To spherical out the remaining my Balkan international locations record, I lastly was in a position to go to North Macedonia (previously often known as simply Macedonia). It was the final nation on my record of former Yugoslavian nations. I’m a giant fan of the Balkans having visited Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina on one journey, and Slovenia on one other. Not solely are the folks extremely pleasant and charming, however the meals is true up my alley. As properly, the latest historical past of the Balkans is tragic however really fascinating for me.
North Macedonia was my final nation and I spent 5 days right here as a part of my South Balkans journey that included Albania and Kosovo as properly. I didn’t get to see every thing in Macedonia however did go to the highlights together with Lake Ohrid, Tetovo, and Skopje. If you’re planning a fast journey to the nation, I feel 4-5 days is sufficient to see every thing. To be trustworthy, I assumed Lake Ohrid and Skopje have been completely nice for a visit. When you’re into mountains and nature, I feel Albania is extra beautiful with their alps and lakes.
Macedonia and Greece
Previous to visiting to North Macedonia, I all the time thought it was unusual that Macedonia would willingly change their title and add a phrase to it. Why make your title longer whenever you already had it so good?
It seems that Macedonia can also be a province in Greece! It’s the northernmost province with Thessaloniki as its capital. It primarily borders the nation of North Macedonia. Nevertheless, as a result of it is part of Greece, the title of Macedonia was by no means contested. That’s till 2018 when North Macedonia made a push to affix the EU. They didn’t need to upset their Greek neighbors and adjusted their title so to focus on that Macedonia is not only the place modern-day North Macedonia lies.
Seems in Historical occasions, the Macedonian kingdom heralded by Philip (Alexander the Nice’s father) encompassed modern-day North Macedonia and the Greek province of Macedonia. It was solely centuries later that Slavs got here and settled in modern-day North Macedonia.
Tips on how to plan a visit in North Macedonia?
For this itinerary, I’ll focus totally on Lake Ohrid and Skopje. Structuring your journey is sort of easy as there are solely actually two locations. You may spend as little or as a lot time in every place as you need nevertheless it’s as much as you what sort of leisure ranges you need to obtain.
All flights will land in Skopje, the North Macedonia capital. This is likely one of the prettier capitals that I’ve seen, particularly after visiting Tirana and Pristina. I feel you want at the least one full day to see every thing so I’d allot at the least two nights to Skopje.
From Skopje to Lake Ohrid is 2.5 hours by bus or 2 hours by automotive. Inside Lake Ohrid, there are a couple of totally different highlights to see however most individuals base themselves within the city of Ohrid. This lovely lake facet city is unquestionably the spotlight of a visit to North Macedonia. It jogs my memory a little bit of Lake Como and is the proper place to chill out. I stayed in a gorgeous house proper on the hill which afforded me views of all the city.
I’d suggest 2-3 nights in Ohrid so you may see every thing and really feel relaxed.
North Macedonia Itinerary
A pattern N. Macedonia Itinerary can look one thing like this
Day 1: Arrive in Skopje
Day 2: Full day in Skopje
Day 3: Bus from Skopje to Ohrid
Day 4: Full day in Ohrid
Day 5: Full day in Ohrid
Day 6: Bus again to Skopje and flight house
Alternatively, you could possibly shorten this journey by merely spending much less time in Ohrid.
Hire a automotive or not?
When you’re solely visiting North Macedonia, I feel renting a automotive is private desire. If you wish to do quite a lot of mountaineering or exploring smaller cities then renting a automotive can be a superb transfer. In any other case, I don’t assume it’s mandatory since you’re solely going to the most well-liked locations.
If you’re eager to lease a automotive, the rental costs in North Macedonia are fairly low cost.
How a lot cash do I want for North Macedonia?
When you’re seeking to price range journey round a developed nation, then North Macedonia is your spot. Issues in North Macedonia, like neighboring Albania and Kosovo are very very reasonably priced. Costs for fundamental items like meals and alcohol is likely to be among the many most cost-effective I’ve seen.
The official foreign money is the Macedonian Dinar which is generally pegged 60 to 1 with the Euro. Euros and Dinars can be utilized interchangeably within the nation. When you do use Euros, you may anticipate to be paid again in Dinars.
The essential value for a scrumptious lunch of Kebapi at a neighborhood type restaurant is between 120-150 Dinars. A cocktail at a pleasant cocktail lounge in Skopje will likely be 200 to 250 Dinars. It’s also possible to anticipate to have a scrumptious dinner with drinks at a superb restaurant for 500 Dinars.
After all, the extra touristy locations like Ohrid will likely be dearer nevertheless it received’t break the financial institution that’s for certain.
Skopje Metropolis
Skopje is the North Macedonian capital. It’s doubtless any journey will begin right here except you’re coming by the use of Albania (through which chase Lake Ohrid can be your first cease most probably).
