Sightseeing in Mostar

November 7, 2026

Mostar’s sights cluster around one bridge and two banks of the Neretva, with the Austro-Hungarian quarter a short walk west. Most can be seen in a long day; two days lets you go slowly and add the war-history sites. Small fees are paid in convertible marks (KM), usually in cash.

Stari Most

The Old Bridge was completed in 1566 for Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent by the architect Mimar Hayruddin. It stood for 427 years until Bosnian Croat (HVO) forces shelled and destroyed it on 9 November 1993. Rebuilt with traditional methods, it reopened on 23 July 2004, and in 2005 the Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar became a UNESCO World Heritage Site (whc.unesco.org ). Crossing is free at any hour. In summer, members of the Mostari Diving Club jump from the parapet once the crowd has collected enough money.

Tara and Halebija towers

Two towers guard the bridge. Tara, on the east bank, was an Ottoman ammunition store and now holds the Old Bridge Museum, with excavated remains of earlier bridges and a lookout at the top (about 10 KM; hours vary, so check at the door). Halebija, on the west bank, was a prison and lookout post; the divers’ club is at its foot, and guide listings place a war photography exhibition of Wade Goddard’s 1993 pictures above it.

Crooked Bridge

The Kriva Ćuprija crosses the small Radobolja stream just before it meets the Neretva. It is dated 1558, eight years older than Stari Most. Floods swept it away around the turn of 1999 and 2000, and it was rebuilt in the early 2000s. It is free to see.

Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque

Built in 1618 on the east bank, the mosque has a riverside courtyard with the classic view of Stari Most. You can pay for the mosque and courtyard alone or add the minaret, a steep, dark, narrow spiral. Reported prices run from about 10 KM to 15 KM or a little more. Cover shoulders and knees, and expect it to close to visitors at prayer times.

Ottoman houses

Bišćević House (1635): its wooden reception room projects out over the river.
Kajtaz House: a 16th to 17th-century family home with separate men’s and women’s quarters; hours are irregular outside summer.
Muslibegović House: an 18th-century residence, now a National Monument and a small hotel, also open as a museum.

Each charges a small entry fee.

Gimnazija Mostar

On Spanish Square (Španski trg 1), the striped Moorish Revival school by the Czech architect František Blažek was finished in two halves, in 1898 and 1902. It is still a school, and UWC Mostar has used its third floor since 2006, so admire it from outside.

Places of remembrance

These are solemn sites; visit quietly.

Partisan Memorial Cemetery: on Bijeli Brijeg, built from 1959 to 1965 to a design by Bogdan Bogdanović for Mostar’s Partisans of the Second World War (partizansko.info ). All of its more than 700 name plaques were smashed on the night of 14 to 15 June 2022, and the site remains damaged.
The Sniper Tower: the former Ljubljanska Banka building on the Bulevar was a sniper position in the 1993 to 1994 war. Its entrance is bricked up; see it from the street only.
Museum of War and Genocide Victims 1992 to 1995: a short walk from the Old Bridge, with personal testimony and graphic material suited to adults and older teenagers.

Getting around

Everything above is on foot from the bridge; the cemetery on Bijeli Brijeg, west of the centre, is a longer walk or a short taxi ride. A guided Old Town walk can be booked on GetYourGuide .