17 fun things to do in Skopje, North Macedonia

A good friend of mine decided to leave his home in the UK, book a single air ticket to North Macedonia and begin an open-ended travel adventure. The dream! For him, it started with two months in Skopje, the capital city. Not wanting to miss an opportunity, I booked some flights to visit for a few days. During this whistle-stop visit we crammed in many of the best things to do in Skopje, with my friend as a guide, as he had already been there a few weeks.

So, in this article, I share with you what I found: all the best ways to spend your time in North Macedonia’s fun and friendly capital city. I have also thrown in a few tips on what to expect when visiting Skopje.

This site contains links to travel services we recommend from our own experiences, and we may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Is Skopje worth visiting?

Skopje isn’t at the top of many people’s travel bucket lists, but it is a compelling city to visit if you like exploring history, trying new cuisine, and enjoying a slower pace of life for a while.

Throughout history, Skopje has been at the crossroads of east and west, and there are few places where you can see such a blend of Christian and Islamic influences. It has long been a melting pot of different cultures, and this makes it a fascinating place to explore.

Best time to visit Skopje

The relaxed pace of life in Skopje has a lot to do with the climate. When I visited Skopje in July, the daily temperatures soared well above 40 °C. This was not a particularly unusual occurrence. Summers in North Macedonia can be scorchingly hot, all the way from May to September.

I didn’t mind this summer heat so much, as it was a very dry heat. While it does mean you need to take things a bit slower, it’s still bearable.

But if you aren’t a fan of the heat, you might want to visit in the lower season. The temperature is much milder in March–April or October–November. Spring, especially, is a lovely time to visit Skopje when flowers are blooming.

Winters in Skopje are very cold and smoggy. The combination of emissions from the city’s factories and the location within a valley has created a pollution problem during these months, when the air is colder.

What to know when visiting Skopje

I really admired that most people in Skopje didn’t take their jobs too seriously. This is not to say they were lazy, not at all. But in the sweltering sunshine, people will take their time and serve you when they are ready to. And there are few complaints! I think I’d like living somewhere with this attitude rather than the rushed pace of the UK.

These are a few more of my observations and tips for visiting Skopje:

• Public transport in Skopje can feel a bit chaotic at first. The best way to get around is either by the red buses, or taxis (which are usually pretty cheap). To use buses, you need to buy a bus card and top it up for how many rides you want to take. This guide to public transport in Skopje is a really helpful resource that explains more.
• Bring a reusable water bottle when you are out exploring the city. There are water fountains in the Old Bazaar you can use to refill for free.
• Taxi drivers in Skopje are very friendly and reliable in my experience, but not all speak English. Have a map app handy on your phone in case you need to show a location.
• Skopje doesn’t have a particularly late culture. Most bars shut by midnight, and a small handful at 1am. If you want to stay out after that, you have a choice of a couple of nightclubs outside the city centre that go on until 5am.

Things to do in Skopje: sightseeing

1. Ride the cable car to the Millennium Cross

The Millennium Cross is a monument that stands 66 metres high on Mount Vodno, a huge hill above Skopje. You can see it from anywhere in the city, standing alongside a giant futuristic-looking building, which is a newly constructed hotel.

You can take a cable car ride up to the cross to get a spectacular view of the city and the countryside on the far side of the hill. The scenery on the way up is jaw-dropping, with the ride taking about 10 minutes or so.

There are a couple of ways to reach the cable car station. It’s about a ten-minute drive from the city, and taxis aren’t too expensive.

An alternative is to take the number 25 bus from Skopje’s main station. The bus is free at weekends! But the downside is that it will take a bit longer and you may need to wait a while for a service (they are scheduled to depart every 30 minutes, but it’s not always like clockwork).

If you are feeling really adventurous, you can hike up to the Millennium Cross. But be warned, it’s quite a climb! The hike is about 3 kilometres each way, and the trail begins from the cable car station. The path is very clearly marked all the way up.

2. Visit the majestic ruins of Skopje Fortress (for free!)

Another striking structure you will notice peering over Skopje is the old fortress, standing on a hill on the far side of the river.

Skopje Fortress, also known as Kale, was first built during the 6th century when Skopje was still under Roman rule. It is believed to have been rebuilt around the 10th and 11th centuries during the days of the First Bulgarian Empire, of which Skopje was the capital.

