Southeast Europe · Europe
Bosnia and Herzegovina · 5 days
5 Days in Sarajevo
Ottoman bazaar, the corner of 1914 and two Olympic ski mountains 30 km away. Five days in Sarajevo, with and without snow.
Bases: Jahorina, Bjelašnica
Updated Oct 2026Read the plan →
Southeast Europe · Europe
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Discover Bosnia and Herzegovina - a land of Ottoman bridges, Austro-Hungarian architecture, pristine rivers, and resilient spirit in the Western Balkans.
Where Is Bosnia and Herzegovina?
Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country in Southeast Europe. Its capital is Sarajevo.
- Capital Sarajevo
- Population 3.14M
- Area 51,209 km²
Bosnia and Herzegovina is the place where the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire crashed into each other and left behind one of the most architecturally fascinating countries in Europe. In Sarajevo, you can walk from a 16th-century Ottoman bazaar into an Austro-Hungarian boulevard in about 30 seconds. Mosques sit next to Orthodox churches and Catholic cathedrals, sometimes on the same block. It shouldn't work, but it does - and it's beautiful.
The country went through hell in the 1990s during the Bosnian War, and the scars are still visible - in the bullet holes on buildings, the cemeteries on hillsides, and the complicated political structure that emerged from the Dayton Agreement. But Bosnia has this stubborn, defiant life force. Sarajevo has a cafe culture that rivals Vienna, Mostar's reconstructed Old Bridge is one of the most photographed monuments in the Balkans, and the Una and Neretva rivers are among the cleanest in Europe. The food is ridiculous - slow-cooked, meat-heavy, and served in portions that assume you haven't eaten in three days.
At a glance
Language
Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian
Currency
Convertible Mark (BAM)
Calling Code
+387
Drives On
Right
Internet
.ba
Timezone
CET (UTC+1)
Script
Latin, Cyrillic
Government
Federal Parliamentary Republic
Independence
1992
By population
Largest cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina
1
Sarajevo
Capital city where East meets West, site of the 1914 assassination that triggered WWI and host of the 1984 Winter Olympics
275,000
2
Banja Luka
Second city and capital of Republika Srpska, known for the Kastel fortress and the Vrbas River canyon
185,000
3
Tuzla
Industrial city famous for its salt lakes - the only salt lakes in Europe, used as public beaches
110,000
4
Mostar
Home to the iconic Stari Most (Old Bridge), a 16th-century Ottoman bridge rebuilt after the war, now a UNESCO site
105,000
5
Zenica
Central Bosnian city on the Bosna River, historically an important steel-producing center
100,000
People
Famous people from Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ivo Andric
LiteratureWon the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1961 for The Bridge on the Drina, the most famous Bosnian novel
Emir Kusturica
FilmTwo-time Palme d'Or winning director known for Underground and other surrealist Balkan epics
Danis Tanovic
FilmWon the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film with No Man's Land in 2002
Dzevad Karahasan
LiteratureAward-winning novelist and essayist whose work Sarajevo, Exodus of a City chronicled the siege
Mirza Teletovic
SportNBA basketball player who represented Bosnia internationally and played for the Brooklyn Nets
Food
Traditional cuisine of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Cevapi
- Grilled minced meat sausages served in somun bread with raw onion and kajmak cream - the unofficial national food
- Burek
- Flaky filo pastry spiral filled with meat (or cheese/spinach), baked in enormous round pans and cut by the kilo
- Begova Corba
- Bey's Soup - creamy chicken soup thickened with flour and enriched with egg, a Sarajevo specialty
- Dolma
- Vine leaves or vegetables stuffed with seasoned rice and minced meat, slow-cooked in broth
- Bosanski Lonac
- Bosnian Pot - a slow-cooked stew with layers of meat and vegetables, cooked for hours in a sealed clay pot
- Klepe
- Bosnian dumplings filled with meat, served with garlic yogurt and paprika butter
- Hurmasice
- Syrup-soaked semolina cookies, a beloved Bosnian dessert served at celebrations and with coffee
Nature
Nature and landmarks in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Stari Most (Old Bridge)Landmark
- Iconic 16th-century Ottoman bridge in Mostar, rebuilt after its destruction in 1993, UNESCO World Heritage site
- Una National ParkNational Park
- Crystal-clear Una River with stunning emerald waterfalls, cascades, and rapids in northwestern Bosnia
- Kravice WaterfallsRiver
- 25-meter waterfall on the Trebizat River resembling a miniature Niagara, a popular swimming spot
- Sutjeska National ParkNational Park
- Home to Perucica, one of Europe's last two primeval forests, and Maglic, Bosnia's highest peak at 2,386m
- Blagaj TekkeLandmark
- 16th-century Dervish monastery built into a cliff face at the source of the Buna River
- Neretva RiverRiver
- Emerald-green river flowing through Herzegovina, famous for rafting and the Old Bridge diving competition
Sport
Sports in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Football
- Qualified for their first FIFA World Cup in 2014 in Brazil, a historic achievement for the young nation
- Basketball
- Strong basketball tradition, with several players reaching the NBA and European top leagues
- Handball
- Competitive at European level with a passionate fanbase
- Old Bridge Diving
- Annual diving competition from Mostar's 24-meter Old Bridge, a tradition dating back to the 1600s
Facts
Did you know?
Sarajevo's tram line opened on New Year's Day 1885, horse-drawn at first, as a test line for the trams of Vienna and the rest of Austria-Hungary
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914 triggered World War I
Bosnia has one of the last primeval forests in Europe - Perucica in Sutjeska National Park
Bosnians drink the most coffee per capita in the Balkans, with a unique slow-brewing copper pot ritual
The country has three presidents who rotate every eight months - one Bosniak, one Croat, one Serb
Sarajevo survived a 1,425-day siege during the 1990s war - the longest siege of a capital city in modern history
The Bosnian Pyramid near Visoko is claimed to be the world's oldest pyramid, though scientists debate this
Play
Can you find Bosnia and Herzegovina on a map?
Drop a pin where you think it is and see how close you got. A few rounds and you will place Bosnia and Herzegovina and its neighbours without a second thought.
Keep exploring
