City of Niš is situated in the Nišava valley where it joins the Južna Morava River. It is located at the 43°19' latitude north and 21°54' longitude east. The central city area is at 194m altitude above sea level. The highest point in the city area is Sokolov kamen (Falcon's rock) on Suva Planina Mountain (1523m) while the lowest point is at Trupale, near the mouth of the Nišava River (173m). The city area covers 596.71 square km of five municipalities.
City of Niš is the crossroads of the most importanšt Balkan and European traffic routes. The territory of the City is intersected by three important directions of international road and railway traffic – several roads that connect the Balkans with Central and Western Europe, including Corridor X, and the axis which connects the Adriatic, Aegean and Black Sea intersect the territory of City of Niš.
These roads have been widely known from the ancient times, because they represented the beaten tracks along which peoples, goods and armies moved. Known as Via Militaris in Roman and Byzantine periods, or Constantinople road in the Middle Ages and the period of the Turkish rule, these roads still represent major European traffic arteries. Thus, the City stands at the point of intersection of the roads connecting Asia Minor and Europe, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, for its location is a favorable one.