Today, the fortress ruins are an important archaeological site, and much of the walls and some inner structures are well in tact. I was surprised to find it free to enter, as it’s the type of attraction you expect to pay for.

Once you are inside, you can walk around almost the full perimeter of the walls. You can climb up into some turrets, where you are greeted with glorious views over the city.

One bizarre feature of the fortress grounds is the abandoned construction of a modern breeze-block building inside the the walls. It’s hard to fathom what this building was intended for, and the skeleton of its structure looks freakishly out of place.

3. Explore the shops and markets of the Old Bazaar

The highest turret of the fortress looks out directly over Skopje’s Old Bazaar. This cobblestoned labyrinth of shops, market stalls and cafés is the most fascinating little corner of the city.

The Old Bazaar is one of the oldest market places in the Balkans, and it was the second-biggest in the Ottoman Empire after the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. You can reach the Old Bazaar by walking across the Stone Bridge from Macedonia Square, the city’s central plaza.

Trade has been thriving in the Old Bazaar for many centuries. Once you are inside, you can weave your way through a maze of shops – clothes, craft, gifts, and especially jewellery! There is a disproportionately high amount of jewellery and gold shops here.

In between shops you will also find hidden bars, underground cafés, restaurants, and some museums, mosques and galleries. You could spend a whole day in the bazaar and find plenty to see and do.

4. Discover the many statues of Skopje

After just a few hours in Skopje, I realised quickly that this city really loves a statue! There are so, so many of them. Every corner you turn, there is a fresh statue heralding another famous revolutionary or pioneer associated with the city.

Skopje’s most famous statue depicts Alexander the Great on a giant horse in the middle of Macedonia Square, holding a sword triumphantly aloft.

One of the most impressive statues is the Fallen Heroes Monument in Woman Warrior Park, just on the outskirts of the city centre. A winged angel stands high on a central pillar, with a scuplture of Prometheus and four standing horses standing in front of her. Around the perimeter of the park stand many more statues of the city’s legends.

To put a number on it, there are almost 300 statues in total around Skopje city centre. See how many of them you can find!

If you are keen to learn more about Skopje’s famous landmarks and its history, you can take the fantastic Skopje walking tour run by a local guide. You will learn about lots of the statues, and the tour features several of the highlights mention in this article, such as the Old Bazaar and the Memorial House of Mother Teresa.

5. See Porta Macedonia, Skopje’s Arc de Triomphe

Just around the corner from Woman Warrior Park is a modern replica of Paris’ Arc de Triomphe, connecting Macedonia Square with the national parliament buildings.

This 22-metre-high structure, known as Porta Macedonia (“Macedonia Gate”), was completed in 2012 to mark 20 years of the country’s independence from the former Yugoslavia.

If you stand a few metres back from the archway, it frames the statue of Alexander the Great perfectly into a movie-worthy picture.

Things to do in Skopje: museums

6. Learn history at the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle

When the heat became a bit much on my first afternoon in Skopje, we escaped into the welcome chill of a museum. And it turns out that the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle is quite a sobering place to cool down.

The museum walks through centuries of history from Ottoman to Yugoslavian rule, as the Macedonian people struggled to secure the nation’s independence, a moment that finally came in 1991.

You will see wax models of the most important revolutionary figures, original letters, documents and clippings, and huge paintings depicting scenes of battlefields.

Allow a good 1–2 hours to work your way through the exhibitions. You might notice that many names of the leading revolutionaries match names on the statues and roads around the city.

7. Visit the century-old Archaeological Museum

Glance across the river from Macedonia Square and you will see the giant white structure of the Archaeological Museum of the Republic of North Macedonia, held up by a row of tall white pillars, and North Macedonian flags billowing on a pair of domes on the roof.

Built in 1924, this is the country’s oldest operating museum. The displays inside are a bit smaller and more limited than you might expect from the grandeur of the exterior, but it is still well worth a visit. You can explore a horde of precious artefacts dating as far back as 10,000 BC.

8. Explore the Memorial House of Mother Teresa

If Alexander the Great is the most famous person to have been born in North Macedonia, the second is surely Mother Teresa. Born in Skopje in 1910, she spent her first 18 years of life in the city.

Mother Teresa is a divisive figure. While being a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for her missionary work towards alleviating poverty, she has also been subject to criticism for views on issues like women’s role in society and contraception, and allegations of exploiting poor people into forced conversions under the care of her charities.

