From Wikitravel

Prishtina (Albanian: Prishtina; Bosnian: Priština; Serbian: Приштина) is the capital city of Kosovo (Albanian: Kosova), an autonomous province of Serbia under UN Administration, formerly part of Yugoslavia. The currency is the Euro.

Contents 1 Get in 2 Talk 3 Get around 4 See 5 Do 6 Buy 7 Eat 8 Drink 9 Sleep 9.1 Budget 9.2 Mid range 9.3 Top end 10 Get out

Get in

The easiest way to get to Pristina is by plane. There are direct flights to Prishtina International Airport [1] from London, Zurich, Geneva, Gothenburg, Copenhagen, Vienna, Hamburg, Hannover, Dusseldorf, Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, Bremen, Rome, Verona, Ljubljana, Budapest, Tirana, Istanbul and Antalya. Also, Skopje International Airport is 110km away (two hours). The bus to Pristina from Skopje takes about 2 hours and costs 4.5 Euro. The last bus in both directions leaves at 5pm. There are also direct bus links from most cities in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Albania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Macedonia, Bosnia, and Montenegro. From Serbia There is no railway connection. There are several direct busses from Belgrade (6hours, 1 day bus & 2 night busses, run by Kosovo Albanian companies, cost less than 10Euro, stops depending on the route in Nis or Krusevac. There should be additional busses from Nis, information dates from february 2005). ['#}]#]#

The UN operates a train between Skopje and Pristina. It travels twice each day and makes several stops along the way. It is a very inexpensive way to get to Pristina - 94 Macedonian denars from Skopje to the border and 2.50 euros from there to Pristina.

Talk

The main language you will hear in the street is Albanian. English is widely spoken in the 3 square kilometre space in the centre of town where internationals and those working for international organizations predominate; the further you go from the centre, the less likely you will be to find English widely spoken. Having said that, navigating around the city is easy and people are generally receptive to efforts to communicate in broken Albanian and English. Serbian is Kosovo's other official language, but it is seldom heard on the streets in the capital. You should be able to speak Serbian in some government offices, but should be cautious about how you speak it in public.

Get around

• Minibus is the preferred method of local travel. They run on set routes and cost next to nothing. It is usual to pay when you get in, try and have some change.

• Taxis are readily available, but more expensive. Make sure your driver has a meter in his vehicle. No trip around the centre or from the centre to Dragodan / Arberia, Valenia, Sunny Hill, etc. should cost more than 2 euros.

The roads in Pristina (and in general throughout Kosovo) are pretty bad. This is a result of a number of factors, such as: they were never especially good, Yugoslav tank treads and UCK mortars fired at those tanks did nothing to help the situation, and NATO sealed the deal in '99 with its stealth bombings and armoured convoys. Since then, UNMIK and the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG, Kosovo's nascent government) have simply not had the money to invest in infrastructure. Two or three of the main roads that make up the major road network have been repaved. Some roads have have disintegrated to the point that they are pretty much just dirt and gravel.

See

*No visit to Pristina is complete without wandering. To see the city from street-level is best: start off in the Dardania neighbourhood, infront of the three-storey portrait of Bill Clinton, and stroll past the university to the Grand Hotel and UNMIK. Follow Nena Tereze street towards the Skanderbeg monument and the new Government Building, then point yourself toward the historic mosques and meander through the tight lanes of the old quarter. You will see street market stalls, kids hawking cigarettes and phone cards, qebabtores and cafes, and the vibrant community life of Kosovo's biggest city. If you have more time, it's also worthwhile wandering up into Dragodan / Arberia or Valenia (especially City Park, also referred to as "the Italian park," and the park dedicated to now-deceased President Ibrahim Rugova).

• Pristina is a brown and sprawling city, with none of the historic charm of Prizren or the imposing mountain backdrop of Pejë. But there are outposts of green, the biggest and best of which is Gërmia Park. During the summer, the lake-sized swimming pool here is a hot spot for families and young people, but year-round the park itself offers grassy spaces to relax or kick the ball around, and a network of mine-cleared trails through the dense woods perfect for dog-walking or drunken hide-and-seek tournaments. A couple of restaurants at the top of the park have good food and nice views. Also interesting to check out the cluster-bombed police bunker, just up the road from the best restaurant.

