Sarajevo has been home to many different religions for centuries, giving the city a range of diverse cultures. Slavic Muslims, Orthodox, Catholics and Jews all shared the city while maintaining distinctive identities. Today, however, the city is overwhelmingly Bosnian Muslim, but in recent years many returnees have been noticed as well as a growing number of foreigners from Eastern Asia.

The National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Sarajevo.

The city is rich in museums, including the Museum of Sarajevo, the Ars Aevi Museum of Contemporary Art, the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina (established in 1888 and home to the Sarajevo Haggadah), the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Museum of Literature and Theatre Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The city also hosts the National theatre of Bosnia and Herzegovina, established in 1919, as well as the Sarajevo Youth Theatre. Other cultural institutions include the Center for Sarajevo Culture, Sarajevo City Library, Art Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Bosniak Institute, a privately owned library and art collection focusing on Bosniak history.

Demolitions associated with the war, as well as reconstruction, destroyed several institutions and cultural or religious symbols including the Gazi Husrev-beg library, the national library, the Sarajevo Oriental Institute, and a museum dedicated to the 1984 Olympic games. Consequently, the different levels of government established strong cultural protection laws and institutions. Bodies charged with cultural preservation in Sarajevo include the Institute for the Protection of the Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina (and their Sarajevo Canton counterpart), and the Bosnia and Herzegovina Commission to Preserve National Monuments.

Historically, Sarajevo was home to several famous Bosnian poets and thinkers during the Ottoman Empire. Nobel Prize winner Vladimir Prelog is from the city, as was academy award winning director Danis Tanovic. Nobel Prize winner Ivo Andric spent much of his life in Sarajevo.

The Sarajevo Film Festival, established in 1995, has become the premier film festival in the Balkans. The Sarajevo Winter Festival, Sarajevo Jazz Festival are well-known, as are the Bašćaršija Nights, a month-long showcase of local culture, music, and dance.

The Sarajevo school of pop rock developed in the city between 1961 and 1991. This type of music began with bands like Indexi, Bijelo dugme and singer/song writer Kemal Monteno. It continued into the 1980s, with bands such as Plavi orkestar, Zabranjeno pušenje and Crvena jabuka, ending with the war in 1992. After the war, Irish rock band U2 was the first band to play in the city live.