What to see in Mostar — a half-day walking guide.

1. Start at Crooked Bridge (Kriva ćuprija) — not Stari Most

Most visitors walk straight to Stari Most and never realise there's an older, smaller, equally photogenic bridge five minutes upstream. Kriva ćuprija was built in 1558 — about thirty years before Stari Most — as a practice run by the same Ottoman engineers. It crosses the small Radobolja stream and is rarely crowded. Start your walk here, photograph it from the river-level path, and then continue downstream to the main event.

2. Stari Most from the Neretva-level bunkers

Everyone photographs Stari Most from the bridge itself or from the immediate banks. The best shot is actually from the small stone platforms at river level on the west side — concrete remnants used by photographers and divers. To get there: from the west bank café strip, take the cobbled steps marked 'Hamam' down to the river. The bridge from this angle, arching low against the cliff, is the photo most postcards aren't.

Stay for a few minutes. If you're there between 10am and sunset in summer, the local divers will eventually jump — a 24-metre dive into very cold water, paid for by passing-hat donations. It's the same dive that's been done here for 450 years.

3. Walk the Kujundžiluk bazaar slowly

The cobbled lane east of the bridge, called Kujundžiluk, is the Ottoman-era coppersmiths' street. Yes, it's touristy. But the craft is real — these are families that have been hammering copper since their great-great-grandparents — and the light at the eastern end, in the last hour before sunset, paints the metalwork orange. Walk slowly, look up at the wooden upper floors, and turn off into any side alley that catches your eye. The further from the bridge you get, the quieter it becomes.

4. Climb the Koski Mehmed-Paša Mosque minaret

Twenty metres east of Stari Most, the Koski Mehmed-Paša Mosque has a small minaret you can climb for a few marka. The staircase is tight (not for anyone with claustrophobia), but the view from the top is the only one in the city where the bridge, the Neretva, the Old Town rooftops, and the Hum cross on the western hill all line up at once. Sunset here is unforgettable — and unusually un-crowded because most visitors don't know it's open.

5. Save time for the bridge at night

Most day-trippers leave by 6pm. Stay through dinner and walk back to Stari Most around 9pm. The stone is lit from below in warm light, the Neretva turns almost black, and the divers are gone. You can stand on the bridge alone (or close to it) and finally hear the river. Bring a tripod or just hold your phone steady against the parapet — long exposures of the lit arch with the dark water below are some of the best photos you'll take in Bosnia.