Traveling by plane

The easiest way to reach the city from the Belgrade airport is by one of the "Jat Airways" buses, which depart from the airport on every full hour. Exit the bus on its last station on the Slavija Square, and then take any of the following trolleybuses to the city center: 19, 21, 22, 22L and 29. The last stop of all the lines is just in front of the conference venue.

Alternatively, you may take the public transport bus number 72, exit at its last stop and then walk for about 1 km to the conference venue.

You should avoid taking a taxi from the airport - the ride should cost around 15 euros, but taxi drivers are known to charge up to three times that sum.

Traveling by bus or train

The Main Railway Station and Belgrade Bus station are next to each other, so same instructions apply if you come by bus or by train.

Take the tram number 2 in front of the Main Railway Station and exit on the first stop at the Slavija Square. Then take any of the following trollybuses to the city center: 19, 21, 22, 22L and 29. The last stop of all the lines is just in front of the conference venue.

Traveling by car

You can reach Belgrade by using highways E70 (Zagreb, Belgrade, Timisoara,Bucharest) and E75 (Athens, Thessaloniki, Nis, Belgrade, Budapest).

Parking in Belgrade

Parking can be tricky to find in Belgrade because of overpopulation and lack of parking spaces. The city center is divided into three parking zones where parking must be paid. Outside these zones, parking along streets is free.

The three parking zones in the center of Belgrade are, in order of growing prices: the green zone, where you can leave your car for up to three hours; the yellow zone, where you can leave your car for up to two hours; and the red zone, where you can leave your car for only one hour. You will be required to pay for each hour. The parking is charged only during weekdays, from 7am to 9pm. Watch out for colored parking signs to see which zone you are in and whether you must pay or not.

The easiest way to pay for parking is by sending a text-message from your cell phone to the following numbers: 9113 for the green zone, 9112 for the yellow zone and 9111 for the red zone. The message should contain your registration code - typed without the spaces, hyphens and other special characters. For example, if the registration code is "BG-123-456" you would type "BG123456" (and nothing else) in the message. The parking service will confirm the reception of your message, and also warn you before an hour elapses, so you can pay for another hour (by sending a new message) if you wish.

You may also leave your cars in the parking of the Observatory for the duration of the conference and get around town on foot or using public transportation.

Public transportation

The public transportation in Belgrade consists of trams, trolleys and buses. Every fair must be paid individually. Unfortunately, there are no daily or weekly tickets, so we recommend you to buy a block of tickets (say, ten for five return fairs). Price of the ticket is 42 dinars. The ticket must be validated inside the vehicle - there should be a manual ticket puncher at every door.

Don't expect the public transportation to arrive or leave on schedule: the traffic in Belgrade is very unpredictable. The usual way to catch a ride is to simply wait for the vehicle on the station until it arrives. Depending on the time of day, length and the route, the rides take from 10 minutes (between locations in the center) to as long as 45 minutes for more distant locations. Waiting time may also range from 5 to as long as 15 minutes.

Taxi

Taking taxi rides in Belgrade can be risky for foreigners as the drivers will be tempted to overcharge the ride or charge it in a foreign currency. The safest way to get a taxi ride is to order it by phone. The phone numbers of the form (+381-11-)980x are reserved for different taxi services (for example, +381-11-9801, +381-11-9802 and so on). The operators should speak decent English and the waiting time is usually no longer than 5 minutes. You will be expected to meet the car in the street after the time the operator indicates - the taxi services won't notify you that your ride has come.

If you must stop a taxi in the street, try to choose a better vehicle (though of course that doesn't guarantee the driver will be fair) and when inside, make sure it has a taximeter. Payment in any currency except Serbian dinars is illegal. It's customary to leave a small tip to the driver, but it's not necessary.

Currency, exchange rates & offices, ATMs and credit cards

The official currency of Serbia is dinar (RSD). At the time of this writing, the exchange rate relative to euro is around 105 dinars for 1 euro. Payment of goods and services in any other currency is generally illegal. There may be exceptions on the international bus and train stations and the airport.

There are many exchange offices in the city and you should have no trouble finding them. The exchange rates don't vary much between the offices, but you might want to keep the orientation rate given here in mind. We advise you to bring euros or american dollars; exchanging dinars to/from other currencies at reasonable rates might be difficult.

There are also many ATMs in the streets, and they should all accept VISA and Masters cards. Most shops also take cards, but not all. If in doubt, it's best to ask before buying.

Shopping & sightseeing

The main shopping area is in the center of the city. If you are looking to buy souvenirs, the best place is the Knez Mihailova street (very close to the conference venue) and the entrance to the Kalemegdan Fortress, which is also a popular sightseeing spot.

In the limited time you will have in Belgrade, we recommend seeing the Cathedral of Saint Sava, Kalemegdan and Skadarlija, where you can also have a good lunch or dinner in the essence of atmosphere specific to Belgrade.