UltimateCity Guide Zagreb
Our favourites

The magazine

Stories from Zagreb, Croatia

Every story, long read and guide in the ULTIMATE Zagreb City Guide, in one place.

Advent in Zagreb

Every December Zagreb becomes one of Europe’s favourite Christmas cities, voted Best Christmas Market in Europe three years running, from 2016 to 2018. Lights, music, mulled wine and food stalls fill the squares and parks of the centre.

Ilica and a blue tram at nightBan Jelačić SquareAdvent in ZagrebSix weeks of Advent, 28 November – 7 JanuaryThe Upper Belvedere in Vienna lit at blue hour and reflected in its poolWinter journeyChristmas markets by trainVienna, Budapest and ZagrebEvening lights on BogovićevaThe heart of AdventZrinjevac ParkLights, music and stalls under the plane treesThe Croatian National TheatreIce rinkKing Tomislav SquareSkating in front of the Art PavilionThe Art Pavilion on King Tomislav SquareUpper TownStrossmayer PromenadeViews over the lit-up city

History

History & heritage

How a bishop’s hill and a royal free town grew into one Central European capital: Habsburg boulevards, the 1880 earthquake, the Green Horseshoe and a city of museums and cafés.

The tiled roof of St Mark’s Church in Zagreb’s Upper TownHistory & heritageKaptol, Gradec and the Habsburg boulevards: the story of ZagrebTwo hills, one city: Kaptol and GradecThe back storyZagreb Art, Architecture & CultureWalk Zagreb’s Green Horseshoe and you pass a museum, a gallery or a…

Our advice

When the lamps come on

Walk up to the Upper Town about half an hour before sunset, watch the lamps come on along Strossmayer Promenade, then wander the lanes before dinner on Tkalčićeva. The lamplighters

The Balkans, with love

From the red umbrellas of Dolac to the Saturday špica: the life Zagreb shares with the whole region.

Café terraces on Veliki trg in old Zemun, Belgrade, under the tower of the Church of the AssumptionThe regionThe Balkans, with loveCafés, markets, the table and the welcomeKotor’s old town and the bay from the fortress walls, MontenegroThe long readThe Balkan SoulCafés, markets, the table and the wildGrilled ćevapi with fries and kajmakThe regionFood & Drink in the BalkansThe shared table, guide by guide
  1. The regionMarkets & Shopping in the BalkansFrom Dolac to the old bazaars

To the coast and the islands

From Zagreb, the Adriatic is a few hours away. Our coastal guides take you to Split, Dubrovnik and Istria, and our island guides to Brač, Hvar, Vis and Korčula.

Narodni trg, the Pjaca, in SplitCoast guideSplitA city inside an emperor’s palaceThe Rector’s Palace in DubrovnikCoast guideDubrovnikThe walled republic on the seaRovinj old town from the seaCoast guideIstriaRoman arenas, harbours and trufflesHvar town across the yachts in its harbourIsland guideHvarGlamour, Greeks and lavenderZlatni Rat seen from Vidova Gora, BračIsland guideBračZlatni Rat and white stone

Know Zagreb

Two hills and a grand plain: our in-depth guides to the old Upper Town and Kaptol, and the 19th-century Lower Town with its Green Horseshoe, plus the best of luxury Zagreb.

The rooftops of Zagreb and the cathedral towersNeighbourhood guideUpper Town & KaptolGas lamps, St Mark’s and the cathedralThe music pavilion in Zrinjevac ParkNeighbourhood guideLower TownThe Green Horseshoe and the špicaThe Croatian National Theatre in ZagrebLuxury guideLuxury ZagrebGrand hotels and MICHELIN starsA gas lamp in a lane of the Upper TownThe back storyThe lamplightersGas lamps lit by hand every eveningRed umbrellas over the stalls of Dolac MarketThe back storyThe špicaZagreb’s Saturday coffee ritual
  1. The back storyZagreb animationThe studio that won an Oscar

Our advice

Saturday špica

Arrive on a Saturday around 10:30 after a walk through Dolac, find a seat on Bogovićeva or Flower Square, order a kava s mlijekom and stay a while. Do as the locals do and dress up a little. Špica

Beyond Zagreb

Plitvice’s lakes are two hours away, the castles of Zagorje even closer, and the coast at Zadar and Šibenik, with the waterfalls of Krka, is an easy overnight trip.

Waterfalls and a rainbow at Plitvice LakesDay trip · 2 hoursPlitvice LakesSixteen lakes and their waterfallsThe old castle of VaraždinDay trip · 1 hourZagorje & VaraždinCastles, hills and a baroque townA square in Zadar's old town, shaded by plane treesTrip · 3 hoursZadarThe Sea Organ and Roman ruins
  1. Trip · 3.5 hoursŠibenik & KrkaA stone cathedral and waterfalls

The Upper Town

Medieval Gradec sits on its hill above the city, a quiet world of lanes, palaces and churches, reached by one of the shortest funiculars in the world.

The Zagreb funicular below Lotrščak TowerEvery day at noonLotrščak TowerThe cannon and the funicularSt George and the dragon before the Stone Gate in the Upper TownA shrineThe Stone GateCandles and a miraculous paintingThe Croatian Museum of Naïve ArtAward-winningMuseum of Broken RelationshipsLove stories from around the world

Know your neighbourhoods

Ferdinand Knedle’s sweet dumplings on display standsNeighbourhood

Upper Town

Medieval Gradec: St Mark’s Church, Lotrščak Tower, the Stone Gate and the Museum of Broken Relationships.

Explore Upper Town Kaptol square and its medieval towerNeighbourhood

Kaptol & Tkalčićeva

The cathedral, Dolac market and the café terraces of Tkalčićeva.

Explore Kaptol & Tkalčićeva The music pavilion in Zrinjevac ParkNeighbourhood

Lower Town & the Green Horseshoe

Grand squares, parks, theatres and museums of Austro-Hungarian Zagreb.

Explore Lower Town & the Green Horseshoe A pavilion in Tuškanac ParkNeighbourhood

Maksimir

Zagreb’s great park, the zoo and the city’s football stadium.

Explore Maksimir Bars and terraces on Tkalčićeva in the eveningNeighbourhood

Trnje & the nightlife

Concert halls, clubs and bars south and west of the centre.

Explore Trnje & the nightlife The Mimara Museum in ZagrebNeighbourhood

Novi Zagreb & Jarun

The Museum of Contemporary Art across the Sava, and Lake Jarun.

Explore Novi Zagreb & Jarun

The ULTIMATE letter

Zagreb in your inbox

An occasional email with new places, concerts and exhibitions, Advent and coast tips, and our latest in-depth articles. No spam, ever.