48 hours in: Zagreb
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The Croatian capital embraces the start of summer with concerts, café culture and national celebrations, writes Chris Leadbeater
Why go now?
This year marks the 15th anniversary of the end of the Croatian War of Independence, and Croatia's emergence as a sovereign state. Its capital, Zagreb, is a lively city with a distinct café culture, more central European fop than Balkan workhorse -- a trait that owes much to the centuries it spent as part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Book now for National Day (June 25) or Zagreb Summer Nights, a series of concerts that dominates July (2-31; kdz.hr).
Touch down
The only direct flight between Ireland and Croatia is the Dublin to Dubrovnik route with Aer Lingus. Driving to Zagreb will take a minimum of seven hours.
Alternatively, Croatia Airlines (0044 844 371 0310; www.croatia airlines.com) flies direct from Heathrow and Gatwick, and Wizz Air (0044 906 959 0002; wizzair. com) flies from Luton.
The airport is 10 miles south-east of the city. Shuttle buses depart from outside the arrivals hall roughly every 30 minutes from 7am to 8pm, fare 30 kuna (HRK30/€4). They go only as far as the bus station (1) at Avenija Marina Drzica 4. A further tram ride -- line 6, HRK7.50 (€1) -- will get you to the main square, Trg Bana Josipa Jelacica (2). A taxi costs HRK150-200 (€20.70-27.60) and takes 20-45 minutes, depending on traffic.
The Zagreb Card, covering all public transport (zagrebcard.five stars.hr; HRK60/€8.30 for 24 hours, HRK90/€12.40 for 72 hours), is available at the Tourist Information Centre at the airport (8.30am-4.30pm Monday to Friday, 10am-4pm at weekends).
Get your bearings
Zagreb sits prettily beneath Mount Medvednica. The capital can be divided into three sections. Gornji Grad (Upper Town) is the medieval core, which occupies a steep hill directly above Trg Bana Josipa Jelacica (2) and Ilica -- the key shopping avenue, which runs west off the square.
Donji Grad (Lower Town), flat, elegant and largely created in the late 19th century, spreads out between Ilica and the River Sava.
Novi Zagreb (New Zagreb), meanwhile, is a grey zone of Cold War housing -- but increasingly of interest in its own right -- that broods south of the waterway.
The central tourist office (3) can be found at Trg Bana Josipa Jelacica 11 (00385 1481 4051; zagreb-touristinfo.hr), open 8.30am-8pm Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm Saturdays and 10am-4pm Sundays. The national tourist board (croatia.hr) is a further useful source.
Check in
The Hotel Central (4), opposite the train station at Branimirova 3 (00385 1484 1122; hotel-central.hr), is a solid three-star where double rooms start at HRK780 (€108), room only.
The Hotel President Pantovcak (5) at Pantovcak 52 (00385 1488 1480; president-zagreb.com), a lovely boutique four-star with a leafy hillside garden, does doubles with breakfast from €109. (Upmarket hotels in Croatia tend to quote prices in euro.)
The Regent Esplanade (6) at Mihanoviceva 1 (00385 1456 6666; regenthotels.com/zagreb) is an Art Nouveau dame that opened in 1925 to host Orient Express passengers. Double rooms here start at €140, excluding breakfast.
Take a hike
The heart of Zagreb is small enough to explore on foot. Start in the main square (2) at the horseback statue of national hero Josip Jelacic, an aristocrat who nurtured ambitions of an independent Croatia in the 1840s. Move on to the north via Splavnica and climb the stairs into Dolac (7), where a daily food market is held (7am-2pm).
Return down the steps and swerve right up Ulica Ivana Tkalciceva (8), now a gentle slope of bars, but once the route of a brook that split the two warring halves of the medieval town -- the ecclesiastical quarter of Kaptol, around the cathedral (9), and the mercantile district of Gradec at the summit. As you climb, glance left at Krvavi Most (10) -- "Bloody Bridge" -- where the factions often clashed.
If you prefer a guide, Zagreb Inside (00385 912 512 336; zagrebin side.com) runs quirky tours, including 'Do You Speak Croatian?'. Tours depart at 1pm on Saturdays from the tourist office (3), priced HRK90 (€12.40).
Window shopping
Zagreb shops shut early at the weekend. Nonetheless, Ilica is refreshing. Kisobrani Cerovecki (11), at Ilica 49 (00385 1484 7417; kisobrani-cerovecki.hr), has been crafting umbrellas since 1912. Salon Cipele Strugar (12), in a courtyard at Ilica 33 (00385 1483 3344; strugar.hr), sells leather shoes made on-site -- from HRK1,300 (€179). Franja (13), meanwhile, at Ilica 24 (00385 1247 9300; franja.hr), dispenses Croatian wine.
