After two years of restrictions, Atterbury Europe and its local teams can finally enjoy long hot summer days and nights again without worrying about their safety. We take a holiday trip through Serbia, to find some of the best ways to keep cool when the temperature soars.

1 Belgrade’s man-made lake Ada Ciganlija is a summer hotspot, with water-loving Serbs congregating on its beaches to relax, get relief from the heat, and enjoy water sports on its waters. On a hot weekend day, this is guaranteed to be the busiest spot in Belgrade!

2 Novi Sad, Serbia’s second biggest city, is the host to the Exit Festival from 7 – 10 July, featuring global superstars Iggy Azalea, Calvin Harris, Masked Wolf and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds as headliners among what’s already being called the strongest Exit gang line-up ever. Tickets can be purchased online for single days or for the whole festival:  https://www.exitfest.org/en/tickets During the festival Štrand beach hosts daily beach parties.

3 More music and dance this summer in Serbia, at the Summer Connection Festival in Nis, an 15, 16 and 17 July. This thrilling festival is for dance lovers, and will feature workshops with demonstrations by famous dance instructors, performances and fabulous pool parties with the likes of DJ Kid Loco from Zagreb on the decks.

4 Take a train ride on the engineering masterpiece that is the Šargan Eight train, a narrow-gauge railway which will take you from the town of Mokra Gora to Drvengrad, a village famously constructed by Emir Kusturica for his 2004 film Life is a Miracle. The picturesque heritage line is 15.5km long, with 22 tunnels and five bridges, and it takes its name from many twists and turns in the line which is said to resemble a figure eight if looked at with a bird’s eye view.

5 Another fun summer activity for the whole family is to visit the Sirogojno Open Air Museum, where 19^th century Balkan life is depicted in a scenic hillside “Old Village”. A number of old-school log cabins  with steep pitched roofs are among 50 examples of folk architecture that were relocated from surrounding mountain villages on mount Zlatibor, and set up to reconstruct how villagers lived, complete with the re-enactment of historic folk crafts.

6. The Silver Lake, on the right bank of the Danube River, is one of the most popular summer destinations in Serbia, with every shape and form of water fun available, whether you want to swim, fish, boat or waterski, or just go for scenic walks or trail runs in the fresh air. Enjoy sundowners at one of the many lakeside restaurants and watch how the setting sun sets the lake a-shimmer in silver.

7. And finally for some retail therapy, visit one of the Serbian malls in the Atterbury Europe portfolio – Ušće, Mercator, BEO are all situated in Belgrade, as are Immo Outlet Centar and Kanem.