Skopje will not be your typical European getaway. It lacks absolutely the allure of locations like Vienna or Amsterdam, nevertheless it holds its personal with its distinctive historical past and character. Town is split into two elements; an outdated quarter that includes the bazaars left over from the Ottoman occasions, and the newer quarter constructed up after Ottoman occupation in additional “conventional European” methods.
On this record of issues to do in Skopje, you’ll discover hammams which were transformed into artwork galleries, brutalist structure, stylish cafes, a museum devoted to Skopje’s most well-known resident and one other to the earthquake that flattened town in 1963.
The drive is sort of scenic with the mountain views and terrace farms. There isn’t an entire lot to see in addition to the Ottoman period mosque in Tetove which has a number of the most beautiful murals I’ve seen on a Mosque.
This space within the west of Macedonia is generally Albanian which I discovered shortly after that a lot of the inhabitants in North Macedonia is Albanian, just like how a lot of Southern Albania’s inhabitants think about themselves Greek.
Skopje is a gorgeous city and was undoubtedly essentially the most lovely capital of the three international locations for my part (Tirana, Skopje, and Pristina). The city has a incredible vibe and vitality which I loved.
Strolling tour of Skopje
The free strolling tour of Skopje is a good way to see all of the sights of town. There’s one firm that does these they usually meet in the primary Sq. subsequent to the Alexander the Nice statue. My information was nice as he defined a lot concerning the metropolis I wouldn’t have identified in any other case.
For starters, Macedonia is a former Yugoslavian nation and subsequently have a Slavic language. Nevertheless, I by no means knew that Greece additionally has a Macedonia half which is the area within the very north with Thessaloniki as its capital. In Historical occasions, “Macedonia” encompassed what’s now modern-day North Macedonia and “South Macedonia” which is in Greece. Nevertheless, Slavs moved in through the fifth century AD and staked out their land.
Up till 2018, the nation of “Macedonia” was what’s now North Macedonia. Nevertheless, as North Macedonia needs to affix the EU, they wanted to vary their title as a result of their neighbors Greece was not proud of their declare to the entire “Macedonia” title. North Macedonia was subsequently created and adopted just a few years in the past. Most individuals weren’t completely happy concerning the title change and I can’t blame them!
However, the strolling tour is nice because it explores the brand new a part of the city with extra European and Communist type buildings in addition to the outdated a part of city simply over the outdated Bridge. This space was thriving in Ottoman occasions and these days is house to a Bazaar type neighborhood with retailers and eating places intently packed. It’s the truth is, the second largest Bazaar type neighborhood after Istanbul!
Go to Macedonia Sq.
If you’re doing the free strolling tour, you’ll undoubtedly go by the primary sq. of Skopje. This huge open sq. options the well-known Alexander the Nice statue which after all upset N. Macedonia’s neighbors to the who really feel like solely they’ll lay declare to them.
The Sq. additionally options largely new items of structure transformed and refitted in the previous couple of many years to spruce up town. Many statues of well-known figures have been created within the final twenty years as a approach to make town prettier and extra inviting for vacationers. This after all has induced a number of controversy with folks as tax cash inevitable turns into misused. However, I feel they’ve completed a superb job and town appears to be like a lot nicer than I anticipated.
You’ll discover the massive Marriott lodge proper within the Sq.. It’d appear to be a historic constructing that has stood the take a look at of time for hundreds of years. Nevertheless, that isn’t the case. It’s the first Marriott constructed within the Balkans and was constructed from scratch. The Authorities advised Marriott they might make the within no matter they wished however the outdoors facade needed to resemble the Gothic structure befitting of different European capitals.
Discover the Bohemian Neighborhood of Debar Maalo
I stayed within the Bohemian neighborhood that’s simply quarter-hour away from town heart. I used to be really helpful this space because it was the place all of the cool bars and eating places are. If you’d like a extra neighborhood vibe, then that is undoubtedly the place you’ll need to keep.
Make sure that to go to the cocktail bars of Casa and go to the eating places on the primary strip. The 2 I went to have been Shopski Merak and Taverna Debar Maalo. These locations are positioned throughout the road from one another and are undoubtedly the place all of the cool folks in Skopje hang around (in addition to vacationers).
Taberna Debar Maalo was taking part in Balkan music all night time and it was right here that I met some very cool native folks. Inevitably, we began ingesting rakja and the night time went blurry fast.
Get misplaced within the Outdated Baazar (TBD)
The outdated bazaar of Skopje is the truth is the second largest Ottoman type bazaar on the earth after Istanbul. After all it will probably’t compete to the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul however it’s a lot bigger than it seems. A go to is a should and will be simply completed by crossing the outdated bridge from the primary sq..
