Zenica can be found shrouded on all sides by the lush green hills that enfold the River Bosna basin right at the heart of the nation. It stands as a reminder of the region’s long and interesting past; touched by Austro-Hungarian grandeur, Ottoman imperialism and modernist industrial boom alike. There are also traces of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s more ancient history lingering around town, found between the ruins of Bistua Nova and the crumbling remnants of Roman villas that pop up unassumingly near the residential streets of Tisina and Putovici.

First time visitors can look forward to visiting the charming streets of the town’s Stara carsija, where a curious Turkish mosque rubs shoulders with the exhibitions of the city museum, and lively cafés hum with the chatter of skiers, snowboarders, hikers or mountain bikers (depending on the season) preparing themselves for jaunts up to Smetovi, Lisac or Vepar. Zenica tour guides also point travellers to the rises of the fortress of Vranduk, the onetime stomping ground of the Bosnian kings that still clings steadfastly to the sloping banks and rugged cliffs of the Balkans to the north.