• It may be "interesting" for some visitors to see the offices of the major international organizations in Kosovo. UNMIK's compound in the centre of town is tough to penetrate without an UNMIK card, but you spending a half-hour in Phoenix bar just outside the fence will provide you with a basic idea of what's going on in there. A more worthwhile destination is the OSCE headquarters on Luan Haradinaj; if you can get yourself inside, the view from the restaurant on the ninth floor is excellent.

• There is a display board outside the Kosovo Police Service (KPS) headquarters (near UNMIK) displaying most of the munitions used during the war. The display is for informational purposes for the local population so they would know what to be careful of when hoeing their fields but it is interesting for the casual tourist as well.

• 

  

  Library of the University of Pristina

A couple minute's walk from the Grand Hotel Pristina is the library of the University of Pristina. It looks like it is constructed of massive concrete Lego bricks and then covered with chain mail. It is certainly worth a look.

• Lately Pristina is rebuilding, and some of the city roads now are new! But you still must be on the look out for large potholes!

• The museum is free, and even better than its collection is the building itself.

Do

• If you like coffee, and have a massive amount of time on your hands, Pristina is the city for you. There are cafes absolutely everywhere, and most of them are packed through the warm season with fashionably-dressed young people, dropping a euro a day to keep themselves amused. Unemployment / underemployment is pervasive throughout Kosovo, and tends to affect people from all walks of life and different levels of education. Which means that dude in the sleeveless tshirt with streaked-blond hair at the table beside you could just as easily be an economist as a farm kid from Kamenicë, so learn to say "Mirëdita" with a passable accent and feel free to start a conversation. What to order? "Macchiato" is the catch-all term for "coffee" throughout Kosovo. Lately, some top-end coffee bars have installed WIFI zones and access to Internet.

• Privately-owned outdoor swimming pools are springing up around Kosovo, some just outside the city and worth the euro to cool off in the summer.

• Shopping-wise, Pristina is full of good bargains but low on selection (and if you happen to be a man who wears M shirts or pants, forget about it). Silver is sold in the old quarter and is a pretty good value; Albanians are known throughout the former Yugoslavia as silversmiths.

• Do as the locals do: In Pristina, this means korsa. In the evenings, when it's warm, a large proportion of the population heads out into the streets and promenades, between cafes or in with no particular desintation. The objective is to see and be seen, chat with friends, and take in as much fresh air as possible before the horrific winter descends. Note that 53% of Kosovo's population is under the age of 25, so most of the people on the street around dusk are teenagers and people in their early twenties. Lots of fashionable youngsters, sleeveless tshirts, elaborately streaked haircuts, and cigarette smoke.

• Alternately, you can sit at a table in an outdoor cafe and watch the white UN vehicles enter and exit the UNMIK headquarters building. For some reason, it is strangely hypnotic.

Buy

• The outdoor bookstalls adjacent to the Grand Hotel are a good place to pick up your copy of the Code of Lekë Dukagjini. Or a map of Pristina that most likely has names for all the streets no one has ever heard of.

• Also on the streets: CDs and DVDs that are cheap, and more likely than not, illegal.

Eat

There are a variety of restaurants and a taste for almost everybody.

• Best in the city: (1) Home, right beside OSCE, for ambience and variety; (2) Pjata, a block away from the UNICEF office, for style and quality; (3) Pinocchio, in the Dragodan / Arberia neighbourhood, which has excellent food and a warm atmosphere, as well as a broad view of Pristina below. For lunch, hit Te Komiteti on Qamil Hoxha street and have the gazpacho and chicken sandwich.

• As far as views go, however, you cannot beat Chalet Denis (up Dragodan hill from the bridge, toward Film City / KFOR). Friendly service and the best banana splits in Pristina, presented in a Swiss chalet-style atmosphere.

• For quick snacks, Aroma near Strip Depo and the ABC Kino and Metro across from the Grand Hotel have terrific sandwiches; Samurai, between OSCE and the new Government Building, is Pristina's premier (read: only) Japanese restaurant; the highly over-rated and over-priced Thai restaurant near UNMIK is nevertheless conveniently located; Restaurant Rio near Gërmia Park is the best bet for fish-fanciers; and the duelling South Asian restaurants located in the mall on UCK St. (one Indian, one Nepali) are both great for a long, quiet dinner.

