Ilidža
Butmirska cesta 16, Ilidža
River Walk stands on the bank of the Željeznica, in the residential centre of Ilidža — the spa-town end of Sarajevo, ten minutes from the runway and one tram ride from the old town.
Seven thousand years on this ground
The name is literal: in 2021 the municipality laid its riverside walking and running track along the Željeznica embankment in front of the building. But people have been drawn to this exact ground for a very long time.
The street of the figurines
In 1893, diggers a few hundred metres along Butmirska cesta uncovered a Neolithic settlement so significant it named a European culture — Butmir, c. 5100–4500 BC — and brought the continent’s archaeologists to Sarajevo for the 1894 congress. Its 72 clay figurines are in the National Museum.
The Roman spa
Aquae Sulphurae, 700 metres west: a thirty-room Roman villa, a 2,880 m² bath-house, and a mosaic of the nymph of the thermal springs. The same sulphur water still fills the pools next door.
The imperial resort
Austria-Hungary built grand hotels, sulphur baths and a dedicated rail spur to Ilidža; the cold Željeznica itself was channelled into the resort’s bathing basin. Franz Ferdinand spent his last two nights at Hotel Bosna, 650 metres from here, before 28 June 1914.
The free side of the runway
The Tunnel of Hope surfaced in Butmir, 2.2 kilometres away — 340 hand-dug metres beneath the airport that kept the besieged city supplied. The Kolar family house is its museum.
The river walk itself
Ilidža laid a running and walking track along the Željeznica embankment — the path outside the window, and the one the house is named after. Downstream, the river meets the Mala Bosna and becomes the Bosna.
Google Maps ↗Butmirska cesta 16A & 16B, 71210 Ilidža, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
From the airport
2.3 km — 5 to 7 minutes by taxi (around 10 KM / €5). Write to reception before you land and we will arrange a transfer.
To the old town
Tram line 3 from Ilidža terminus (a 10-minute walk) runs straight to Baščaršija in about 35 minutes. By taxi: 12 km, about 25 minutes.
Around you
Ilidža bridge & centre
7 min walkCafés, bakeries, pharmacies, the Roman bridge a little further on.
Terme Ilidža thermal spa
6 min walkThe sulphur springs Austro-Hungarian Sarajevo was built around — pools open year-round.
Velika Aleja & Vrelo Bosne
1 km to the avenueA 3.5 km avenue planted 1888–1893, with fijaker carriages working it since 1895, ending at the six springs of the Bosna.
Tunnel of Hope Museum
2.2 km (3.4 by road)The hand-dug tunnel under the runway surfaced on this side, in Butmir. The Kolar house museum preserves it.
International Burch University
1 kmAnd the International University of Sarajevo 2 km further — parents visiting students stay with us all year.
Baščaršija old town
35 min by tramĆevapi, coppersmiths, the Sebilj, and the best people-watching in the Balkans.
