Blighted by years of war, Serbia is beginning to re-emerge as a tourist destination and is fast becoming one of Europe’s hottest ’undiscovered’ spots.

Visitors can explore Belgrade’s museums and galleries, enjoy world-class opera and theatre productions or check out the city’s burgeoning club scene. Or they may head to elegant Novi Sad, stretching along the banks of the Danube, and known as the ’Serbian Athens’. The city is host to Exit, southeast Europe’s largest music festival.

Beyond the cities, Serbia encompasses vineyards, majestic gorges and vast national parks, and is home to 80% of all bird species found in Europe.

88,361 sq km (39,449 sq miles) (includes Kosovo).

7.5 million (2002 census, excluding Kosovo). Kosovo population: 2 million (UN estimate).

108 per sq km.

Belgrade. Population: 1.5 million (2002 census).

Republic since 2006.

Kosovo: The former Serbian autonomous region of Kosovo is currently self-governing with the support of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) under the authority of UN Security Council resolutions.

Serbian, which uses the Cyrillic script, Albanian and Hungarian.

Majority Eastern Orthodox Serbs, with a Muslim ethnic Albanian minority (especially in the province of Kosovo), a Roman Catholic ethnic Serbian minority (mainly located in the province of Vojvodina) and a small Jewish community.

GMT + 1 (GMT + 2 from last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).

There are some restrictions on photography.

220 volts AC, 50Hz.

Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica since 2004.

President Boris Tadic since 2004.