By plane

Nis has an international airport named after Constantine the Great (international code: INI). Airport service is getting increasingly better. There are flights from and to European cities including Forli (near Bologna, Italy), Podgorica (Montenegro). Most reliable are daily flights to Podgorica (Montenegro) which can be used to connect to major European capitals. Seasonal flights to Turkish, Montenegrin and Greek resorts are offered during the summer. Additional service is expected soon as there are ongoing negotiations with several low cost companies.

By train

Railway links include international trains from Thessaloniki, Greece to Ljubljana, Slovenia, via Skopje, Niš, Belgrade and Zagreb, as well as Istanbul, Turkey - Vienna, Austria via Sofia, Niš, Belgrade and Budapest. Another important railway link is the one to Bar, Montenegro, which connects Niš with the Adriatic sea. The trains are slow, not very clean, and still in the seventies style, but tickets are cheap, the scenery is sometimes beautiful, and sleeping cars are usually an option.The train station is 2Km east of the main square, a good half hour's walk.

By bus

Almost all buses traveling from the northwest into Bulgaria or further southeast to Turkey will stop in Niš. All buses traveling between Belgrade and Greece or Macedonia will stop in Niš. An average bus ride from Belgrade will take three hours, but make sure you opt for a 'direct' bus from Belgrade central bus station, as some buses will stop in a dozen towns on the way, sometimes getting out of the highway, and prolong the ride considerably.

By car

The European motorway E75 routes through Niš. From the north, you may use any highway from the Hungarian border over Novi Sad and Belgrade to Niš. From the northwest, you can travel over Austria, via Slovenia and Croatia to Belgrade and then to Niš. These are all modern highways, including the section Belgrade-Niš. It is a fast road with six lanes and 120km/h speed limit, which locals seldom observe as the road is in a pretty good shape. Beware of the police, though. At this speed, travel time from Belgrade is usually two hours.

Mediana- Birthplace of Emperor Constantine the Great., Skull Tower, Nis Fortress, NiSka Banja or "NiS Spa", Rusalia Church, Kazandzijsko sokace, Mausoleum of Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky, Villa of the "ill" Prince George

Mediana- Birthplace of Emperor Constantine the Great.

This ancient historical site on the road Niš - Niška Banja (Spa) is a testimony of the wealth and glory of the imperial Naissus . The remains of imperial palace, together with peristyle (range of surrounding columns) have been discovered. Luxury villas with mosaic floors, sacral objects (baptistery room), farming buildings with pithos, Roman bathrooms, water tanks, fort remains etc testify about Naissus culture and wealth from the times of Emperor Constantine the Great, who was born in Nis. Constantine is best remembered in modern times for the Edict of Milan in 313, which fully legalized Christianity in the Empire, and the Council of Nicaea in 325. These actions are now considered major contributions to the spread of the Christian religion.

Skull Tower

Skull Tower (Cele kula) was built by the Turks from the skulls of the Serbs killed in the battle of Cegar, near Nis, in May 1809. It is of rectangular shape, about 3 m high and was built from quicklime, sand and the skinned skulls, upon the order of Khurshid Pasha who had first sent the skulls filled with cotton to the Sultan in Istanbul. Each side of the Tower has 14 rows with 17 openings where the skulls were embedded. There were 952 skulls, but today only 58 have remained. The rest were pulled out to be buried or were lost in time. In 1892 a chapel was built around the Tower, according to the design of the Belgrade architect Dimitrie T. Leko. The skulls are situated inside the small chapel consisting of four glass walls.

Nis Fortress

On the Nišava riverbank, over the remains of a Roman military camp, then Roman town called Naissus, and finally the remains of a destroyed Byzantine fortification, the Turks built a strong fortress at the beginning of 18th century. The construction of this fortress lasted from 1719 to 1723.
It was built with the help of local laborers, Istanbul stonecutters and bricklayers. Beside those well saved walls and gates, numerous facilities remain from various periods, such as the armory, Turkish steam bath, Turkish post station, Bali-mosque, powderroom and priso

Rusalia Church

Church of Holy Trinity of Rusalia is located above the village of Gornji Matejevac. Rusalia is the most attractive ancient structure in Niš. The church was built after the order of a local Byzantine dignitary in the first half of 11th century.

Kazandzijsko sokace

This is an old urban quarter in what is today Kopitareva Street. It was built in the first half of 18th century. It was a street full of tinkers and other craftsmen, together with their houses coming from Turkish period. Unfortunately, only some of those are preserved today and protected by the state. The street has recently become packed with cafes, a favorite site for the visitors.

Mausoleum of Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky

Lover of Anna Karenina (19th cent.). The Holy Trinity Church in Gornji Adrovac (municipality of Aleksinac) near Nis was built in commemoration of the death of Nikolai Rayevsky. Rayevsky was celebrated as Count Vronsky in Tolstoy's famous novel Anna Karenina.

Villa of the "ill" Prince George.

In 1926, the heir to the Serbian throne, Prince George Karadjordjevic, was committed to the mental hospital on grounds of insanity by his younger brother, Alexander, who was then crowned king. The prince was kept in the spacious villa locked within the mental hospital in Gornja Toponica near Nis for 15 years. After World War Two his family were declared state enemies by the communist regime but George was allowed to retire in Belgrade as the only member of the Royal family in the country.

NiSka Banja or "NiS Spa"

Is located a couple of kilometers to the southeast. There is a large park and some restaurants to accompany the nice view out over the valley. The spa is famous for its mildly radioactive hot water springs which help treat rheumatic disorders. Heart conditions are also successfully treated in the vicinity. 5km away from the spa, one reaches Sicevacka and Jelasnicka Gorges, state-protected natural reserves with intact scenery, ancient monasteries, and endemic species.

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