Zagreb

Introduction

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Zagreb is Croatia's capital as well as its cultural, scientific and economic heart. Its compact city centre is easy to navigate on foot or by tram if you are feeling weary. The city is divided into three parts. The medieval Gornji Grad (Upper Town) is home to the Presidential Palace, historic St Mark's church and numerous museums and galleries. 19th century Donji Grad (Lower Town) is a much more lively area, packed with cafés, theatres and parks. 20th century Novi Zagreb (New Zagreb) is full of high-rises and has little to offer tourists.

Neighbourhoods

Sights and Activities

Museums

The museums in Zagreb are usually open Tue-Fri 10:00am-6:00pm, Sat 10:00am-1:00pm, Sun closed.

• Valuable historical collections are found in the Croatian Historical Museum, the Museum of the City of Zagreb, the Museum of Arts and Crafts, the Ethnographic Museum, the Croatian School Museum, the Croatian Hunting Museum, the Croatian Sports Museum, the Croatian Post and Telecommunications Museum, the HAZU (Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences) Glyptotheque (collection of monuments), the HAZU Graphics Cabinet.
• The Croatian Museum of Natural Sciences (Demetrova Street 1) holds the world's most extensive collection of the remains of Neanderthal man found on one site - the remains of the pre-historic man of Krapina and stone weapon and tools.
• The Technical Museum (Savska Street 18) keeps the oldest preserved machine in this area, dating from 1830 which still operates.
• Many visitors find the Mimara Museum (Roosevelt Square 5), housing the donation by Wiltrud and Ante Topic Mimara, very attractive. Of the total of 3,700 most various works of art, more than 1,500 exhibits constitute permanent holdings, dating from the pre-historic period up to the 20th century.
• The HAZU Strossmayer Gallery of Old Masters (Zrinski Square 11) offers permanent holdings presenting European paintings from the 14th to the 19th centuries, and the Mestrovic Studio, (Mletacka Street 8) with sculptures, drawings, lithography portfolios and other items, is a donation of this great artist to his homeland.
• The Museum of Contemporary Art (Catherine's Square 2) follows and presents contemporary trends in fine arts.
• The Museum and Gallery Centre (Jezuitski Square 4) introduces on various occasions the Croatian and foreign cultural and artistic heritage.
• The Art Pavilion (King Tomislav Square 22) is the oldest exhibition complex in the Slavic south with regularly organized exhibitions. The exhibitions are also held in the impressive Mestrovic's building on Hrvatskih Velikana Square - the Home of the Croatian Fine Artists.
• The Museum of Naive Art (Cirilometodska Street 3) disposes of more than one thousand works by a hundred and odd authors of the Croatian naive art. The World Centre "Wonder of Croatian Naive Art" (Ban Jelacic Square 12) exhibits masterpieces of the Croatian naive art as well as works of new generation of artists. The Modern Gallery (Hebrangova Street 1) comprises all relevant fine artists of the 19th and 20th centuries.

There are about 20 permanent or seasonal theatres and stages. The Croatian National Theatre is the most impressive building among them; the most famous of concert halls is the Concert Hall "Vatroslav Lisinski", named after the composer of the first Croatian opera.

Events and Festivals

Zagreb hosts many domestic and international events which attract visitors from all over the world.

• Film festivals are becoming increasingly popular. They show non-Holywood films rarely shown in cineplexes.
• Animafest - The World Festival of Animated Film used to run every second year, but since 2005 it is annual. It is dedicated to short animated films and longer feature films. The short edition of 18th Animafest will be held in Zagreb from May 31 to June 5, 2008.
• Zagreb Spring Jazz Review (24-29 April).
• Zagreb's International Days of Jazz (late October).
• Zagreb Summer Festival (June-July).
• International Folklore Festival in Zagreb.
• EUROKAZ is a theatre festival held.

Weather

Zagreb has a moderate continental climate with warm summers and fairly cold winters. Days average above 25 °C from June to September, while winter nights are below zero from December to February. Precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year, with a little more in summer, usually in the form of heavy showers. Snow is common in winter, though rarely very heavy.

Getting There

By Plane

International:
Zagreb International Airport (ZAG), also known as "Pleso", is located 14 kilometres south of the city. Croatia Airlines, the national airline, is based there and has destinations to many major cities in Europe, including Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Bol, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dubrovnik, Frankfurt, London, Munich, Paris, Podgorica, Pristina, Pula, Rome, Sarajevo, Skopje, Split, Vienna, Zadar and Zürich. Some of the low-cost airlines flying to Zagreb include Germanwings, Ryanair and Wizz Air.

Domestic:
Zagreb is linked to the coastal cities of Dubrovnik, Split, Rijeka, Zadar and Pula by the national carrier Croatia Airlines.

By Train

By Car

Major highways connect Zagreb to the main cities in Croatia, including Split, Dubrovnik and Rijeka, as well as to places outside the country, with direct links to Hungary and Serbia. During the 21st century, there has been a major upgrade with new highways and missing links all added to the road transport system.

By Bus

By Boat

Getting Around

By Car

By Public Transport

ZET provides public transport in Zagreb. It has trams, all inner-city bus lines, and most of the suburban lines.

By Foot

By Bike

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

Work

Learn

• University of Zagreb

Keep Connected

Internet

All hotels and hostels have internet access. These days, many have WiFi as well, although WiFi is still a bit on the expensive side. There are several internet cafés in the centre of Zagreb.

• Surf@internet point - Tkalćićeva 13/ 2nd floor. Open: Mon- Sat 09:30am- 8:00pm; Closed on Sunday. Internet, Chat, Video-chat, VoIp, Photography&data download and print. It's also a gallery presenting Croatian artists and a BookCrossing Zone (check OBCZ finder- Croatia).
• Cyber Cafe Sublink, Teslina 12
• Ergonet, Badalićeva 26c
• Iskoninternet - KIC, Preradovićeva 5/I.

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Post

Hrvatska Posta is the national postal service of Croatia and has pretty fast and reliable service throughout the country and internationally. It takes several days by airmail to other countries in Europe, but over a week to the US for example. They have a direct link to the pricelist, where you can see the prices of sending postcards, letters and parcels both domestically as well as to other countries. Post boxes are yellow in Croatia and the times of collections are indicated on the box. The opening times of post offices vary, but mostly they are open from 8:00am to 7:00pm Monday to Friday and until 2:00pm on Saturdays, though some might keep shorter or even a longer hours, just ask around. You can buy stamps here, or at newsstands. Prices start at around 10Kn for sending a letter or postcard to neighbouring countries, a few more further away.

External Links

• Official Governmental Website.
• Zagreb Tourism website.