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NATO Bombing of Belgrade: Private Tour Exploring Local Perspectives and Historical Insights

4.5

8 Ratings

Beograd

Explore the NATO Bombing of Belgrade on a private tour, uncovering local perspectives and historical insights. Hear personal stories, visit bombed sites, and see original photos from 1999.

Duration: 4 hours

Cancellation: 1 day learn more

Highlights

RTS - Radio Television of Serbia - First stop after pickup is the RTS building. Here by the monument “Zašto?” (Why?) you’ll hear a disturbing story about the night when 16, mostly young people, got killed during the night shift. There is an original building still standing on the site, unrepaired, as a memorial to this disastrous event.
Ministry of defence - This is the most common site on various photos related to NATO bombing in Belgrade. The Ministry of Defense is still reminder on the night of 29th of April 1999 when many military objectives were hit. As a consequence of this action one person lost its life and many civilian buildings in the vicinity were damaged.
Poslovni centar Ušće - Former Central Committee of Communist Party of Yugoslavia is nowadays Business center Ušće. It stands today on the same skeleton of the original construction and with the same appearance of the original building of CK of Communist Party of Yugoslavia. You’ll learn why this building was NATO missile proof back in 1999 and what was the reason in the first place to be hit.
Chinese Cultural Center - Former Chinese embassy is probably the most controversial bombing site in Belgrade from the ’99 campaign. The Embassy was allegedly bombed as a result of an intelligence mistake, but it’s suspected it had a completely different purpose. Whatever the reasons were, four Chinese citizens died on the night of 7th of May 1999.
Hotel Jugoslavija - The hotel was once the pride of Yugoslavian hospitality industry. Completed in the late 60s it was the biggest and most luxurious hotel in the region. On the same night when the Chinese Embassy was hit, Hotel Yugoslavia was bombed with three missiles in order to eliminate the seat of the paramilitary group. It eliminated one guest of the hotel.
Komanda vazduhoplovstva - Air Force Command Building is the final stop on the tour. This 1935 edifice represented a pearl of Yugoslavian and Serbian architecture. As a strategic objective it was hit with two missiles on 5th of April 1999. Here you’ll learn from the guide about the pilots who knowingly engaged in the fight and lost their lives defending sky above Serbia and Yugoslavia against much mightier NATO air force.

What's Included

Hotel pickup and drop-off
Private tour
Bottled water
Private guide/driver
Single-use surgical face mask if you don’t have your own

What's Not Included

Food and drinks
Personal expenses
Gratuities

Additional Information

You’ll get to comprehend and empathize with the sentiments of locals regarding this infamous campaign. You’ll get to know a different perspective, contrasting to the one portrayed by the prevalent western press. During the tour, we’ll guide you to several spots where remnants of bombing are still palpable. The guide will present you with authentic images of the bombarded locations from 1999. You’ll also listen to personal anecdotes from the era of bombing and gain insights into life as it was in Belgrade during that time. You can culminate the tour with a relaxing drink at a local cafe, allowing you to introspect about your experiences.

Tour takeaways:

✅ Explore bombarded areas where evidence is still apparent

✅ Gain insights from the guide’s personal experiences during the NATO bombing

✅ View authentic photographs dating back to 1999

✅ Understand the underlying motives for the campaign

✅ Listen to an alternative narrative

Location

RTS - Radio Television of Serbia

Takovska

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings

4.5

(8 Ratings)

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R1916lskristinm

May 19, 2024

Informative and eye-opening tour - recommended - This was a very informative tour, well worth doing. My guide Vladica was very kind, enthusiastic, knowledgable, had answers and explanations for every question, interesting local knowledge, relevant geopolitical & historical insights, and I learned a lot. The tour I went on was the Scars of NATO bombing in Belgrade. This tour is for anyone who wants to understand from a local perspective, what happened in Belgrade in 1999, where and how it happened, how the local community banded together, and see for themselves what the impact and severity was.