Mostar Old Bridge

Few images in the Balkans are as famous as the Stari Most, the Old Bridge of Mostar. It was completed in 1566 under the Ottoman architect Mimar Hajrudin, a single stone arch rising high over the emerald Neretva, so slender and elegant that contemporaries marvelled at it. It was destroyed by shelling in November 1993 during the war, an event that shocked the world, and was painstakingly rebuilt using traditional methods and local stone before reopening in 2004. UNESCO later inscribed the Old Bridge area as a World Heritage Site, recognising it as a symbol of reconciliation. Today the bridge is the heart of Mostar's old town: a steep, polished-cobble span you cross on foot, flanked by two fortified towers, with the river far below. Local divers in the bridge's famous tradition leap from the parapet into the cold water, usually at summer events. The recommended experience is a private two-hour walking tour with a local guide who takes in the bridge, Kujundžiluk, the street of craftsmen with its copper and souvenir stalls, the Crooked Bridge and Spanish Square, and tells the story of the city on both sides of the river. It is a flexible way to see Mostar's historic centre in an unhurried morning, particularly if you are staying overnight.

To appreciate the bridge, walk it twice, once in each direction, then step down to the viewpoints on either bank for the classic photograph. The cobbles are polished smooth and slippery, particularly when wet, and the climb up the arch is steeper than it looks, so wear shoes with good grip. Look for the small museum in the towers and the spots where divers gather, and ask your guide about the war and the reconstruction, since the bridge's story is bound up with that of the whole city.

Mostar has a split personality, with the Ottoman-era old town on the east bank and more modern streets on the west, and the old front line ran through the middle. A guide brings this to life, explaining the history, pointing out bullet-scarred buildings that have been left as reminders and recommending where locals eat. Kujundžiluk is a busy souvenir street, so go with a plan, and consider the Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque nearby, which has a minaret you can climb for another view of the bridge.

The bridge is open at all hours, and the old town is much more pleasant outside the middle of the day, when tour buses from the coast arrive. Staying overnight lets you see it in the early morning and evening, when it is quiet and photogenic. In autumn the light is soft, the crowds are thinner and the temperatures are comfortable. The tour listing shows a smaller number of reviews than the big day trips, so treat it as a flexible private option and check availability and meeting point when you book.