Zagrab is the capital and largest city in Croatia. It is in the Northwestern part of the countrywith 800k population. The city is split into the upper and lower towns. Upper (Gornji Grad) is considered the old town where the cathedral and pedestrian streets are, and lower (Donji Grad) is a more modern area where most of the businesses, theater and museums are located. We stayed in Airbnb in the center of lower town.
We took a vintage IMV1600 (vintage Yugoslavian minivan) tour around the city to get our bearings. It was really fun. The bus was restored to perfection and we were the center of attention as we got our tour. Highly recommend and would love to do it again.
Before you go to Zagrab, 3 things you should know:
A cannon goes off everyday at noon.
There is a man whose job it is to hand light the gas lamps in the city. Sadly we did not encounter him.
They have the changing of the guards ceremony in the main square which is really fun to watch.
WHAT TO SEE:
Stone Gate, in 1731 there was a big fire and on the third day when people went in to see the damage, they found a wood framed picture of Mary (the patron saint of the city) completely unharmed. A shrine was created to celebrate this believed miracle which gives people a place to worship.
Zagreb Cathedral, the second tallest and most famous building in Zagreb can be seen from most areas of the city. The cathedral suffered great damage by an earthquake in 1880 but was later rebuilt. The old clock still remains which stopped the moment of the 1880 earthquake at 7.03. The cathedral remains closed due to another earthquake in 2021.
Saint Mark’s Church is one of the oldest buildings in Zagreb dating from the 13th century. The uniquely colorful tiled roof was constructed in 1880 by Friedrich Schmidt and Herman Bollé. On it, you will see the medieval coat of arms of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia on the left side, and the emblem of Zagreb on the right. The church was also damaged by the 2021 earthquake.
Botanical Gardens – in the center of the city. Stunning in Spring!
Mirogoj Cemetery – it is up the hill and is beautiful. Very interesting and well taken care of. You can find almost every religion here.
Dolac Market in the upper town has produce, meats, plants and knik knaks.
MUSEUMS:
Museum of Broken Relationships is a lovely collection of relics from past relationships. Some funny some heartbreaking. The museum was founded in 2010 by 2 Zagreb based artists after ending their 4 year relationship
Museum of Hangovers – That’s right, a museum dedicated to being hungover. They serve beer while you explore.
Naïve art is full of art from artists yet to be discovered.
DOGS:
Parks are everywhere in Zagrab.
One of our favorite walks was the green horseshoe parks (Lenuci Horseshoe) through little Vienna and around to botanical gardens and back to thru lower town. Along with exercise and Rex got his own tour of the city.
