A plan for Zagreb

Zagreb is a vibrant city of around 770,000 people (2021, metropolitan area: 1,100,000). In 2017 it was visited by over a million tourists, mainly from Austria, Germany and Italy. Zagreb is also well known for its Advent festival, which occurs from December to early January, boasting vibrant nightlife and additional cultural and gastronomic activities.

Tourist information

1 Turistički informativni centar (Tourist Information Centre - Ban Jelačić Square), Trg bana Josipa Jelačića 11. Mon-Fri 09:00-20:00; Sat Sun 10:00-18:00. (updated Jul 2023)

Other information points are located at the airport, bus station, railway station and at the Lotrščak Tower.

Caution: Several of Zagreb's historical buildings sustained damage due to a moderate earthquake that struck the city in March 2020 and are temporarily closed until repairs are finished.

The city of Zagreb is mainly divided into two parts Gornji grad (Upper Town) and Donji grad (Lower Town). They are the cultural, religious, and commercial hubs of Zagreb. These are where most of the restaurants, bars and tourist sights are located. The Upper Town, which is the medieval core of the city, developed as two separate (and often warring) towns - Kaptol, the seat of the Bishop (where the imposing Cathedral now stands), and Gradec, the free town where tradesmen and artisans lived (proclaimed by King Bela of Hungary in the 12th century) merged in the 1770s to form the northern section of historic Zagreb. Following this, the city expanded south of today's Trg Bana Josipa Jelačića (Jelačić Square) to the railway station and the Sava River.

Apart from the two main parts, the City of Zagreb is extended both north-south and east-west. The northern part consists of the mountains and wilderness while the Southern part extends beyond the River Sava and consists of modern Zagreb and is known as Novi Zagreb.

So Zagreb can be classified under five areas:

Upper Town (Gornji Grad)

Lower Town (Donji Grad)

Northern Zagreb

Trnje

New Zagreb (Novi Zagreb)

Gornji Grad (Upper Town)

Churches and religious structures:

1 Zagreb Cathedral (Kaptol). It is closed due to March 2020 earthquake damage. The Zagreb Cathedral with its twin spires is the most well known landmark of the city. The original cathedral dates back to 1217 but the present structure dates to 1906. The chief architect was Hermann Bollé. Free. (updated Aug 2021)

2 St. Mark's Square (Crkva sv. Marka) (St. Mark's Square). St. Mark's Church is known for its colourful roof tiles depicting the coat of arms of Croatia and Zagreb. St. Mark's Church was constructed in 1499. Free. (updated Jul 2015)

3 St. Catherine's Church (Crkva sv. Katarine), St. Catherine's Square (Upper Town). Baroque style church

Strossmayerovo šetalište (Strossmayer's walkway). In the summer, it is an outdoor scene for painters, musicians and other artists offering food, drinks, performances and concerts. Popular meeting place for all ages, with a great view of the Lower Town.

Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall (Koncertna dvorana Vatroslava Lisinskog), Trg Stjepana Radića 4. (updated Sep 2023)

Football: GNK Dinamo Zagreb play soccer in HNL, the top tier. Their home ground is Stadion Maksimir (capacity 28,000) 2 km east of city centre.

NK Lokomotiva also play in HNL, at Stadion Kranjčevićeva (capacity 5000) 1 km southwest of city centre.

NK Rudeš were promoted in 2026 so they too play in HNL. Their home ground is 3 km west of city centre but they sometimes use the Lokomotiva ground, Stadion Kranjčevićeva.

Snow Queen Trophy. Ladies Night Slalom : Zagreb is the only capital in the world that hosts a Ski World Cup race. The slalom event - known as the "Snow Queen Trophy" (Snježna kraljica) - usually takes place in January. It is the most expensive race on the women's world cup tour and an exceptionally popular sporting event in Croatia that attracts a crowd of around 25 thousand people.

