Not to miss

Banja Luka

This important crossroads on the Vrbas River in northwestern Bosnia is now known to the world as the capital of the Republika Srpska.

Banja Luka has never been much of a tourist centre. A 1969 earthquake destroyed about 80% of the town and in 1993 local Serbs updated the damage by blowing up all 16 of the city's mosques. The 1580 Ferhadija, a famous mosque originally built with the ransom money for an Austrian count, is due to be rebuilt but its site is still an empty plot. Down by the emerald Vrbas River the large 16th-century castle is about the oldest structure around and is host to a summer festival of music, dance and theatre.

Mostar

Mostar is forever linked with an image of the 500-year old, World Heritage Listed Stari Most spanning the Neretva River. Before its destruction, people from far and wide came to see its beauty. With its reconstruction, the people of Mostar are reminded of how they used to live, and might live again.

Hugging the bridge is the Old Town, a cobbled Ottoman quarter cradling the city's craftsmen, the beautiful 16th-century mosques, and a wealth of interesting museums and cafes. Restaurant terraces dotted on the steep riverbanks have perfect views of the Old Bridge at sunset and the green rapids of the Neretva.

Immediately upon entering the city you will notice the war-damaged buildings, although the Old Town is now more or less rebuilt. The city suffered an extreme battering during the '90s conflict, and was among the worst affected places in the entire country when it came to architectural destruction. Many ruins remain along the former front-line area, which is slowly being rebuilt.

Morića Han

Come for the history, stay for the coffee. This cafe was once a tavern when Sarajevo was a stopover on the ancient crossroads between East and West. Although wickerwork chairs for coffee drinkers have replaced benches for weary travellers and a carpet shop with waist-high stacks of rugs fill former stables, a historic ambience still permeates the place.

Mostar's Old Bridge

Following its high-profile destruction in 1993, the bridge was reconstructed in 2004, using traditional 16th-century methods. Now the bridge pulls day tourists from Croatia, who come to see young men diving into the river. But the best divers can only be seen in July, when professionals gather for the annual competition.

Mostar

A medium-sized city among the vineyards between Sarajevo and Croatia's Dubrovnik, Mostar is the main city of Hercegovina. Founded by the Turks in the 15th century at a strategic river crossing, Kujundziluk, the old quarter once greeted thousands of daily visitors from the coastal resorts who came in search of instant Islamic culture.

In May 1993, Croat forces in the western part of the city began a 10-month siege of the Muslim quarter east of the Neretva River. The Croats forcibly expelled thousands of Muslims and slaughtered hundreds more, destroying in the process all of the town's 16th and 17th century mosques. In November 1993, Mostar's famous Turkish Bridge, which had arched 20m (60ft) above the green waters of the Neretva since 1566, was smashed by Croat artillery.

The current population is about half that of pre-war days, and the city remains segregated into Muslim and Croat sectors. Visitors are slowly returning to experience the medieval buildings, cobbled streets and Turkish souvenir shops that give the city its charm, but the war scarring remains profound.