Europe’s ‘least visited’ city begging for more tourists after £500m revamp

Europe’s least visited capital city is marking 10 years since it underwent an ambitious multimillion pound regeneration to attract tourists.

But Skopje in North Macedonia is appears nothing but a facade as just a decade on.

At first glance, Skopje’s statues and buildings appear to be evidence of a rich history, with figures such as Alexander the Great and his family towering over its inhabitants.

However, the grandeur appears to be fake, as these statues are a mere 10 years old; a product of the then-ruling nationalist party VMRO-DPMNE’s attempt at constructing a heritage for the country which didn’t actually exist.

These days, the statues are falling apart, some splattered with paint as a result of public outcry at the cost of the project – over £500 million.

A further walk around the city will make you do a double-take: with buildings strongly resembling the White House, the Pantheon and the Arc de Triomphe all situated within close proximity.

These suspiciously similar structures are a result of former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski’s cut-and-paste tactics, where his inspiration from his travels isn’t exactly subtle.

Many are furious with the state of the city, but some view the results of the project in a different light.

Aphrodite Debouse, who runs tours and has lived in Skopje her whole life, told fodors.com: “We had no tourism before, and now more and more people are coming.”

Cvetin Chilimanov, a conservative commentator, takes a more patriotic approach to appreciating the effect the revamp has had on the country, stating its importance in establishing Macedonia’s independence and that the country’s citizens ‘would not be bullied’ into choosing a different name, as the Greeks had demanded.

Despite its view as wasting money on unimportant matters, Skopje still possess a strange grandeur, and is still worth a visit to those looking for an unconventional city to jet off to. The food is unique, with restaurants serving cow tongue, pig intestine and fried lamb brain.

Skopje, although seemingly attempting to distract from it, also does in fact have its own history, This can be seen through a stroll across the 600-year-old Stone Bridge, which crosses the River Vardar and is the main feature of the city’s coat of arms.