Mount Sljeme. Part of the Medvednica mountains, this is the highest mountain (1,035 m) of Zagreb and quite popular with hiking, trail running. Take Tram 8 or 14 to the last stop (Mihaljevac) and then change to tram 15 to the Gračansko dolje terminus. From here you can either take the cable car (ZET card accepted) or start your hike. You can also go up by bus 140 (Mihaljevac-Sljeme) or car. Different trails exist with good views and restaurants on the top where you can enjoy some traditional Croatian hiking food.

Cinemas

Foreign language movies are subtitled, not dubbed; only children's movies are dubbed.

A regular ticket will cost you €6-7. About €4 is the combined price of a medium popcorn and cola.

Tobacco smoking is banned in all enclosed public spaces, including restaurants and some bars and cafes. The smaller bars and cafes could opt (and some did) to allow smoking.

Budget

There are many take out, pizza-cut, sandwich bars and fast foods around the city. Most are located in the city centre (main square - Ban Jelačić and surrounding blocks). There are also food chains such as the "McDonald's", "Mlinar", "Pan Pek", and the preferred "Dubravica". (updated May 2022). You can also find many kebabs and pancake-to-go places.

In the city centre

1 Nocturno, Skalinska 4 (on Kaptol, between Tkalčićeva street and Cathedral), ☏ +385 1 4813-394. Good place to try the local gastronomy. An excellent restaurant with a variety of offers and helpful staff and a pleasant atmosphere. (updated May 2022)

2 Sandwich Bar Pingvin, Nikole Tesle 10 (on one of the central streets, close to the Flower Square and Trg Ban Jelcica), ☏ +385 1 48 11 446. Classic sandwich bar with a wide menu and reasonably good mix of languages. One of the most popular dishes is the toplo/hladno (hot/cold), a grilled chicken and vegetables sandwich. (updated May 2022)

3 La Štruk, Skalinska ul. 5. One of Zagreb's oldest fast food spots. Highly recommended are the grilled cheese sandwich, the grilled stuffed lungic and the zagrebacki sandwich. (updated May 2022)

4 Taquitos Bandidos, Radićeva ul. 12. Exactly what street food should be. Simple, fast, tasty and well thought out creative dishes that surprise you and overdeliver. Try their amazing chipotle sauce! It's Mexican street food. (updated May 2022)

5 Plac Kitchen & Grill, Dolac 2. Tasty Cevapcici sausages, fast service and not expensive. Fantastic peppers, cevapi and great special burgers. The restaurant is a bit hidden. (updated May 2022)

6 Bistro Dolac, Dolac 1. Somewhat of a Zagreb institution. The decoration is very "old school" (high ceilings, pot plants, yellow walls, functional furniture). (updated May 2022)

Amfora, Dolec 2. Seafood Restaurant (updated Sep 2023)

Around the central train station

7 MS Grill Restaurant, Draškovićeva ul. 57. It's a family owned local restaurant. The staff is very nice and welcoming (updated May 2022)

Bars and pubs

Many bars are found around Flower square (Cvjetni trg aka Preradovićev trg), the main square (Trg Bana Josipa Jelačića), Preradovićeva, Tkalčićeva, Radićeva, Bogovićeva, and Gajeva streets.

Booksa, Martićeva 14d. A cafe, bookshop and library famous with local young intellectuals.

Cica, Tkalčićeva. Bar mostly known for its great and varied choice of the local schnappses (rakija). Interesting always changing, gallery-like interior. The whole bar is small but offers outdoor seating. Very popular and crowded, brimming with young business and student clientele.

Funk club, Tkalčićeva 52, ☏ +385 98 672 338. 11:00-02:00. Cafe and bar that offers various music night programmes in the basement (mostly alternative, DJs, world music) and spacial backpacker evenings. Very good atmosphere, lots of character, cheap and tasty Rakija shoots and excellent electronic music: funky, electro, jazz, d'n'b, house, dubstep.

Golf, Preradovićeva. Until 02:00. Popular golf-themed cafe/bar.

