Hotel Hayat, Sarajevo

Advantages: An important piece of recent history, interesting, enlightening
Disadvantages: Not a great deal to see so for the really interested only

...In the mid 1990s I watched television news bulletins transfixed at the pictures coming from the besieged city of Sarajevo. For over four years the people of Sarajevo were trapped in their city, often cold, usually hungry as missiles rained down on them. In spite of many months of fierce attack plucky Sarajevo managed to defend itself ? thanks mainly to an 800 metre tunnel that connected the city with ?Free Bosnia?. How the exact location of the tunnel was not discovered by the Serbs is a miracle. The tunnel runs under Sarajevo Airport which, although it was designated a neutral zone, was often closed due to heavy shelling. The Serbs knew roughly where the tunnel was but were never able to pinpoint it exactly. The tunnel was no secret; everyone knew of its existence, Serbs included. Food, fuel, medical supplies and arms ? all were... Read review

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Advantages: Plenty to see; good value for money;
Disadvantages: No budget flights yet (but also a good thing!)

.... Although the hotel is on ?Snipers Alley? it was pretty much left alone and was just about the safest place to be during the War. Reconstruction commenced almost before the ink had dried on the Dayton Peace Accord although it still continues today. A new Parliament building has replaced the old one which I vividly remember ablaze during the war; with its glass exterior it is just one of a number of buildings that make Sarajevo look every bit the prosperous European capital. In the centre of town, overlooking the Miljacka River, the National Library, a magnificent Ottoman building is slowly being restored thanks to a joint European Commission. We hadn?t booked accommodation in advance so we headed to the bazaar district where we?d heard there were several hostels and bed and breakfasts but before we got there we were approached by... Read review

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Advantages: Historic, beautiful, cheap
Disadvantages: Not easily accessible, war damage

...possible to fly via Austria There is plenty of accommodation available in Sarajevo, from £5 a night hostels, to plush hotels The currency is the convertible mark, which you can change at banks, or get out from cashpoints It is possible to take daytrips to Sarajevo from Croatia The Sarajevo film festival is every August Country code: +387 Time: GMT + 1 hour £1 = 3.9KM www.stopinbosnia.com... Read review

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