Central Montenegro is the administrative and historical heart of the country. It takes in the Zeta plain around Podgorica, karst Cetinje below Lovćen, the Bjelopavlići plain with Danilovgrad and Ostrog Monastery, the Nikšić plain and the northern shore of Lake Skadar. Distances are short: from the capital to the old royal capital, the lake or Ostrog takes between half an hour and an hour by car.
Podgorica
According to the 2023 census the Capital City has about 180,000 inhabitants, almost a third of Montenegro's population. The city stands where the Ribnica meets the Morača; at the confluence are the remains of Ribnica fortress and next to them Stara varoš, the Ottoman quarter with its 17th-century clock tower. The Millennium Bridge crosses the Morača, and a few kilometres north of the centre lie the remains of the Roman town of Doclea (Duklja). Podgorica is the country's transport hub, with the airport and the main railway and bus stations.
Cetinje and Lovćen
Cetinje lies at 672 m on a karst plain below Mount Lovćen. It was Montenegro's royal capital and remained the capital until 1946, which is why the National Museum, King Nikola's Palace and the former foreign legations still stand here. Cetinje Monastery was founded by Ivan Crnojević in 1484; the original monastery was destroyed in 1692, and the present building was raised by Vladika Danilo in 1701. Above the town is Lovćen National Park: on Jezerski vrh (1,657 m) stands Njegoš's Mausoleum, reached by 461 steps, and the old road from Kotor climbs through 25 hairpin bends via Njeguši.
Lake Skadar
Lake Skadar is the largest lake in the Balkans; its surface changes with the water level from roughly 370 to 530 km², and about two-thirds of it belongs to Montenegro. The Montenegrin part has been a national park since 1983 and is a Ramsar site, with about 280 bird species, including the Dalmatian pelican. The starting points for boat trips, kayaking and winery visits are Virpazar and Rijeka Crnojevića, with its stone Danilo Bridge from 1853. The shores are lined with fishing villages, monasteries and the fortress of Žabljak Crnojevića, and Crmnica above the lake is the cradle of Vranac wine.
Ostrog, Danilovgrad and Nikšić
On the road from Podgorica to Nikšić lies Danilovgrad on the Zeta, and above the Bjelopavlići plain Ostrog Monastery, built into the cliff of Ostroška greda at about 900 m, one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in the Balkans. Nikšić, Montenegro's second-largest town, has King Nikola's Palace, the Bedem fortress, the Tsar's Bridge and Lake Krupac on its doorstep.
