Zagreb Croatia is the biggest town of Croatia. It’s the capital of Croatia, the town of museums, good restaurants, vibrant nightlife and modern hotels. Zagreb is a modern, cosmopolitan city with some high class hotels, friendly and above all a safe city.
Very often ignored by tourists, rushing to reach the sunny coast, missing to spend a day or two in the center of Croatian culture. According to the size, it belongs to the medium-sized European cities with about 800,000 inhabitants.
It’s hard to understand why this charming city, with more than 50 museums and galleries, center of all kinds of musical and cultural events, high fashion, is still one of the most overlooked cities in Europe.
It’s the city of high cultural level and education, with the highest percentage of young people who speak several languages (English in the first place and German in the second).
The foreign visitors will be surprised by the hospitality and kindness of the local population and readiness to help them at any time during their stay in this city.
In 2012 Reader’s Digest researching on civilized behavior (politeness) in cities around the world, puts New York on the first place as the politest city in the world, while Zagreb shared fourth place with Berlin and Sao Paolo.
Zagreb Croatia City Layout
I advice not to rush to much to get to the Adriatic coast, bypassing Zagreb city. City offers so many attractions that at least one day if not three days, will not be enough to discover all the magic of Zagreb.
Upper Town (Gornji Grad)
he area north of the Trg Jelacica includes Gornji Grad (Upper Town) and its Gradec and Kaptol neighborhoods, which are perhaps Zagreb’s most picturesque and mystical city’s district.
Lower Town (Donji Grad)
Donji Grad (Lower Town) south of Trg Jelacica includes Zagreb’s famous Green Horseshoe a beautiful parks and squares complex in Zagreb, favorite places of all the citizens of Zagreb
Zagreb city map
Zagreb map is useful for those visiting Zagreb for the first time for a day or two before proceeding to the sunny Adriatic coast.
Zagreb top sights
Discover the best Zagreb attractions, following my walking plan to start sightseeing the top sights of Upper and Lower Town.
TIP
Once you get to the city don’t miss to get Zagreb tourist card, that will entitle you to free travel on public transport and great discounts at over 150 different locations.
The price of the Zagreb Croatia CITY CARD is 7,90 EUR for 24 hours while card for 72 hours is 11,80 EUR.
For a detailed list of all of the locations where the CITY CARD is available, please click here
Don’t miss to visit St.Mark’s Church the Zagreb Croatia trademark, well known for its multicolored coats of arms on the roof. They represent Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia.
Upper Town, except of narrow streets with cafes, shops and bars is the the place of Dolac open market offering daily fresh local products. If you would like to learn more about history of this city, than City Museum is the right place.
Lower Town has more the appearance of of urban environment, enriched with a large number of green areas that stretches from the train station to the town center. This area hosts the largest number of Zagreb museums and galleries, like those more famous as Strossmayer Gallery, the Mimara and the Archaeological Museum.
When To Visit Zagreb Croatia
This is a city that lives all year round. It does not matter whether you are in Zagreb, when the main tourist season along the coast is in a full swing or in January. Each season is good to visit Zagreb.
Zagreb climate is classified as an oceanic climate with similar to continental weather conditions. The whole Zagreb area has four well separate climate seasons. In general summers are warm, and winters are cold. Snow is common in the winter months, from December to March.
When planning to visit Zagreb, the best period is Spring period. My favorite months are May and June. In this season with outside temperature from 15 to 18 °C the whole life moves from indoor cafes and bars to outdoor bars and restaurants.
Even in Summer period when the city suddenly empties ( residents rush to the sea), it’s great time to enjoy Zagreb’s parks and city squares.
Many streets like famous Tkalciceva becomes the most popular meeting point of young people. In the hot summer nights it is crowded with people of all ages, strolling around, listening music or sitting and sipping their cold drinks.
In Autumn the city with about 20 permanent or seasonal theaters and stages, becomes the center of various concerts, exhibitions and special events. When planning a trip to Zagreb, get familiar with the calendar of Zagreb’s festivals and events.