Seven places that explain the city, in the order a walk through it takes. Skip any of them and Zagreb still works; skip all of them for a tram ride and a café and it works too.
1St. Mark’s Church
Photo: Pham Ngoc Anh / Pexels, Pexels License
The roof does the talking: glazed tiles in red, white and blue, with the arms of Croatia on one slope and the arms of Zagreb on the other. The church dates from 1499 and shares its square with the Croatian Parliament on the east side and the former residence of the viceroys on the west.
Time
15 to 30 min for the square and the roof
Setting
Outdoor
Best time
A clear morning
Getting there
Funicular to the Upper Town, then a short walk
Tip: Photograph the roof in clear weather. Under grey cloud the tiles lose most of their colour, and a thirty-second visit becomes a disappointment.
The twin spires are the best-known landmark of the city. A cathedral has stood here since 1217; the building you see was finished in 1906 to a design by Hermann Bollé.
Time
20 to 40 min outside, longer for a service
Setting
Both
Best time
After dark, when it is lit
Getting there
Kaptol, a few minutes from Ban Jelačić Square
Tip: If you are short of time, come back in the evening instead: the spires are lit, and that is the view people photograph.
Photo: Lajos Kristóf Kántor / Pexels, Pexels License
A former defensive tower at the top of the funicular, now an exhibition space with a viewing point. The Grič cannon fires from it every day at noon.
Time
20 to 40 min including the climb
Setting
Both
Best time
Just before noon
Getting there
Strossmayerovo šetalište 9, beside the top of the funicular
Tip: The way up is a spiral staircase; stand clear of the muzzle at noon if you dislike loud bangs. Holiday closures differ from the normal timetable, so check the operator’s page before a special day.
Adults €3, ages 7 to 18 €2. Tuesday to Friday 9 am to 8 pm, Saturday and Sunday 11 am to 8 pm, closed on Monday.
Photo: Lajos Kristóf Kántor / Pexels, Pexels License
The ZET funicular joins the Lower and Upper Town over a very short slope. The operator calls it the shortest public-transport funicular in the world, and the ride lasts 64 seconds.
Time
10 min with the wait at the station
Setting
Outdoor
Best time
Whenever your legs ask for it
Getting there
Lower station at Tomićeva, upper station on Strossmayer Promenade
Tip: It leaves every ten minutes and a regular ZET ticket is valid, so you do not need the single fare if you already hold a day pass.
€0.66 one way, every day including holidays 6.30 am to 10 pm.
The main square, where the Upper and Lower Town meet and where trams run through. The bronze ban on his horse stands at the centre. One of the planets of the Sun model by Ivan Kožarić, Venus, sits on a pole on a building here.
Time
15 to 30 min to cross it and look around
Setting
Outdoor
Best time
Early morning, before the traffic
Getting there
The centre of the city, on several tram routes
Tip: The tourist information centre is at number 11. Look up for the planets: the Sun itself is on Bogovićeva street.
A chain of squares and parks laid out in the 19th century, with the museums and institutes of the city strung along it. At the southern end, on King Tomislav Square, stands the yellow Art Pavilion. Its iron frame first served the Millennium Exhibition in Budapest in 1896 and was moved to Zagreb afterwards.
Time
2 to 3 h for the six squares and the Botanical Garden
Setting
Outdoor
Best time
Spring, when the beds are in flower
Getting there
Trg kralja Tomislava 22, across from the main railway station
Tip: Walk the horseshoe from Zrinjevac down to the pavilion and you end up beside the main railway station, ready for the tram or the train.
The central cemetery of Zagreb opened in 1876 north of the city. Arcades, domed gatehouses and pavilion chapels frame it, and the complex includes the church of Christ the King by Hermann Bollé. The tomb of the basketball player Dražen Petrović is here.
Time
1 to 2 h for the arcades and a walk through the park
Setting
Outdoor
Best time
A weekday morning
Getting there
Bus 106 from the cathedral, about ten minutes
Tip: Avoid 1 November and the days around it: hundreds of thousands of candles light the cemetery after dark, but the buses are packed and the calm is gone.