• Tiffany's, hidden away near the crumbling sports stadium, is the place to see and be seen, but it's an insider vibe and not especially friendly to newcomers. Ask for a menu, and the usual response from the diffident staff is: "We're serving what we usually serve." In short, you have to be in the know. Having said that, this is the place to enjoy traditional Kosovo cuisine prepared creatively, and check out the various political luminaries and their bodyguards for entertainment.

• Some other names: Pan e Vino, Pellumbi, Restaurant Xix [2], Pishat.

Every taxi driver knows the location of most major restaurants frequented by internationals. Try a traditional qebabtore (you can find one anywhere), or a Turkish doner shop (best ones around the corner from Payton Place, near UNDP) for a real taste of the local food and great value. If you are a foreigner you may have to do a fair bit of pointing to order, but it should be worth it.

Drink

Cafes and bars are especially crowded on Friday and Saturday nights. Clubs open up and close down on an almost seasonal basis, but there are some reliable standouts, and neighbourhoods where something good is bound to present itself.

• For live music and atmosphere, Ahre (Barn) on the university campus just beind the library is unputdownable. The building was recently refurbished in a post-and-beam all-wood style, which creates the impression that you are partying inside a longhouse. The crowd is mostly Kosovar, trendy / artsy, and on the prowl. Not to be missed.

• Internationals gravitate to Zanzibar, near the ABC Kino cinema, and Strip Depo down the street from there. Places around the OSCE, like the Little Cafe and Outback, are also popular. For the ultimate foreinger experience, down a pint at Phoenix Bar on a Saturday night with the folks from UNMIK, but be warned: if the idea of drinking and dancing with fourtysomething long-term single expats in a downscale Yorkshire pub doesn't appeal, this is not the place for you.

• Hot cafe districts include the strip down from OSCE near Tiffany's (especially Kaqa), the area at the beginning of Luan Haradinaj street across from KTA, and the student hangouts on Bill Clinton in Dardania.

Sleep

Accommodation can be very expensive in Pristina, as everything is tailored for internationals on expense accounts and hefty per diems. If you look around you should be able to find fliers offering accommodation. If you can find these place(s), go there as the cost is usually 10-15 EUR per night.

Budget

Mid range

• Hotel Victory[3]
• Hotel Princi i Arberit[4]
• Hotel Ora
• Hotel Dion[5]

Top end

• Grand Hotel Pristina Staying here is going to cost you about the same as what you would pay to stay in a luxury hotel in a cosmopolitan European city. Do not be fooled by the name: this hotel is anything but "grand." Imagine the charm of a post-Soviet Intourist hotel combined with the worst service available in a city that's just beginning to discover service culture, and you have successfully visualized the Grand Hotel. Avoid, unless you're invited for coffee or gelato on the terrace.
• Hotel Pristina Staying here is a much better option. Just two or three blocks from the UNMIK headquarters, it is very close to most places of interest in Pristina. The Hotel Pristina is used by many international workers, including UN workers and members of the international police. It is very clean, has comfortable rooms, offers free internet access (including wifi), and the price of the room includes breakfast.
• Hotel Baci is comparable to Hotel Pristina and is close to a couple of the more important transportation hubs (i.e. bus station, taxi roundabout). There's also a decent restaurant downstairs and free Internet in the lobby.
• Hotel Ambassador near the Swiss Liaison Office in the Velania neighbourhood is also up to the standards of a discerning visitor.

Get out

A day trip to Prizren can be interesting. Buses depart from the bus terminal or you could hire a taxi for the day.

The are direct flights from Prishtina International Airport to London, Zurich, Geneva, Gothenburg, Copenhagen, Vienna, Hamburg, Hannover, Dusseldorf, Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, Bremen, Rome, Verona, Ljubljana, Budapest, Tirana, Istanbul and Antalya. Soon, there will be direct flights to Sarajevo and other destinations.

There are direct bus links to most cities in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Albania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Macedonia, Bosnia, Montenegro and Serbia.

This is a usable article. It has information for getting in as well as some complete entries for restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please plunge forward and help it grow!