Travel Guide Gevgelija

Dubbed the "Las Vegas of the Balkans", Gevgelija is rather frightening at first glance: casinos everywhere, shameless Greek gamblers who do no credit to their country, motley and often moody architecture... Yes, but there's sunshine here 250 days a year and then there's the beautiful scenery (and ski resort) of Mount Kožuf, which dominates to the west, a good regional museum, a few archaeological sites and some nice addresses that reconciled us with this funny border town built in a hurry when the railroad arrived in 1873. Along with Valandovo/Валандово (26 km to the northeast), Gevgelija is the country's second wine-growing region, after Tikveš: 2,500 ha of vines planted mainly with merlot, cabernet sauvignon and vranac. The wines here are powerful, not necessarily delicate. But some winemakers, and one winemaker in particular, are beginning to work more on quality than quantity. All in all, we gladly recommend Gevgelija for a two- or three-day stopover.