We spent 24 hours visiting Pristina, capital of Kosovo. The tiny Balkan country of Kosovo is Europe’s newest country, having declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Most of my knowledge of Kosovo came from watching the news, delivered by Kate Adie in a bulletproof vest. But nowadays, Kosovo is perfectly safe to travel to and I was very much looking forward to seeing modern day Kosovo for myself.
How to get to Pristina
Kosovo isn’t the easiest place to reach. Although Pristina does have an international airport, which is served with flights from several other European Countries, flights tend to be expensive.
The country shares a land border with Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro. The Serbs don’t recognise Kosovo, so you can’t enter from there (or rather, you can but you can’t get out again). We travelled from North Macedonia. Our car hire company was having none of it. So, we went by bus from Skopje to Pristina. There are several buses a day. The journey takes around 2 hours and costs in the region of €9.
Getting around Pristina
Pristina may be a capital city, but with a population of just 214,000, it doesn’t really feel like one. The main attractions can be easily explored on foot. Our itinerary, set out below, covers a 3 mile circuit and can easily be covered in one day.
Where to stay in Pristina
We stayed at Hotel Prima, which is conveniently located with clean, spacious rooms.
Pristina in 1 Day Itinerary
| Day 1 | Travel to Pristina Accommodation – Hotel Prima NEWBORN Monument Heroinat Memorial Cathedral of Saint Mother Teresa National Library Church of Christ the Saviour Mother Teresa Square Jashar Pasha Mosque Clock Tower Museum of Kosovo Green Market Dinner at Taverna Tirona |
Pristina Day 1
Travel to Pristina
Skopje bus station is huge and packed with people from a range of nationalities and cultures. But when our bus (or minibus, to be more precise) pulls up and the relevant passengers emerge from the crowd to board, they are almost all British.
The driver is equipped for the two hour journey with two packs of cigarettes and proceeds to chain smokes his way across two countries. Then we stop. On a lay-by. Next to a flyover. We are expected to get out. The driver tells us the bus station is just over the road. We wander around disorientated for a while and finally manage to find a taxi without ever locating the bus station.
Accommodation – Hotel Prima
We check into Hotel Prima. It’s very pleasant – our room even comes with its own gnome. Then we set forth to explore Pristina.
Newborn Monument
First, the NEWBORN Monument. This installation was unveiled the day Kosovo declared independence from Serbia. The letters are repainted annually on Independence Day. When we visited, Kosovo was celebrating a decade of independence, hence the ‘BO‘ has been replaced with a ‘10‘.
Heroinat Memorial
In the park opposite is the Heroinat Memorial. This imposing sculpture depicts a Kosovar woman using 20,000 pins placed at different heights, thus creating a portrait in relief. Each pin represents a woman raped during the Kosovo War. Viewed from afar, you see the face of a woman. Closer up, the individual pins become visible.
Heroinat Memorial
Cathedral of Saint Mother Teresa
On to the Cathedral of Saint Mother Teresa. This striking modern cathedral was inaugurated, still incomplete, in 2010.
Bell Tower
You can take a lift to the top of the Bell Tower for a spectacular view of the city and beyond. A second tower is in the process of being built.
The cathedral is open daily from 8 am until 7 pm (6 pm on Saturday). It is free to enter the cathedral. The Bell Tower costs €1.50.
National Library
My highlight of our visit to Pristina was the weird and wonderful National Library. Designed by Croatian architect Andrija Mutnjaković, it consists of a total of 99 domes of different sizes and is covered in a metal mesh.
Inside is pretty cool too with its marble mosaic floor.
The library is open between Monday and Friday from 8 am until 8 pm, and on Saturday from 8 am until 2 pm. There is no charge to enter.
Church of Christ the Saviour
Construction on the Serbian Orthodox Church of Christ the Saviour began in 1992, but was interrupted due to the war. Seen by many as a symbol of Serbian oppression, the partially completed church has laid abandoned ever since, while its future is hotly debated.
Mother Teresa Square
In the centre of town is Mother Teresa Square with its statues and fountains.
The square warrants a return visit after dark, when the pavement fountains are illuminated in an array of colours.
Jashar Pasha Mosque
One of the city’s main mosques is the Jashar Pasha Mosque; an Ottoman style mosque which was built in 1834.
Clock Tower
The nearby 19th Century Clock Tower was commissioned by the aforementioned Jashar Pasha, former governor of Skopje. Its purpose was to keep local traders informed of when it was time to shut up shop and head to the mosque to pray.
Museum of Kosovo
The Museum of Kosovo houses a collection of over 50,000 artifacts, which tell the country’s history. The building itself dates back to 1886 and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The museum is open between daily except Monday from 10 am until 6 pm. Admission is free.
Green Market
Pristina isn’t the biggest city, with a population the size of my home town of Bournemouth. After a few hours wandering, we have seen the key sites. Just time for a browse and to pick up a few souvenirs in the Green Market before going in search of dinner.
Dinner at Taverna Tirona
There are plenty of pavement cafés where you can enjoy dinner and a local beer or two, whilst watching the world go by. We opted for Taverna Tirona, just off Mother Teresa Boulevard.
Our whistle stop tour of Pristina is almost at an end. In the morning, we return to Skopje. That is if we can find the elusive bus station…
- Trip taken: September 2018
- Updated: July 2025
I hope you found the above information useful. For guides to more destinations in the 50+ countries we have visited, check out my full list of Independent Travel Itineraries here.
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