From Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport in Belgrade, the surrounding region opens up quickly, with cities, towns, and attractions within easy reach. Belgrade stands where the Sava meets the Danube, a city that has been knocked down and rebuilt so many times it stopped worrying about looking polished. What it has instead is energy: all-night river clubs, smoky kafanas, strong coffee, and some of the warmest hosts in Europe.

Standout experiences around Belgrade: - Watch the sunset over the rivers from the walls of Kalemegdan fortress - Eat grilled ćevapi and a shopska salad in a Skadarlija kafana with live music - Party on a splav, one of the floating clubs moored along the Sava - Visit the Nikola Tesla Museum and see his coils spark - Step inside the huge, mosaic-lined Temple of Saint Sava - Swim, cycle, or sunbathe at Ada Ciganlija, the city's river-island beach - Stroll old Zemun's lanes and climb Gardoš tower - Browse the cafes and vintage shops of Dorćol - Try a glass of homemade rakija, ideally plum or quince

Belgrade is also well placed for northern Serbia. Novi Sad, with its Petrovaradin fortress and the EXIT music festival each July, is about an hour north, and the monasteries and vineyards of Fruška Gora are on the way, with the wine town of Sremski Karlovci beside them. Smederevo's riverside medieval fortress is an hour east, the royal church at Oplenac in Topola around ninety minutes south, and the Roman city of Viminacium about ninety minutes east. Say yes to a second coffee, and to the rakija that follows. Belgrade is a city that keeps you up late and sends you home a friend.