The Memorial House of Mother Teresa is one of the most peculiar buildings in Skopje city centre. Built on the site of the church where she was baptised, it features a green glass chapel rising from stony foundations.

A small museum space on the first floor of the building houses sculptures of Mother Teresa and memorabilia from her life.

Things to do in Skopje: food and drink

9. Eat a kebab (and lots more grilled meat!)

Food in Macedonia is a blend of many influences from across the Balkans and the Mediterranean. There is also a flavour of the Middle East, and I noticed a lot of similarities between the cuisine in Skopje and Istanbul; lots of grilled meat, with kebab being a staple. I also tried a delicious spinach-stuffed flatbread that reminded me of Turkish food.

Destan is a cosy restaurant in the Old Bazaar that has a reputation for making some of the best kebabs in Skopje. We went along to try one, but we were drawn in by the waft of barbecued meats coming from a little place next door and around the corner, called Kaj Goce (you can find it on maps as “Kaj Гоце”). We had a piled-high plate of meat here for breakfast, including smoked sausage and lamb meatballs.

The night before, I’d had my first taste of Macedonian food at a place called Boemska Kafeana, one of many restaurants lined along a narrow lane called Gjorgji Peshkov. This is close to the City Park in an area of the city packed with lots of bars and restaurants, and there’s a lively vibe here in the evening, with tables spilling out into the streets. We tried a plate of various meat dishes here, including a delicious chicken stuffed with cheese.

10. Try Macedonian-style baked beans, the national dish

If there is one dish you must absolutely try while you are in Skopje, it is the national dish, tavče gravče – Macedonian-style baked beans. It shares some similarities with the baked beans you buy in cans in the UK, but with bigger beans, a few more ingredients, and a whole lot more spice and flavour.

The beans are cooked with chilli, peppers and onions, and flavoured with paprika, cumin and other spices. We had a bowl with our breakfast at Kaj Goce and I was hooked straight away!

If you want to try more Macedonia cuisine and learn about the city’s food culture, you can take a walking tour and food tasting in the Old Bazaar.

11. Try Rakija, the national drink of North Macedonia

Rakija is a fruit-based spirit that is popular all across the Balkans, and considered the national drink of North Macedonia. You will see its popularity in Skopje; one of the best bars in the city is named after it.

Around the Balkans, there are many varieties of rakija made with different fruits. Most of the rakija you will find in North Macedonia is made with grapes, giving it a similar quality to Italian grappa. It is strong, typically over 40 per cent proof, and traditionally sipped as a slow drink.

12. Cool down with a peculiar-flavoured ice cream

Have you ever wondered what Facebook-flavoured ice cream tastes like? I hadn’t either, until I saw this phenomenon at ice cream shops and carts around Skopje, alongside Snapchat flavour, red bull flavour and other peculiarities.

Ice cream is a speciality in Skopje, which is a welcome thing when the summer heat is soaring. It’s impossible to resist the tantalising heaps of colourful and flamboyantly presented ice cream that you will see.

When the heat was getting too much we stopped by at Piccolo Mondo, an ice cream shop in the Old Bazaar. I decided against one of the novelty flavours and instead went for a fruity option. It was top-notch ice cream and a welcome respite from the swelter.

13. Drink Skopsko beer

The other great way to find refreshment in the Skopje sunshine is with an ice cold glass of beer. The beer that you will most commonly find in every bar in the city is called Skopsko, sharing the capital’s name.

Skopsko is a golden beer with a smooth, crisp flavour. It’s almost like it was designed to be refreshing in the sunshine.

Beer House Kaldrma is a nice bar to stop in the Old Bazaar for a glass of Skopsko. Afterwards, you could go upstairs to First Gin, which has Skopje’s only rooftop gin bar.

Over in the restaurant and bar area near City Park, we enjoyed a few Skopskos at the Beer Garden and Van Gogh Bar, two drinking spots that get busy later in the evening

14. Try craft beers at Old Town Brewery

While Skopsko has about two thirds of the market share in North Macedonia, craft beer is growing in popularity. Temov Brewery in Skopje was the country’s first craft brewery, and it runs a few bars around the city where you can try the beer.

We stopped by at the Old Town Brewery in the Old Bazaar for a glass of Temov craft beer to cool down after exploring the fortress. There are a variety of excellent beers to try; I had an IPA, but they have porters, white beers and pilsners as well.

