One day in Skopje: itinerary and highlights

In recent years Skopje has filled its centre with neoclassical statues and monuments, an ambitious urban project that radically transformed Macedonia's capital's appearance.

Capital of North Macedonia, birthplace of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, it preserves alongside new monuments a still-thriving Ottoman bazaar and a fortress dominating the city since Byzantine times.

The Stone Bridge is the first item on the agenda: this Ottoman bridge over the Vardar River symbolically connects the modern part of the city to Macedonia Square, dominated by the equestrian statue dedicated to Alexander the Great.

Crossing the bridge, you enter the Old Bazaar, the most extensive Ottoman quarter in the Balkans after Istanbul's, with mosques, caravanserais, and copper shops that still animate the streets today.

Just a few steps away stands the Memorial House of Mother Teresa, built on the spot where the church once stood where the future saint was baptized, today a small museum dedicated to her life.

For lunch, restaurants in the Old Bazaar offer a first taste of Macedonian cuisine, halfway between Balkan and Ottoman influences.

In the afternoon, the Fortress of Kale dominates the old town from Byzantine times, with stone walls from which the entire Vardar valley can be observed.

By cable car or car you reach the Millennium Cross on Mount Vodno, one of the world's tallest crosses, visible from every point in the city and offering an open view over Skopje from above.

By evening, returning toward the center, restaurants around Macedonia Square lend themselves well to dinner, amid the newly illuminated neoclassical statues.

Stone Bridge, Old Bazaar, and Mother Teresa House already compose Skopje's historical identity, while an afternoon choice between Kale Fortress and the Millennium Cross adds either Byzantine or panoramic character.

The Museum of Macedonian History and a trip to Matka Lake, a canyon just outside the city, remain chapters for a second visit. Seeing the Millennium Cross illuminated on Mount Vodno as evening falls condenses Skopje into a single moment.