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The headline things to do in Sarajevo

From the Sarajevo guide — these are the items that anchor a 1-day visit. For the full breakdown, read the Sarajevo travel guide.

1. Baščaršija — The Ottoman Old Bazaar — Baščaršija, Old Town

   The 15th-century Ottoman bazaar at the heart of Sarajevo is one of the best-preserved in Europe — a maze of copper workshops, jewellers, Turkish delight sellers, meyhanes (taverns), and coffee houses arranged in the traditional čaršija pattern. The Sebilj fountain at the centre is the symbol of Sarajevo. Arrive in the morning when the copper-smiths are at their anvils; return in the evening when the çay houses fill with the smell of Bosnian coffee.

2. Latin Bridge & The Assassination Site — Latin Bridge, city centre

   The Ottoman-era stone bridge where Archduke Franz Ferdinand was shot on June 28, 1914 — the spark that ignited WWI. The corner building on the north bank is now a small museum (Sarajevo 1878–1918) with Princip's pistol, the Archduke's uniform, and a comprehensive account of the day. The bronze footprints marking where Princip stood were removed during the war; the museum account explains why.

3. Gazi Husrev-bey Mosque — Baščaršija, Old Town

   Built in 1531 under Gazi Husrev-bey, the Ottoman governor whose name appears throughout Sarajevo, this is considered the finest Ottoman mosque in the Balkans and one of the most beautiful in all of Europe. The turquoise domes, intricately carved minbar (pulpit), and hand-painted interior decoration were restored in the 1990s. Non-Muslim visitors are welcome outside prayer times; remove shoes, dress modestly, women cover heads.

4. War Tunnel Museum (Tunnel of Hope) — Butmir, near airport (20 min taxi)

   During the 1992–1995 siege, Sarajevo's airport was under UN control and the city was entirely encircled. Residents dug a 800-metre tunnel under the airport runway — Tunnel D-B — to smuggle food, ammunition, and people in and out. The family whose house contained the tunnel entrance preserved 25 metres of it; today it's the most visited site in Sarajevo. The 45-minute tour includes a video of the siege period that is raw and devastating.

5. Yellow Bastion (Žuta Tabija) — Above Bistrik, Old Town

   The Ottoman-era fortification above the old town offers the best panoramic view of Sarajevo — the minaret-studded bowl of the old city on one side, the new Austro-Hungarian and socialist districts fanning out into the valley on the other. Walk up through the Bistrik neighbourhood in 20 minutes; the Bosnian coffee and baklava at the small cafe at the top are the reward.

6. National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina — Zmaja od Bosne, near Marijin Dvor

   Housed in a beautiful Austro-Hungarian building (1913) and holding the Sarajevo Haggadah — the 14th-century illuminated Sephardic Jewish manuscript that has become a symbol of Sarajevo's multi-faith identity. The museum also has the finest archaeological collection in the Western Balkans, including the Neolithic Butmir culture finds. Tuesday–Sunday, 10:00–17:00. The exterior garden alone is worth visiting.

7. Sarajevo War Childhood Museum — Near Vijećnica (City Hall)

   A small but extraordinary museum in which 100 Sarajevans who were children during the 1992–1995 siege each donated one object that represented their war childhood — a cassette tape, a jar of peanut butter, a bicycle wheel. Each object has a short text. This is the most emotionally direct museum about the siege and was named Museum of the Year in Europe in 2018.

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