens of Podgorica love culture, enjoying the most during the street, theatre and music festivals, especially in the spring and summer months, when the city lives to the fullest.

Podgorica has a special dynamic. During beautiful days, sunbathing with long coffee rituals and chatting about everyday topics, specific humour and obligatory discrete staring at passers-by, are an unavoidable sight. You will never be alone in this city. If you have trouble with the map, just look at the first passers-by. They will take your hand and walk you through, giving you too much information about the requested location on the way, and persuade you to go to a few more places or to other cities.

Because the Montenegrin people claim to live in the most beautiful country in the world and they like to brag about it. Well, you know the saying, “where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”

Unplug & Play!