Things to do
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Mediana
Constantine the Great was born at Naissus, and this luxury suburb east of the centre preserves the villa complex associated with his court: mosaic floors, a granary, thermal baths and a water tower. A modern hall protects the best of the mosaics. Interpretation is limited and the site is easy to cross quickly. Buses towards Niška Banja stop on the road outside.
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Niš Fortress
Ottoman builders raised the surviving walls in the early eighteenth century over Roman and Byzantine foundations, and the enclosure now works as the central park of the city. Istanbul Gate, a hammam, a powder magazine and the ruins of a mosque stand inside among cafes and concert stages. Admission is free and the grounds stay open late. Nišville jazz fills it each August.
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Niška Banja
Thermal springs a short bus ride east support a spa resort of interwar villas, treatment houses and a shaded park, long used for heart and rheumatic cures. Pools range from institutional to modern and day entry is usually possible without booking. The setting under Suva Planina suits a slow afternoon. Trails from the village climb into the hills behind for wider views.
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Red Cross Concentration Camp
Wartime Germany ran a holding camp beside the railway here, and the buildings survive with cell graffiti, bunks and watchtowers intact. Prisoners staged a mass breakout in 1942, one of the few from a camp of its kind in occupied Europe, and many were shot on the hill at Bubanj. Displays are direct and difficult. Allow an hour, and combine it with the memorial park.
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Skull Tower
After the battle at Čegar in 1809, Ottoman commanders built a tower on the road out of town and set the skulls of the defeated Serbian fighters into its walls as a warning. A chapel was raised around what remained later in the century, and several dozen skulls are still in place. It is a small and sobering stop, plainly presented, and takes little time.