The most beautiful parks and gardens Northern Macedonia

This pleasant 48.6-hectare park (Градски Парк) is located next to the Toše-Proeski stadium and stretches 1.5 km along the Vardar. Created in 1905 by Governor Hafiz Mehmed Paşa, it expanded until the 1970s. It is home to Skopje Zoo, as well as several cafés and restaurants. Among the statues adorning the walkways are one of Macedonia's Bulgarian hero Goce Delčev (1946) and a copy of the "Pudique Venus" discovered in 2008 at the Scupi archaeological site.

These artificial "springs" (Билјанини Извори/Biljanini Izvori) are a popular summer stroll for locals. One of its highlights is the Biljanini Izvori restaurant. The actual source of the Biljana River is on Mount Galičica and flows here from fish-breeding ponds. The Biljana then forms a 700 m-long channel that joins Lake Ohrid, with a small marina at its mouth. To the south, the lake's last marsh, Studenčišča (Студенчишко Блато/Studenčiško Blato), is an important 50-hectare biodiversity area.

This small, tree-lined public park (Парк Жена-Борец/Park Žena-Borec) owes its name to a beautiful abstract sculpture paying tribute to the Yugoslav women who fought in the ranks of the partisans during World War II: about 1,700 of them died on the territory of present-day North Macedonia. Inaugurated in 1970, this stone work of about 2 m high is the work of the great Prilep sculptor Boro Mitrikeski (1927-2018). But not all the artists of the country have the same talent. You don't have to go very far to realize this. Within the framework of the "Skopje 2014" project, the same small park has been given a dozen kitsch, mediocre, ugly or pretentious monuments illustrating figures from the national narrative. One of them cumulates all the defects. It is the Monument to the Fallen Heroes of Macedonia. This vast white marble composition installed here in 2012 consists of a fountain adorned with a golden statue of the Greek mythological figure Prometheus, a tholos topped by a golden statue of the Roman allegory of victory and a portico supporting a quadriga not unlike the one at the Brandenburg Gate. The whole is accompanied by the pseudo-Latin inscription " Immortale, libertas, justicia " (in real Latin, it gives " Immortalitas, libertas, iustitia "). It is one of the most mocked monuments by Skopiotes. It is also one of the symbols of the mismanagement of the Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski (2006-2016), now sought by justice.

Situated on a hill that reaches 325 m above sea level, this 108 ha park (Парк на Природата Гази Баба/Park na Prirodata Gazi Baba, Parku Natyror Gazi Baba) is the largest green space in the conurbation. Classified as a nature park in 2015, it comprises a 100-hectare forest planted mainly with cypresses, black pines and oaks. It owes its name to the Turkish poet Aṣik Çelebi, known as Gazi Baba (1520-1572). Originally from Prizren, Kosovo, he is buried in a mausoleum to the southwest of the park, above the Gazi Baba district (38,000 inhabitants, 75% Macedonians).

This park (Градски Парк/Gradski Park) extends over 10 ha and 740 m in length to the south of Širok-Sokak. Bordered by the former railway station to the east and FK Pelister soccer club's Petar-Miloševski stadium to the west, it is planted with pine, acacia and lime trees. It was created in 1901 by Governor Abdülkerim Paşa. It was here that the officers of the Young Turk movement celebrated their victory on July 24, 1908, when Sultan Abdülhamid restored the Constitution of 1876.