Lunch on the run
Spica, or a coffee in town, is a Zagreb tradition that takes place from 11am-2pm on Saturdays. This event is pinned to Petar Preradovic Trg (14) (popularly referred to as Cvjetni, or 'Flower Market Square') and the streets around it.
Grab an outdoor table and a shot of caffeine at Golf Caffe, at the south end at Ulica Petra Preradovica 2 (00385 1481 4746; golf-caffe.hr), then hurry back to Dolac (7), home to the farmer's market, and Bistro Amfora at Dolac 2 (00385 1481 6455) for market-fresh tuna for HRK60 (€8.30).
Take a ride
Jump aboard a number 6 tram in Trg Bana Josipa Jelacica (2) and ride it south to the end of the line at Sopot. Here is Novi Zagreb, which still has a whiff of the Iron Curtain about it, although its drab corners are coming alive thanks to the flashy new concrete and glass Muzej Suvremene Umjetnosti (15) -- the Contemporary Art Museum (MSU) -- at Avenija Dubrovnik 17 (00385 1605 2700; msu.hr; 11am-7pm Tuesday-Sunday, to 10pm Thursdays; HRK30/€4.15). Its provocative and engaging collection concentrates on Croatian artists of the 1950s and onwards.
An aperitif
Orient Express (16), a bar at Ulica Nikole Teslina 10 (00385 1481 0548) that apes the interior of a rail carriage, is ideal for a medica (honey schnapps).
Dining with the locals
Baltazar (17), a carnivore's paradise at Nova Ves 4 (00385 1466 6999; restoran-baltazar.hr), has beef mignon with cranberry sauce for HRK120 (€16.50), while Trilogija (18), at Kamenita Ulica 5 (00385 1485 1394; trilogija.com), is a fish specialist: seabass in lobster sauce is HRK98 (€13.50).
At Pod Grickim Topom (19), Zakmardijeve Stube 5 (00385 1483 3607), try the beef in truffle sauce (HRK130/€18).
Sunday morning: go to church
Zagreb Cathedral (9) is a neogothic monster. Open 10am-5pm Monday to Saturday and 1pm-5pm on Sundays, its mildly dingy confines are lightened stained glass panels.
Colour of another kind is the talking point at the Crkva Sv Marka (20) on Trg Sv Marka. St Mark's Church, open 7.30am-6pm Sundays (9am-noon on other days), most notable for the mosaic coats of arms of Zagreb and Croatia on its roof.
Tinier, but more moving, is the Kamenita Vrata (21) on Kamenita Ulica. The 'Stone Gate' is an open-air walk-through chapel.
Out to brunch
Vinodol, a popular haunt next to Orient Express (16) at Ulica Nikole Teslina 10 (00385 1481 1427; vinodol-zg.hr), exudes a cosy vibe. Its speciality, veal cutlets stuffed with spinach, costs HRK86 (€12).
Cultural afternoon
Opening hours at some museums are limited. Hrvatski Muzej Naivne Umjetnosti (22), the Croatian Naive Art Museum, at Cirilometodska 3 (00385 1485 1911; hmnu.org) showcases 'peasant art' -- scenes of Balkan country life. Open 10am-1pm weekends; 10am-6pm Tuesday to Friday, HRK20 (€2.80).
The Mestrovic Atelier (23) at Mletacka 8 (00385 1485 1124; mestrovic.hr) displays the bronze carvings of Ivan Mestrovic in his former home; open 10am-2pm weekends, 10am-6pm Tuesday to Friday, HRK20 (€2.80).
The Muzej Mimara (24) has pieces by Caravaggio, Goya and Rembrandt at Rooseveltov Trg 4 (00385 1482 8100; mdc.hr; 10am-2pm Sundays; 10am-7pm other days; HRK40/€5.50).
A walk in the park
Park Zrinjevac is a lovely spot to stroll. The unexotic oaks and ferns at the Botanical Gardens (25), Trg Marka Marulica 9a (00385 1489 8060; hirc.botanic.hr), won't have you reaching for your camera, but the pine-scented trails provide a fragant experience. Open 9am-7pm daily (to 2.30pm on Monday and Tuesday; admission free).
At Trg Nikole Subica Zrinskog (26), wander a grassy square where fountains whoosh and statues stare.
Icing on the cake
If you fancy a last spin around Zagreb, a jaunt by Segway should finish the weekend nicely. Segway City Tour Zagreb (00385 1 301 0390; segwaycitytourzagreb.com) is based at the Regent Esplanade hotel (6) (book in advance, 9am-6pm Monday-Saturday). The standard two-hour tour (HRK350/€48) may even give you time to race to Mirogoj (27), where poets and presidents see out eternity from a marble maze.
The Independent
- Chris Leadbeater
Irish Independent
