KalÄa is the biggest shopping mall in NiÅ¡. It is a huge, three-storey building, with virtually all kinds of shops: clothes, shoes, music, stationery, computer equipment, unlocked mobile phones... you name it. There are also several bars, coffee shops and one or two restaurants where you can refresh yourself after your spending spree.
There is also an 'underground passage', another trademark of Niš, virtually an entire street under the central city promenade. It throngs with small shops of all kinds.
Following the fashion in all Europe, the Balkans, and Serbia, Niš now hosts a variety of grand shopping malls and hypermarkets located on all outskirts of the city, where practically all goods can be purchased. The malls are usually a bit cheaper than small shops and visiting them is advisable if you should need supplies for a longer period of time food, clothing, stationery, equipment.... Major streets contain numerous signs directing a traveler to one of these Mercator Center, Tempo, Metro, Interex, Impex Mega Market.
Souvenirs are available in small shops in the Fortress,in the central squares of the city, or in shops near historical locations.
The local currency is dinar 1 EUR = approx. 95 dinars. The Serbian law does not allow that you pay in euros, dollars or any other currency in the shops, so, if you use cash, you must convert the money into dinars. Fortunately, this may be done in any bank or exchange office, and there are many in the city center including some automatic exchange machines in the very core of the city. In addition, a variety of credit cards are now welcome in most city shops. Vendors are legally obliged to provide fiscal stubs after any transaction. In practice, many places such as hotels will accept euro notes often at a nominal rate of â¬1=100 dinars and give change in dinars.