I didn’t spend an entire lot of time exploring the outdated city however there are two locations that I can suggest.
The primary is a cevapcici restaurant among the many myriad of different cevapcici eating places. That is the beloved avenue meals of the Balkans and nobody did it higher than Kosmos Kebabchilnica (in Macedonia they name it Kebapi and in Bosnia/Serbia/Croatia they name it cevapi). The meat is grilling in entrance of you and the smoke taste that’s imbued into the meat is divine! All for 120 dinars.
After chowing down cevapi, head over to the last word Baklava store close by run by this candy outdated woman. Her store known as ‘Turska baklava Angela Merkel’. You may’t miss it – it’s the one store with photos of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and a baklava devoted in her honor. There’s additionally an enormous posted of Turkish president Erdogan. I used to be advised from my strolling tour information that she is his largest fan and have gotten into heated arguments with Turkish vacationers previously.
Skopje to Ohrid by bus
As this is likely one of the hottest routes in N. Macedonia, there’s a common bus line from Skopje to Ohrid at intervals of 1 hour. The primary bus is at 5:30 am and the final one begins its journey at 7.30 pm. The ticket prices 9 euros if you’re going a technique, and if you wish to get a return ticket it should value you 14 euros.
The bus journey takes round three hours and you’re prone to make a couple of stops because the bus picks up passengers from different stations alongside the street. There is just one longer break the place you may relaxation your legs and go to the restroom, and it’s positioned on the tallest level of the street, named Straza.
Lake Ohrid
Lake Ohrid is the image of North Macedonian tourism and a can’t-miss within the Balkans. Shared with Albania, that is the solely inscribed UNESCO World Heritage Web site in North Macedonia and considered one of just a few dozen anyplace on the earth to be included on each the Cultural and Pure lists.
Ohrid’s cobalt waters are a mecca for worldwide and home vacationers alike. The city of Ohrid is an apparent place to base your keep. It boasts a charming Outdated City and a buzzing ‘vacationer centre’ crammed with eating places, wine bars and retailers.
There are many various villages close to Ohrid if you wish to escape the hustle of Ohrid. I visited in Might throughout COVID so there was nearly no vacationers. Nevertheless, I’ve heard that in regular occasions through the summer season months, it will probably get very crowded. However, the city of Ohrid itself is a gorgeous spotlight that you need to go to. It’s in all probability the one city on the lake that has that outdated metropolis allure in contrast to Lake Como the place each metropolis gave the impression to be a should go to.
What to do in Lake Ohrid
Lake Ohrid is just like Lake Como in that there are a number of cities surrounding the lake. Nevertheless, I discovered that just one was historic and picturesque and that was of the city of Ohrid. Individuals don’t discuss a lot concerning the different cities so I feel it’s protected to base your self totally in Ohrid.
Staying within the outdated city of Ohrid is the best way to go as you’ll be near all of the sights. The primary issues to see listed here are the fortress on the high of the city and quite a few Orthodox church buildings. The fortress is a brief stroll and will be completed in a couple of minutes.
Of the church buildings, essentially the most well-known and most picturesque is definitely St John’s Church proper on the tip of the peninsula. From right here, you could have panoramic views of Lake Ohrid and this lovely Orthodox church perched by itself overlooking the lake.
Other than this, you may take a catamaran across the lake as a tour. Merely stroll alongside the primary waterfront and there are many folks promoting excursions from their boats.
Merely, there’s simply time right here to chill out and take in the gorgeous lake views. I undoubtedly might have stayed in Ohrid for a couple of extra days.
For the perfect morning cafes, go to Terazza Aquarius which is true on the water overlooking the outdated city.
Bay of the Bones
The Bay of the Bones Museum was a beautiful place I visited throughout my journey to Ohrid. The complicated is located in Gradiste, 16 kilometers away from the gorgeous city of Ohrid.
I assumed this was an historic settlement however it’s infact only a museum that provides 24 replicas of prehistorian homes on a picket platform positioned above the Lake Ohrid. It’s meant to point out how historic dwellers of the area lived.
Though the village isn’t huge, it should absolutely convey you nearer to the individuals who lived there 1000’s of years in the past. Animal stays, pottery, jewellery, all discovered within the lovely, crystal clear water of Ohrid will take you again to the previous, for a minute.
It’s properly value a go to you probably have a automotive, however in any other case lots of the boat excursions from Ohrid city will convey you right here. You don’t want greater than a half hour right here however you may take some very good photos from the jetty of the lake!
Keep at Villa Ohrid
There are such a lot of superb guesthouses in Lake Ohrid so your choices are limitless. I wished a view of the city and of the lake so I ended up selecting to remain at Villa Ohrid. It didn’t disappoint as a result of I had a balcony that was entrance and heart viewing the lake. Waking as much as this view each morning was divine.
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