KIC, Preradovićeva. Offers free internet and cheap international call centre. Hosts a cinema with various alternative movies.

Kino Grič, Jurišićeva. Old cinema. Hosts movies, festivals, music nights and Zagreb's hipster crowd.

Krivi Put (Wrong Way), Savska 14.

Mali Medo, Tkalčićeva. Offers a good choice of local beer and food. Indoors smoking prohibited. Has a terrace facing Tkalčićeva street.

Melin, Tkalčićeva. A cheap bar brimming with young people and students. Offers indoors, a roofed terraced leveled seating and an open terrace facing Tkalčićeva street. Known for crowds of people often drinking even around the bar, in the park and playground in front of it.

Oliver Twist, Tkalčićeva. A choice of good Irish beer with a great atmosphere. Big summer terrace in front.

Cafe de Paris

Pivnica Medvedgrad.

Portal, Tkalčićeva. Next to Melin, offers same service, the Portal and Melin crowds often mix at the outdoors terraces.

Zagreb has a well-developed and efficient public transport system that consists of trams, buses and trains. You can find routes and schedules from Easyway journey planner or Google maps, or you can download the official ZET app.

The tram network operates 24 hours a day - from around 04:30 to just after 00:00 there are 15 "day-time lines" (tram lines 1–9, 11–15 and 17). From 00:00 to 04:00 there are 4 "night" lines (tram lines 31-34) which cover most of the day-time lines on a reduced (around 30-40 minute) frequency. Occasionally, buses replace trams on night lines. Tram lines 1, 3, and 8 do not operate Saturdays, Sundays and on public holidays. Tram 1 doesn't operate in summer. Maps of daytime lines are available under the link "Network of daytime tram lines". Both buses, trams and the funicular are operated by ZET.

By bus

As for the buses, there are 138 day-time and 4 night lines. ZET buses cover the area outside the city center, and some neighboring towns in Zagreb county. The buses use the same ticketing system as the trams. There does not appear to be a map of bus routes. Google Maps is probably the easiest planner to use.

By funicular

A historic funicular railway (uspinjača in Croatian), one of the steepest and shortest in the world, operates between the lower and upper towns with a travel time of just one minute. The funicular operates every 10 minutes, but for a fee of €3.32 (in addition to regular tickets for everyone on board), an immediate ride can be purchased.

Funicular Fare

Ticketing system for buses & trams

ZET operate city buses, trams, funicular & Sljeme cable car.

Paper tickets & chip cards can be purchased at any news-stand/kiosk (Tisak), including at the airport. It is cheaper to buy a ticket here than from a driver.

As with much of Croatia, Zagreb is very safe on the whole. But just as anywhere else in Europe, dark/poorly lit alleys, parks (during the night), and some poorer neighborhoods should be avoided, and common sense should be followed. The chance of getting in trouble in Zagreb is fairly low, especially in the centre where most of the hotels and restaurants are located, and for foreigners, who are in general respected and welcome. Visitors soon realize that Zagreb is safer than the majority of European capitals such as London, Paris, Vienna, Rome, and Budapest.

Pickpocketing isn't a particularly common occurrence in Zagreb, but you might be approached by beggars and similar people on the street – ignore them and they will go away. Do be extra careful inside and close to the main railway station.

Though Croatia has become a more tolerant nation, outbursts of homophobic behaviour have been known to occur regularly, so it is advisable for non-straight couples to not show affection in public, especially in low control conditions and when near groups that look like football hooligans, skinheads or similar. For example, a lesbian couple from UK was assaulted by an angry passenger in a tram, and they suffered minor injuries, and the perpetrator was apprehended by the police.

Park Ribnjak, very close to the city centre, is safe during daytime and worth visiting, especially for children. However, it has become a night-time meeting place of alternative youngsters, and subculture violence involving skinheads and similar violent young people has occasionally occurred. It's best to steer clear of Ribnjak after dark, which shouldn't be a problem because of a lack of interesting activities there for most tourists anyway.