While it is not typical European eye candy, the city is well worth seeing because of its intriguing combination of old and modern, café culture and nightlife, and laid-back Mediterranean attitude. Montenegro’s seaside towns and mountain resorts are both within an hour’s drive of the city, making it an ideal starting point for day visits to everywhere in the country.
Because there is only one summer month with less than 40 millimeters (1.6 in) of precipitation, Podgorica has a borderline Mediterranean climate and humid subtropical climate, with hot, fairly dry/wet summers and chilly winters.
Despite being approximately 35 kilometers (22 miles) north of the Adriatic Sea, an arm of the Mediterranean, Rumija mountain works as a natural Dinaric Alps barrier, dividing Skadar Lake basin and Podgorica region from the sea, reducing moderate marine effect on the local climate.
Every year, the temperature reaches 25 °C (77 °F) on around 135 days, with a median daily temperature of 15.6 °C (60.1 °F). The number of wet days is approximately 120, while the number of windy days is around 60. In the winter, a strong northerly wind impacts the climate, with a wind-chill effect dropping perceived temperature by a few degrees.
Podgorica is famous for its exceptionally hot summers, with temperatures reaching 40 °C (104 °F) on a regular basis in July and August.
Snow is an uncommon occurrence in Podgorica, falling just a few days every year.
Podgorica is in the heart of Montenegro. Rivers run across the region, and the settlement is just 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) north of Lake Skadar. The Morača and Ribnica rivers run through the city, while the Zeta, Cijevna, Sitnica, and Mareza rivers flow nearby. Morača is the city’s greatest river, measuring 70 m or 230 ft broad in downtown and carving a 20 m or 66 ft deep canyon throughout its entire length.
In contrast to the rest of Montenegro, Podgorica is located at the northern extremity of the Zeta plain, at a height of 40 meters (130 ft). The main exceptions are hills that provide views of the city. The most notable is the city’s namesake, Gorica Hill, which rises 130.3 meters (427 feet) above the city center.
Podgorica is not just Montenegro’s administrative capital, but also its key economic engine. Podgorica is home to the majority of Montenegro’s industrial, financial, and commercial infrastructure.
The disintegration of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav conflicts, and UN-imposed sanctions in the early 1990s left Podgorica’s businesses without customary customers, supplies, or accessible financing. This, along with the usual transition pressures, resulted in a reduction in the industrial base. Many industries failed, displacing thousands of people. However, several enterprises, like as the Podgorica aluminium smelter and Plantaže, survived the 1990s turbulence and are now key contributors to Montenegrin export and industrial production.
The Montenegrin Stock Exchange, as well as other key Montenegrin financial institutions, telecommunications carriers, media outlets, the Montenegrin flag carrier aircraft, and other notable organizations and corporations, are headquartered in Podgorica.
