Belgrade & the Guitar Art Festival: a guitarist's travel guide
Guitar Art Festival Belgrade · Belgrade, Serbia
The Guitar Art Festival turned Belgrade into one of the guitar world's spring capitals. Founded in 2000, it has grown into one of the largest guitar festivals anywhere, bringing hundreds of players from dozens of countries to the lively Serbian capital, and it remains a warm, exciting place to hear the instrument in all its guises.
Getting there
Belgrade is served by Nikola Tesla airport (BEG), a short ride from the centre, with connections across Europe and beyond. A new high-speed train links it to Novi Sad in about half an hour, and international rail routes reach toward Budapest.
Compare trains, buses & flights to Belgrade on Omio →
Where to stay
Stay in the centre, near Knez Mihailova and the fortress, and you can walk to the main venues and the buzzing riverside nightlife. Belgrade is affordable and energetic, an easy city to enjoy for a few days.
An interactive map of hotels, apartments and B&Bs across Booking, Expedia, Airbnb and more, centred on Belgrade.
See stays in Belgrade →What you'll hear
This is a showcase festival rather than a contest, with a nightly run of concerts spanning classical, flamenco, jazz and beyond, plus masterclasses and a youth competition. Over the years its stages have hosted legends of the guitar and names far beyond it. The mix of world-class playing and the city's own high spirits is the whole appeal.
If you play as well as listen, explore Paco de Lucía, who has played the festival on Sheet Music Plus →
Where to eat
Serbian food is generous and grilled: ćevapi, the little minced-meat sausages served with flatbread and onion, karađorđeva šnicla, a rolled stuffed cutlet, and creamy kajmak on almost everything. Wash it down with rakija, the local fruit brandy.
While you're there
The fortress town of Novi Sad, with its Petrovaradin citadel, is a short trip north, and the old riverside quarter of Zemun sits on Belgrade's own edge. The Danube is never far, and a boat trip is an easy pleasure. A rental car makes the day trips simple, and GetYourGuide lists guided tours and tickets across the region.
Enter the pieces you play, and GuitarComp shows how your programme maps to this competition's rounds and which other events you qualify for.
See full competition details →Competition dates, deadlines and the current compulsory work change each edition, so always confirm at the official site: gaf.rs.