BA and the Balkan JAT Airlines fly daily from London Heathrow to Nikola Tesla Airport, Belgrade - try Opodo for options.

Wizzair make evening flights from London Luton to Nikola Tesla Airport.

Nikola Telsa airport isn't huge, with about a dozen departures an hour, but is modern enough and has all the usual facilities you'd expect. When heading home the departure lounge is modest in size but has a few shops, a restaurant, cafe and toilets. On my return to Blighty I had to go through security a second time to get to the gate, a simple holding room so don't rush into there too long in advance.

The cheapest way into town is bus 72, which leaves every 30 minutes on the hour and half hour. When you leave the arrivals hall the stop is just along on the left.  It takes 45 minutes via a dozen plus stops along the way (including Novi Belgrade) to reach the central bus stop (Zeleni Venac), costing 100 dinars (under £1). From here it's a short walk to most of the hotels in the old centre.

There's a general warning to avoid taxi drivers prowling for business in the arrivals hall as they may charge you heavily for the privilege of a journey. It's recommended to book an official one from a desk there, or better still ring your hotel before setting off, so they can have a taxi waiting for you.

From the airport taxis take 20 to 30 mins to the centre, according to traffic, for 1,200-1,400 dinars (£10-£12),

Note that you can't buy Serbian dinars in the UK but it's dead easy once you get to Serbia.  In the arrivals hall at the airport there's a currency exchange to swap your pounds, and also a cash point taking British cards. There are also scores of exchanges and cash points throughout the city.

It may be handy to have cash to change at the exchange It means you can ask for smaller notes, such as 50s, 100s and 200s, as the holes in the wall dish out big notes (500 and 1,000 dinars) that can have bus and taxi drivers scrabbling to give you change.

Other than flying the train is a long, 36 hour option from the UK involving a sleeper train via Paris. If you do you'll roll into the smart but small main station, a 15 minute walk or tram ride from the old town and central hotels.

Take the tram: The default mode of transport in Belgrade.