The official name of Belgrade is: Beograd (Бeоград), from Beo that in Serbian means white
and Grad means city.

Belgrade is the capital of Serbia and one of the most populated cities in South-Eastern Europe.
It is located in a prominent position, where the river Sava merges into the Danube. The historical core of Belgrade, Kalemegdan, was on the right riverbanks. Since 19th Century the city has been expanding to south and east and after the World War II, New Belgrade was built on the left bank of Sava river. In the past due to its position Belgrade was properly called "the gate of the Balkans” and "the door of Middle Europe”.

Belgrade has a population of about 1.8 million habitants that is equivalent to the 21% of the total population of Serbia. Serbian is the official language, part of the group of south Slavic languages, Cyrillic script and Latin script are both officially used and taught in schools.

Belgrade is city easy to explore by foot or using the network of public means of transport. Belgrade transportation network includes trams, trolleybuses, buses and taxis. The best way to discover any city is walking or riding a bicycle (but Belgrade city centre is not a great place for bikes). However, there are other places in the city where cycling is highly popular. Such areas include Ada Ciganlija Lake, Kalemegdan Park, Košutnjak Hill and Danube and Sava River Bank.

ACCOMMODATION
Recommended Hotels in the city center located 10-20 minutes by foot from the Conference Venues:

Square Nine, Studentski trg, Beograd, www.squarenine.rs

Hotel Moskva, Terazije 20, Beograd, www.hotelmoskva.rs

Balkan Hotel, Prizrenska 2, Beograd, www.balkanhotel.net

Hotel Majestic, Obilicev Venac 28, Beograd, www.majestic.rs

Palace Hotel, Toplicin venac 23, Beograd, www.palacehotel.rs

PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Belgrade city public transport company is GSP "Beograd" but there are also bus services run by private companies, on around 130 routes.
For further information browse Belgrade City Transport Company www.gsp.co.rs and new tariff system at www.busplus.rs

PARKING
Like the majority of European metropolises, also in Belgrade the lack of parking area and the traffic are two annoying problems. Parking area in Belgrade city center are divided in three zones where parking time is limited and payment is made for each full or incomplete hour:
- Red zone - maximum 1 hour
- Yellow zone - maximum 2 hours
- Green zone - maximum 3 hours
Parking is payable in all three zones on week days from 07.00-21.00 and Saturdays from 07.00 and 14.00. Payment methods for parking in the three zones are:
- Parking tickets - these are purchased at kiosks and other points of sale. The time of arrival should be written on the ticket and it should be displayed on the inside of the windscreen.
- Parking ticket machines (only in the red zone) - machines selling parking tickets take coins and electronic parking cards
- Mobile phone - by sending an SMS containing the registration number of the vehicle (for example BG123456, without spaces) to 9111, 9112 or 9113 (depending on the zone), from any mobile network. Confirmation that payment has been made by SMS.

TAXIS
Taxis in Belgrade are cheap and safe, ideal for tourists. Just remember to check if the taxi driver starts the taximeter correctly. Taxi in Belgrade have not a compulsory color but they have to carry a blue city taxi sign on the roof as well as the designation of their taxi company.