What's on in Podgorica, Montenegro through the year

Busy — Orthodox Christmas Eve, school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Orthodox Christmas Eve

  6–7 JanChristmas & New YearCrowded

  On 6 January crowds gather outside the churches as oak badnjak logs are blessed and burned on big bonfires, followed by Christmas Day on the 7th when many businesses close. Source ↗

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in February.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in March.

Busy — school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in April.

Busy — Independence Day, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Independence Day

  21–22 MayNational holidayCrowdedClosures

  A two-day public holiday marking the 2006 referendum, with the official ceremony at Parliament and concerts and fireworks on Independence Square. Offices and many shops close. Source ↗

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Season

  Extreme summer heat

  25 Jun – 1 Sep · usuallyExtreme heat

  One of the hottest cities in Europe, sitting in a bowl of hills an hour from the sea with nothing to move the air. Forty degrees is a normal July afternoon and the city plans its day around avoiding it. Source ↗

Busy — Statehood Day, school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Statehood Day

  13–14 JulNational holidayClosuresCrowded

  Two days of national holiday in mid-July when offices and most shops shut and anyone who can leaves for the coast. The road to Budva and the Bar train are the bottleneck, not the town. Source ↗

• Season

  The city empties

  15 Jul – 25 AugOff-season shutdownClosures

  August is the capital's dead month: half the cafes closed, the ministries on leave and the population somewhere on the Adriatic. Hot, empty, and cheap if you have a reason to be here. Source ↗

Still on: Extreme summer heat (25 Jun – 1 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Extreme summer heat (25 Jun – 1 Sep (usually)), The city empties (15 Jul – 25 Aug)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Festival

  FIAT theatre festival

  5–13 SepArts festival

  The alternative theatre festival in the first half of September, forty editions in and using venues across the city rather than one stage. It is the week Podgorica stops being only a transit stop. Source ↗

Still on: Extreme summer heat (25 Jun – 1 Sep (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

• Festival

  Podgorica Marathon

  8 NovSporting eventCrowded

  Running since 1994, now as the Millennium Run with marathon, half and 5 km races through the centre; long held on the last Sunday of October, lately in early November. Expect road closures that morning. Source ↗

Busy — Podgorica Marathon, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Podgorica Marathon (8 Nov)

Quiet — school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Festival

  December Art Scene (DEUS)

  1–29 Dec · usuallyArts festival

  The city's month-long winter programme of theatre, concerts, film, literature and exhibitions, running for over three decades, including a theatre-direction festival and a young classical music week. Source ↗