Travel Blog Zagreb - Croatia

Zagreb is the capital and with a population of over 820,000 inhabitants also the largest city of Croatia. The greater Zagreb area even has a population of over 1.2 million people. Zagreb is a diocesan town and also hots a university. 

Above: Zagreb Cathedral. One of the landmark sites in Zagreb. Inside the Cathedral is rather dark and capturing the church from inside is very difficult. More pics on the cathedral will follow below.

Zagreb - Capital of Croatia

City of Zagreb - 2orth a visit? Yes, indeed.

We were on our way to Slovenia, coming from the Balaton. The timeframe available was about three to four hours, which is not so much indeed. Admittedly, we had some information on the city and the plan was to park the car in the middle of the city and wander about for about three hours, taking as many photos as humanly possible.

That was the plan, as usual reality takes over sooner than expected. 

We planned to go for a central underground parking in the middle of Zagreb. We found the place but not the entrance to the underground parking, at least not at first instance. Google maps had other ideas.

Finally we made it to the underground parking being behind plan at least for 30 minutes. Anyway, we made it and that is what counts.

When you leave the underground paring you arrive at the basement of a large shopping mall. Pics of that are following later. You just go up by  lift or on the elevator, finally you will arrive at a large place that is full of people and full of restauration, pubs, the lot.

Accommodation in Zagreb

Accommodation: No problem at all. You can arrange for accommodation directly in the city centre on the outskirts of Zagreb or you stay outside the city in the countryside and travel into town every day. When you really want to be close to the tourist attractions then you should go for a hotel directly in the city centre. If travelling by car this could be tricky.

The up-market hotels usually provide some parking, smaller hotels have parking slots somewhere outside. Please ask specifically for a car park when booking the accommodation. Especially travellers having to cope with quite some equipment (photographic equipment for example) will appreciate an underground parking or parking behind the house. Believe me, carrying your bags over some hundred metres to the hotel is not enjoyable at all. 

The farther away you are the centre the cheaper the rates. So, stopping in a hotel in the countryside is the most cheap option, in case the travel budget is not so extensive as would be necessary. The disadvantage of stopping in the countryside is loss of time you have while travelling into town every day. This should not be underestimated, as Zagreb is a very busy town. 

Booking

Accommodation can mostly be booked using the well-known booking platforms. This is also possible at short-notice. When we were in Hungary we booked our accommodation while still in the Balaton area. 

Language

People speak their national lingo, off course,  and it is possible to get through speaking English, and German is also a very good option to talk about something.

What's up for the visitor in Zagreb?

The city has two large districts, the upper town and the lower town, they have a number of sights one should have seen and, of course, culture events to keep us all entertained. Lets start with the churches. Yes, you do not have to go far and you will come across churches everywhere. Take your time and step in.

Zagreb is the seat of an archbishop. So, what can we expect?

• Zagreb Cathedrdal
• Church of the holy Franciscus
• Mary's Church
• The Archbishop's Palais

Churches apart, a more trivial, but nonetheless interesting spot is the market (Dolac), where vegetables and all sort of food stuff is sold. We were there on a Friday afternoon and the market is really big. 

The most central square in Zagreb is:

• Ban-Jelacic-Square - Just go there and enjoy life.

The upper town is called Gornji Grad and also has some interesting sights for the visitor:

• Saint Marcus Church
• The Banal Court
• The House of Parliament
• The Lotscak Tower
• The Stone Gate (Kamenita vrata)
• The Zagreb City Museum

Commencing to down town what is there for us?

• The Green Horseshoe
• The Croatian National Theater in Zagreb
• The Pavilion of Art - established in 1898
• The Museum of Popular Art
• The Botanic Garden

Other things of interest:

• King Tomislav Monument
• Zrinski-Square
• Maksimir Park
• The Importanne Centar - Huge Shopping Mall
• Cibona Tower - one of the largest buildings in town with 92 metres in height
• The Euro Tower - larges building with 97.8 metres height
• The Regent Esplanade
• The Television Tower

As you see, there is more to the visitor than you can master when you are just passing through. As for going out, eating and drinking: No worries, there pubs, restaurants, night clubs, bars - think of it, it is there.

So just go out and enjoy yourself.

The main church in Zagreb, the cathedral. It is a very big building and rather difficult to capture. Here we look at the main portal and the twin towers. As is usual with cathedrals, they are always under construction. Especially when the tourist is in town anticipating to take a great  pic and then you have the scaffolding ruining the entire scene. 

You know the feeling?

Anyway, go inside and have a look what is on display.

Yes, it is a real church and not a museum. People do worship there and who just wants to go round and watch can also go in and also taking pics is allowed. As usual, no tripod no flash. But I can tell you the cathedral is rather dark, even if there is the sun shining through the windows. Taking pics in there is more than a challenge.