Places to visit in Kosovo, from Prizren to Novo Brdo

Kosovo’s great advantage is its size. The highlights fit into a week and most of them are a short drive apart. What it lacks is a working official tourism portal (the government’s was under reconstruction on 10 October 2026) and published opening hours for almost anything. So I’ve built this list from UNESCO, the culture ministry’s heritage database (DTK), the law on Special Protective Zones and the Environmental Protection Agency. The scores are my own.

Why Prizren takes the top spot

For me it’s the most complete historic centre in Kosovo, and the records back that up. Prizren has more entries in the DTK than any other municipality, 81 out of 373, and Law 03/L-039 protects the whole historic centre, Ljeviš church, the Marash district and the episcopal complex included. You climb to the fortress, which the DTK dates to the Roman period, cross the 15th-century stone bridge, and by lunchtime you’ve seen mosques, churches and a 16th-century hammam. There’s more in my guide to Prizren.

The west, for monasteries and mountains

Numbers two to four sit in the same western corner, between Peja and Deçan. Visoki Dečani, built in the mid-14th century as King Stefan Dečanski’s mausoleum according to UNESCO, and the Patriarchate of Peć, with its four painted churches, are two of the four parts of the Medieval Monuments in Kosovo listing. Both are legally protected Special Zones, and gov.uk notes that religious sites could be targets for terrorism, so visit quietly and don’t photograph soldiers or police. The background to all four is in UNESCO sites in Kosovo.

The Rugova Canyon runs out of Peja, and the national park law for Bjeshkët e Nemuna mentions it when drawing the park boundary. The park covers 62,488 ha across five municipalities and includes Gjeravica, at 2,656 metres. If walking is your priority, my list of the most beautiful places puts scenery first and monuments second.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Prizren on Expedia and filter by area before price.

Where does Pristina fit in?

I’d give the capital a day. The old bazaar is a protected group that takes in the bazaar mosque, the Jashar Pasha Mosque, a 17th-century fountain, the clock tower and the Kosovo Museum. A few minutes away are the 15th-century Imperial Mosque and the National Library, built in 1974 with 79 domes according to the municipality’s tourist brochure. The Newborn letters, repainted every 17 February, stand on the square below the Youth and Sports Palace. From Pristina you can reach Gračanica, Novo Brdo and Gadime, my numbers five, eight and nine.

Gjakova and the two nature monuments

Gjakova is the town I’m most surprised people skip. It had 41,809 people in 2024, and its Grand Bazaar, the Çarshia e Madhe, has been protected since 1955. The DTK dates it to the 16th century, like the Hadum Mosque beside it with its library, Koranic school and fountain. It lies between Prizren and Peja, so it slots into any western route without a detour worth worrying about.

Gadime and Mirusha share a legal category, nature monument of special importance, and both are looked after by Kosovo’s environment agency. Next to the cave, the DTK also records a prehistoric settlement at Gadime e Epërme. For Mirusha, one warning you won’t find in the brochures. Gov.uk says Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever is endemic, with most cases in summer around Malishevë, the municipality that includes the village of Mirushë, so I’d wear long trousers and tick repellent.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Prizren and pick one that fits your day.

What I’ve left out, and why

I’ve left out the north. The British government keeps its warning about possible protests in the northern municipalities. There’s protected heritage up there, such as the Zvečan fortress and Banjska Monastery, but I’d save it for a return visit. Brezovica is also missing, because no official source publishes anything about its ski resort.

Velika Hoča, Janjevo and Junik aren’t here because they’re villages, and I rank them separately in the prettiest villages in Kosovo. For activities, from hiking to bazaars and Prizren’s DokuFest in August, see things to do in Kosovo.

Fitting it into a few days

Three days covers the top four, and a week gets you almost everything. Day by day, they’re set out in 3 days in Kosovo or, at a gentler pace, in one week in Kosovo. Bear in mind that gov.uk says not to drive after dark and describes road standards as ranging from fair down to poor, especially in the countryside and after rain, so I wouldn’t plan more than two big sights a day.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Prizren on Booking.com and filter by area before price.