Bitola

Bitola (Битола) is the second largest city of North Macedonia, set on the Pelagonian plain at the foot of Mount Baba and the Pelister massif. In Ottoman times it was an important administrative and military centre, and foreign consulates gave it the name city of the consuls, still visible in its elegant nineteenth century architecture.

Širok Sokak, the long pedestrian main street, is lined with colourful neoclassical townhouses, cafés and shops, and it is where the whole city walks in the evening. The Clock Tower, the Yeni Mosque, the Isak Mosque, the covered Bezisten and the Old Bazaar recall the Ottoman city, and the Church of Saint Demetrius holds a richly carved iconostasis. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk studied at the military academy here, now part of the city museum. Show more

On the edge of town lie the ruins of Heraclea Lyncestis, an ancient city founded under Philip II of Macedon. Its late Roman basilicas preserve some of the finest floor mosaics in the Balkans, and a theatre, baths and a portico have been excavated. Pelister National Park, the oldest in the country, rises above the city with forests of the endemic Molika pine, glacial lakes known as the Eyes of Pelister and the mountain village of Dihovo. Pastrmajlija, a meat topped flatbread, and wines and cheeses of Pelagonia are local specialities.

Bitola is reached by road or train from Skopje in about three hours, and by road from Ohrid in about an hour. Two days suit the city and Pelister. Spring and autumn are especially pleasant, and summer is ideal for the mountains.