Belgrade summers run hot, and families follow the water. Locals call Ada Ciganlija the Belgrade Sea: a lake with lifeguarded beaches and rope courses in the old trees. Once the pontoon bridge goes up, Lido's sand opens on Great War Island, and the open-air pools take over the afternoons. Evenings move to the river quays. Here's what we checked, from Ada's beaches to a day trip to Silver Lake.
Ada Ciganlija is a former river island on the Sava, now a 6km-long peninsula beside Lake Sava. Its man-made beaches run about 6km, hold the Blue Flag, and have lifeguards through the bathing season.
Away from the water there are playgrounds, including a natural-wood Eco Park, a hands-on Science Park with physics and astronomy exhibits, mini golf, paddle boats, and a tourist train that loops the lake.
Once a year, boats from Belgrade's marinas dress up and sail in a parade along the river, from Nebojša Tower to Branko's Bridge. Kids watch the decorated boats go by from the bank, while a music and entertainment program runs on the quay at the Port of Belgrade passenger terminal.
It's an open-air, come-and-go outing with plenty to look at, a good fit for families who like boats and music.
Lido is a small sandy beach on the northern tip of Great War Island, the protected river island where the Sava meets the Danube. Each summer the army lays a pontoon bridge, about 345 meters long, across an arm of the Danube from the Zemun quay, and visitors walk over to the island.
On the sand there are courts for beach sports and a few restaurants.
Avantura Park is a treetop rope course among the oldest stand of trees on Ada Ciganlija, on the car-free side of the island facing Novi Beograd. Kids clip into a harness and cross obstacles strung 4 to 8 meters up, after a safety briefing from the instructors. A loop takes about 45 minutes, the trees give thick shade in summer, and the beach is 50 meters away.
A guided sightseeing cruise on the Sava and the Danube, boarding at Beton Hala below the old town. The boat passes Kalemegdan Fortress and Nebojša Tower, heads out to the confluence with views of Great War Island and Zemun, then runs upriver past Belgrade Waterfront and under the Branko, Gazela and Ada bridges.
Guides on the daytime cruise speak English. The club also runs sunset and dinner cruises.
Savski Park is one of the biggest green spaces in the city center, about the size of four soccer fields, with more than 140 trees. Kids get a playground with modern equipment and a waterplay area built around water mechanisms they can work themselves.
Older kids can use the 700-meter two-lane jogging track, ping-pong tables and a multi-sport court for basketball, handball and small-sided soccer, plus six picnic tables.
An outdoor park of life-size dinosaur models in Mali Kalemegdan, next to the Belgrade Fortress. Kids walk the paths between the models, then let off steam at the on-site playground.
An open-air cafe serves drinks for parents, and a souvenir shop sells toys and keepsakes. The park also hosts birthday parties, with food, drinks, decoration and music organized by the team.
Zemunski kej is a riverside promenade that runs for kilometers along the Danube. Along the way are cafés on moored barges, restaurants, an amusement park and the former Hotel Jugoslavija, once the city's largest hotel. Kej Oslobođenja park sits on the quay itself.
In summer, a seasonal pontoon bridge links Zemun to Great War Island, and the Leto na Keju festival holds events by the river.
Ušće Park spreads over 52 hectares of lawns, paths and trees on the point where the Sava meets the Danube, the largest park area in the city. Kids can bike the paths, watch the skaters at the skatepark, and look across the water to Kalemegdan fortress and Great War Island.
In winter, birdwatchers come for the rare waterbirds off the banks.
An open-air summer pool complex at the Sports Center Košutnjak, run by Serbia's Institute for Sport and Sports Medicine. The headline pool is the Olympic one.
The complex sits inside Košutnjak, a park-forest that belongs to the largest stretch of green right next to the built-up city.
A public sports center in Dorćol with three outdoor pools for summer: a 2 m deep Olympic pool, a 1.2 m recreational pool with a mushroom fountain, wall and central geysers, and a kids' pool 20 cm deep with a rubber floor. From September to June the indoor 50 m Olympic pool opens for public sessions. A small 30° pool hosts the swim school.
Belgrade Zoo fills about 7 hectares inside Kalemegdan Fortress park and keeps around 200 species. Kids look for the white lions and white tigers, watch the penguins in their 2019 enclosure, and find Muja, an American alligator that has lived here since 1937.
A petting zoo has alpacas, rabbits and pygmy goats, and two cafés and ice cream stands sit inside the grounds.
Silver Lake (Srebrno jezero) is a 14 km arm of the Danube, up to 300 m wide, with clear water filtered through sand dunes. It is advertised as the "Serbian sea".
Families come for the lakeside beaches and the Aqua Club, five outdoor pools with slides, including shallow ones for small kids. There is also 12-hole mini golf at the marina, next to the lakeside promenade.
