Country 40/196: Macedonia
Destinations: Skopje, Mavrovo National Park
Macedonia is a country of rich history, tasty food, welcoming people, amazing lakes, and stunning mountains. ♥
Things to see and things to do
Skopje
Whenever and wherever possible we tend to avoid bigger cities and explore nature instead. Some years ago, we did the same in Macedonia. This time around we realized we made a mistake in not visiting Skopje because Skopje is beautiful! 🙂 The capital and largest city of Macedonia is a vibrant city, which attracts many visitors with its 1500 years old fortress Kale, charming archeological sites, countless cultural and historical monuments, and lovely natural surroundings.
Not to miss in Skopje:
- Vardar river banks
The charming banks of Vardar feature more than one top attraction. If you take a walk along the river you will see the famous Art Bridge, Stone Bridge, the Archaeological Museum of Macedonia, Mother Teresa Square, and Museum of the Macedonian Struggle.
- Skopje Fortress
The Skopje Fortress, also known as Kale fortress offers amazing archaeological sites, rich history, and panoramic views of the city.
- Macedonia Square
Skopje’s main square is the site of the pompous Alexander the Great monument and of many Christmas festivals, cultural, and political events.
- Old Bazaar
A vibrant bazaar built in Ottoman architectural style is one of the oldest and largest marketplaces in the Balkans.
- Vodno
The 1066 meters high mountain featuring the well-known Millennium Cross offers many hiking trails, river streams, waterfalls, and stunning views of the city.
Mavrovo national park
Mavrovo National Park is the largest of the three national parks of the Republic of Macedonia. It attracts many visitors with the beautiful Lake Mavrovo, the stunning mountains, hiking and skiing adventures, and architectural monuments, such as the occasionally submerged and abandoned Church of St Nicholas.
Ohrid
Lake Ohrid or more specifically the laid-back lakeside town of Ohrid is also known as the St Tropez of Macedonia. It’s known for its many picturesque houses, monuments, and churches, for its vibrant nightlife, water sports, and countless adventures. We’ve been to Ohrid back in 2010 and we will definitely visit it again, hopefully during the project 196xLOVE.
Beautiful Macedonia, thank you for your hospitality, fun, and lots of amazing sights! Wishing you LOVE and PEACE! ♥
Where to stay
Macedonia is a very tourist-friendly country, and as such, it offers many different accommodation options throughout the country. In Skopje, we were staying at the amazing Senigallia hotel on Vardar River. We loved it!
Are you planning a trip to Macedonia? Here you can get a room in this beautiful city with a 10% discount! 🙂
Budget
Macedonia is a relatively affordable place to travel. You can get a nice room for two for 12 USD (10 EUR), food is considerably cheap as well, especially if you avoid upscale places, and public transportation prices are also pretty low.
Best time to visit
Weather-wise, the best time to visit Macedonia is during the summer months. However, as this is also the peak season, you may want to consider dodging the crowds by traveling to Macedonia in late spring (April to June) or early autumn (September and October).
Environmental issues
Water pollution is a major environmental problem in Macedonia. Inadequate industrial, agricultural, and household sewage systems are major polluters of surface and ground waters. Due to wastewater inflow, even protected waters like Lake Ohrid are contaminated. Air and soil are severely contaminated as well, mainly due to various industrial polluters – the metallurgic industry being one of the most harmful. Macedonia still relies on thermal power plants for most of its energy, which contributes to air pollution, the emergence of acid rain, and consequently deforestation. Other climate change consequences are general temperature rise, severe droughts, and snow/ice melting in mountain regions, causing the loss of alpine biodiversity.
Peace story
During the break-up of Yugoslavia Macedonia remained at peace. ♥
Romance and adventure
With its incredibly rich history, amazing architecture, natural wonders, and great food, Macedonia offers tons of romance and adventure.
196xLOVE
Found lots of LOVE in Macedonia. 😉 ♥
Honeymoon rating of the visited destinations: ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♡♡
With majestic mountains, rich history, and romantic lakeside towns Macedonia is a pretty awesome honeymoon destination. 😉
* Note: This is NOT a general rating of the country, it is merely our personal opinion of the mentioned site(s) as honeymoon destinations, based on the level of tourism development, the number and quality of romantic and adventurous activities and sites it offers, and safety. We strongly believe that every country is beautiful in its own way, they may simply be more or less honeymoon oriented/friendly.
** Follow the journey on Instagram. 😉 There you can see our clean-up stories and check out our peace and sustainable tourism promo photos/videos. 😉
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