The capital of Macedonia is Skopje. The city is located in the north of the country, not far from the border to Serbia. With 540000 inhabitants, more than a quarter of the population of Macedonia live in Skopje. The city has been settled at least since 4000 BC, with the first settlements on the fortress hill. The city passed under Roman, Byzantine, Bulgariana and Serbian rule before becoming part of the Ottoman empire in 1392. It stayed under Ottoman rule for the next 520 years. In 1991, Skopje became the capital city of an independent Macedonia.
Skopje is a relatively small capital along the banks of the Vardar river. The 1963 earthquake destroyed 80% of the city, leaving Skopje with few historical buildings. The centre of the city has been substantially developed since 2014 with many new buildings in classical/historical style and statues being added to the city. The net result is that the centre of Skopje is sort of a Disneyland for adults - very photogenic, but a bit fake. The Old Turkish Bazaar area however was restored to its previous status after the 1963 earthquake.
How to get to Skopje
Skopje can be reached by car, plane (international airport of Skopje) or train.
Accommodation
Accommodation options include hotels and pensions, all bookable via the international booking portals. Prices are moderate.

01 Stone bridge 02 Archaeological museum of Macedonia
03 Central square and stone bridge 04 Hotel Marriott 05 Macedonia square
06 Justinian I statue and museum of Macedonian struggle 07 Justinian I statue and stone bridge 08 Justinian I statue
09 Stone bridge 10 Bridge of civilisations in Macedonia 11 Bronze statue of Greek warrior 12 Bridge of civilisations in Macedonia
13 Statue on bridge of civilisations in Macedonia 14 Museum of Macedonian struggle 15 Fountain of the mothers of Macedonia 16 Phillip II of Macedon fountain
17 Macedonian struggle museum and holocaust memorial centre
18 Macedonian struggle museum and holocaust memorial centre 19 Equestrian statues and archaeological museum
20 Archaeological museum of Macedonia 21 Porta Macedonia 22 Porta Macedonia
23 Macedonia square 24 Macedonia square
25 Macedonia square 26 Alexander the Great statue 27 Stone bridge
28 Boatmen of ThessalonĂ­ki monument 29 Archaeological museum of Macedonia 30 Government agencies
31 Stone bridge on Vardar river 32 Archaeological museum of Macedonia 33 Archaeological museum of Macedonia
34 Monument of St Cyril and Methodius and square 35 Mothers of Macedonia monument at night 36 Phillip II of Macedon fountain
37 Alexander the Great statue 38 View of Mt Vodno from Stone bridge 39 Porta Macedonia 40 Porta Macedonia
01 Skopje fortress 02 Fortress towers 03 Fortress towers
04 Kale fortress 05 Skopje fortress 06 Mustafa Pasha mosque
07 Fortress inner court 08 Fortress walls 09 Fortress walls 10 Old Turkish bazaar
11 Old Turkish bazaar 12 Street in old bRestaurant in old bazaarar 13 Old Turkish bazaar 14 Street in old bazaar 15 Old Turkish bazaar
16 Restaurant in old bazaar 17 Skopje fortress 18 Riverfront
19 Skopje fortress at night 20 Skopje fortress at night
01 Parking of Macedonian Village 02 Macedonian village 03 Macedonian village 04 Macedonian village
05 Macedonian village 06 Restaurant 07 Macedonian village house
08 Macedonian village 09 Church of St Panteleimon 10 Church of St Panteleimon
11 Mt Vodno parking 12 Parking overlooking Skopje
01 Building facade 02 St Constantine and Elena church 03 Telekom building 04 Stone Bridge hotel
05 South East European university 06 St Demetrius clock tower 07 Museum of Macedonian struggle and Macedonian national theatre
08 South East European university 09 Gotse Deltchev boulevard 10 Telekom Arena stadium
11 Skopje skyline 12 St Mother of God church 13 St Mother of God church
14 Vero center shopping mall 15 Vero center shopping mall
16 Panoramic view of Skopje
17 Panoramic view of Skopje
18 Panoramic view of Skopje
19 Panoramic view of Skopje 20 Chuch of St Demetrius 21 Chuch of St Demetrius
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