Belgrade summers run hot, and families follow the water. Locals call Ada Ciganlija the Belgrade Sea: a lake with lifeguarded beaches and rope courses in the old trees. Once the pontoon bridge goes up, Lido's sand opens on Great War Island, and the open-air pools take over the afternoons. Evenings move to the river quays. Here's what we checked, from Ada's beaches to a day trip to Silver Lake.
Ada Ciganlija is a former river island on the Sava, now a 6km-long peninsula beside Lake Sava. Its man-made beaches run about 6km, hold the Blue Flag, and have lifeguards through the bathing season.
Away from the water there are playgrounds, including a natural-wood Eco Park, a hands-on Science Park with physics and astronomy exhibits, mini golf, paddle boats, and a tourist train that loops the lake.
Once a year, boats from Belgrade's marinas dress up and sail in a parade along the river, from Nebojša Tower to Branko's Bridge. Kids watch the decorated boats go by from the bank, while a music and entertainment program runs on the quay at the Port of Belgrade passenger terminal.
It's an open-air, come-and-go outing with plenty to look at, a good fit for families who like boats and music.
Lido is a small sandy beach on the northern tip of Great War Island, the protected river island where the Sava meets the Danube. Each summer the army lays a pontoon bridge, about 345 meters long, across an arm of the Danube from the Zemun quay, and visitors walk over to the island.
On the sand there are courts for beach sports and a few restaurants.
Avantura Park is a treetop rope course among the oldest stand of trees on Ada Ciganlija, on the car-free side of the island facing Novi Beograd. Kids clip into a harness and cross obstacles strung 4 to 8 meters up, after a safety briefing from the instructors. A loop takes about 45 minutes, the trees give thick shade in summer, and the beach is 50 meters away.
A guided sightseeing cruise on the Sava and the Danube, boarding at Beton Hala below the old town. The boat passes Kalemegdan Fortress and Nebojša Tower, heads out to the confluence with views of Great War Island and Zemun, then runs upriver past Belgrade Waterfront and under the Branko, Gazela and Ada bridges.
Guides on the daytime cruise speak English. The club also runs sunset and dinner cruises.
Savski Park is one of the biggest green spaces in the city center, about the size of four soccer fields, with more than 140 trees. Kids get a playground with modern equipment and a waterplay area built around water mechanisms they can work themselves.
Older kids can use the 700-meter two-lane jogging track, ping-pong tables and a multi-sport court for basketball, handball and small-sided soccer, plus six picnic tables.
An outdoor park of life-size dinosaur models in Mali Kalemegdan, next to the Belgrade Fortress. Kids walk the paths between the models, then let off steam at the on-site playground.
An open-air cafe serves drinks for parents, and a souvenir shop sells toys and keepsakes. The park also hosts birthday parties, with food, drinks, decoration and music organized by the team.
Zemunski kej is a riverside promenade that runs for kilometers along the Danube. Along the way are cafés on moored barges, restaurants, an amusement park and the former Hotel Jugoslavija, once the city's largest hotel. Kej Oslobođenja park sits on the quay itself.
In summer, a seasonal pontoon bridge links Zemun to Great War Island, and the Leto na Keju festival holds events by the river.
Ušće Park spreads over 52 hectares of lawns, paths and trees on the point where the Sava meets the Danube, the largest park area in the city. Kids can bike the paths, watch the skaters at the skatepark, and look across the water to Kalemegdan fortress and Great War Island.
In winter, birdwatchers come for the rare waterbirds off the banks.
An open-air summer pool complex at the Sports Center Košutnjak, run by Serbia's Institute for Sport and Sports Medicine. The headline pool is the Olympic one.
The complex sits inside Košutnjak, a park-forest that belongs to the largest stretch of green right next to the built-up city.
A public sports center in Dorćol with three outdoor pools for summer: a 2 m deep Olympic pool, a 1.2 m recreational pool with a mushroom fountain, wall and central geysers, and a kids' pool 20 cm deep with a rubber floor. From September to June the indoor 50 m Olympic pool opens for public sessions. A small 30° pool hosts the swim school.
Belgrade Zoo fills about 7 hectares inside Kalemegdan Fortress park and keeps around 200 species. Kids look for the white lions and white tigers, watch the penguins in their 2019 enclosure, and find Muja, an American alligator that has lived here since 1937.
A petting zoo has alpacas, rabbits and pygmy goats, and two cafés and ice cream stands sit inside the grounds.
Silver Lake (Srebrno jezero) is a 14 km arm of the Danube, up to 300 m wide, with clear water filtered through sand dunes. It is advertised as the "Serbian sea".
Families come for the lakeside beaches and the Aqua Club, five outdoor pools with slides, including shallow ones for small kids. There is also 12-hole mini golf at the marina, next to the lakeside promenade.
