Travel to Zagreb
Travel to Zagreb
Zagreb comes as a surprise to many first-time visitors, who expect to find a grey, boring, ex-communist city. Instead, they find a lively, trendy city that is embracing modernisation and quickly reasserting itself as one of the cultural capitals of Europe. The city boasts a wonderful array of historic architecture, superb museums and galleries, great activities and a fabulous variety of performing arts. The nightlife is spectacular, the cuisine sumptuous and the annual events extremely entertaining.
Transportation to Zagreb
As the capital of Croatia, Zagreb is well connected to other major cities across Europe. There are fast and convenient motorways linking the city with Budapest, Venice, Graz, Trieste and Klagenfurt, while rail networks provide regular services to places such as Munich, Vienna, Venice, Budapest, Paris, Geneva, Graz and Moscow. Zagreb International Airport has flights to main European cities including London, Paris, Vienna, Milan, Venice, Frankfurt, Munich and Moscow.
What to see
The ancient town districts of Kaptol and Gradec have dozens of magnificent palaces, churches, fortifications and squares. Highlights include the Cathedral, St Marks and St Catherines churches, Stone Gate, Archbishops Palace and Lotrscak Tower. The city is also filled with amazing museums and art galleries.
Daytrips
There is plenty to see and do in the countryside surrounding Zagreb. The hilly Hrvatsko Zagorje region has many quaint villages and towns in a magical setting, while you will be entranced by the lovely Trakoscan Castle. For stunning panoramas and wonderful historic architecture, tour the castles of Veliki and Beranac. Wine lovers should head for the vineyards of Plesivicka Vinska Cesta, while nature lovers can explore the vast Velebit Mountains region. Those who may want to spend time at a coastal resort before heading home should visit the famous Dalmatian coast.
Activities and leisure
Zagreb has a great range of sporting and leisure activities at any time of year. During the summer, Lake Jarun is a popular destination and has facilities for water sports, cycling, jogging and mini golf. In the winter, there is ice-skating in the city and snow sports in the surrounding mountains. People-watching and shopping are the main leisure pursuits, with cafs encircling the large and atmospheric city squares, making them a great place to relax.
Safety issues
Zagreb is like any other large European city, where some districts are safe and others quite dangerous. The area around the train and bus station can be dangerous late at night, while opportunistic thieves patrol crowded tourist places. There are no particular public health problems within the city, but take the usual precautions of avoiding eating at outlets with few customers and stick to bottled water.