Old Town Brewery has a spacious beer garden with the welcome breeze of cooling fans, and and indoor bar too. It’s another great hangout place in the Old Bazaar area.

Day trips from Skopje

15. Take a boat trip to the caves at Matka Canyon

About 15 kilometres south-west of Skopje lies Matka Canyon, a spectacular 5,000-hectare canyon, where a sleepy lake surrounded by rocky cliffs sits on top of one of Europe’s deepest cave systems.

The lake at Matka Canyon is actually a hydropower reservoir, with a 29-metre-high dam built in the 1930s. As well as generating electricity, the reservoir irrigates the surrounding villages and prevented two major floods from affecting Skopje in 1962 and 1979.

You can reach the canyon by taxi or the number 60 bus from Skopje. If you want to avoid the hassle of getting there yourself, you can also book an organised day trip to Matka Canyon. There are quite a few to choose from. One of the best value for money options combines a half day trip to Matka Canyon and the Millennium Cross.

We took the bus, which was quite an ordeal in the heat, and when we arrived I immediately wished I had brought swimming gear. On the shores of the river, and further upstream at the reservoir, people were taking a dip to cool down.

The canyon is stunningly beautiful. From the bus stop you walk along the waterside about half a kilometre until you reach a little complex of boat tour sheds, ice cream parlours, a bar and a hotel restaurant. We had a delicious lunch at the waterside restaurant with great views.

You can hike along the canyon or rent a kayak to explore the lake. We opted for a more relaxing boat ride, which you can book at the waterside. After coasting along the narrow lake admiring the towering slopes and vegetation all around, we made a stop at Vrelo Cave.

The cave mouth is a short climb up the bank, and the temperature plummets as soon as you descend. This might be the most refreshing feeling I’ve ever experienced, coming in from that 40-degree heat. A narrow staircase leads down into the cave, where you can see shimmering pools, multi-coloured rocks and an array of stalactites and stalagmites.

On the return boat ride we caught a glimpse of some rare butterflies. There are 77 endemic species of Balkan small butterflies that reside around the lake. Keep an eye out for more wildlife at the water’s edge; we saw some deer grazing along the banks.

16. Visit the eerie abandoned tourist hotspot at Lake Treska

Sometimes abandoned places can become bizarre tourist attractions. You can find such a place about midway between Skopje and Matka Canyon, where a lake that was once a thriving holiday hotpot has been left forgotten and in a state of deterioration for decades.

Lake Treska, an artificial lake built in the late 1970s, spent its first few years as a popular summer destination, surrounded by fancy hotels, restaurants, sports facilities and holiday bungalows. People came here to swim and bathe, and it was also frequently used for weddings and big summer parties.

But after a series of issues with water pollution, the lake was completely abandoned. Three decades on, the buildings are crumbling or demolished, with debris strewn everywhere. The water has all but disappeared, and the land around the lake has become a wasteland strewn with garbage. You need to watch your footing for broken glass and shards of metal.

There have been murmurs of plans to redevelop and revive the lake and its surroundings, but so far nothing has materialised.

Even in its state of abandonment, there is an eerie kind of beauty to Lake Treska, like a trench of sadness against a contrasting backdrop of scenic mountains and hills.

17. Have a riverside dinner at Restaurant Treska

If you do make the effort to stop by at Lake Treska, you can balance it out with a delicious meal at one of the best restaurants within the vicinity of Skopje.

Restaurant Treska has a beautiful riverside setting, part of why it is considered a destination restaurant. Families and groups of friends come here for a meal on special occasions. There is a huge outdoor dining area by the flowing river.

We took a taxi from Matka Canyon to the restaurant after our boat ride. If you want to see the abandoned lake, it’s about a half-hour walk from the restaurant, and there are some shops on the way where you can stop for refreshments.

The restaurant is Islamic-run, and so there is no alcohol. The food is absolutely top notch, some of the best I tried while in North Macedonia. We ordered a grilled trout, fresh from the river, and a creamy chicken curry, full of flavour.

Map of things to do in Skopje

You can see the locations of the activities and sites of interest featured in this article by clicking the map below:

Have you visited North Macedonia? Share your own ideas for things to do in Skopje in the comments below.

Inspired by the idea of travelling long term? Read our ultimate guide to taking a travel career break.

Love this? Pin it for later!