is zagreb worth visiting? 24 hours in croatia’s surprising capital
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Croatia has gained popularity thanks to the cruise industry, with cruises commonly porting in Split and Dubrovnik, but the northern region of the country is often neglected in favor of these warmer, beachy-er climates. Honestly, i only considered adding cities in the North of Croatia in order to make a pit-stop in Plitvice a reality, as it’s too far out of the way to reasonably make a day trip from Split or Dubrovnik (even though it ended up being a truly lovely addition to out itinerary.) We needed a city in the north, but a question in the back of my head kept pestering me - Is Zagreb worth visiting?
I would hate to drag my family to a boring city on vacation, but decided to take the plunge, hoping that Zagreb would be worth it, if only for its proximity to Plitvice Lakes. Thankfully, Zagreb was even cheaper to fly into than Dubrovnik, and we decided on a one way road trip, Starting in the north and heading south. Keep reading to find out if we think that Zagreb is worth visiting!
Since we only had one day in the city, we didn’t hit all Zagreb has to offer, but here are some of the highlights of our 24 hours! If you’re looking for things to do in Zagreb with kids, THIS is an awesome post to check out.
Is Zagreb worth visiting?
From our gorgeous Vrbo, we headed out bright and early and headed to St. Marks Church, but our path lead us past the Zagreb National Theater! Its bright yellow facade and gorgeous architecture makes it fairly difficult to miss. We didn’t go inside, as we had a set plan of action for the day, but the outside was more than enough for me. I would’ve loved to have known more about it and maybe checked the performance schedule to see if anything interesting lined up with our trip.
After snapping a few pictures, we continued on to the Church. St. Marks church is such a unique church and a must-see if you’re in Zagreb! Completely unlike the majority of European churches, this Church’s defining feature is its tiled roof. Besides that, it’s a super simple church. Across the plaza was a little bit of construction and I set up my phone on the scaffolding for some ~classic~ Emma self-timer pictures, as my family was eavesdropping on a free walking tour that was giving its history. unfortunately I was too occupied with balancing my phone on metal pipes to pay attention and can therefore not tell you anything about it. My apologies.
Regardless, tours are some of the best ways to get to know a city! I just know that Zagreb is SO rich in history and interesting facts, and if you have the time for a walking tour, I have never regretted taking one. They are easily my go-to activity when I’m in a new city.
Right next to the church is the Museum of Broken Relationships. The most unique museum I’ve ever been in, the Museum of Broken Relationships is an accumulation of items donated by a member of a failed relationship. These items embody the dynamics of their relationships, and the stories range from making you laugh out loud to tear up a little bit. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s not a particularly large museum, a few rooms hat took me maybe an hour to get through. It is rather reading heavy, as there’s a small story to read along with every item, but it’s worth it, I promise.
Read More: The Ultimate Croatia Road Trip Itinerary
How beautiful is that!^^
Next up, we headed to the Zagreb Cathedral. We lucked out when we arrived, as there was some sort of changing of the guard ceremony going on. Entrance to the cathedral is free, and the inside is beautiful! It was under construction when I went in September of 2019 but it should be over soon. (It was really very considerate of them to print a photo of the cathedral to cover the scaffolding in don’t you think? Lol)
Read More: How to visit Plitvice Lakes
And with that, it was time to pit stop for lunch. I had heard RAVE reviews about the traditional Croatian Breakfast at Otto&Frank, so I dragged my family there (as they serve it all day, God bless). It was a piece of toast with cottage cheese, bacon, greens, and poached eggs. I got sweet potato fries as well and it was amazing. The street that it’s on is home to lots of different restaurants and bars as well! Honestly this breakfast was worth a visit to Zagreb in and of itself okay??
From there, we headed up, and up……. and up! We definitely got our workout in; I was surprised that Zagreb had so many stairs! In order to avoid some of those steps, you could hop on the little funicular that they have, although it is the shortest in the world and wouldn’t save you from ~that~ many steps. Once you’ve gained a little altitude, theres a beautiful path called the promenade that gives you a lovely view of the city and the cathedral. The Promenade has lights strung over the walkway and in the trees and would be super cool at night.
There were street food vendors and post-card kiosks, fun graffiti and photo-ops. 10/10.
Read More: Top things to do in Split, Croatia
Omg my cute family <3
From there, we found a magazine/cigarette kiosk in a plaza where we bought bus tickets for super cheap and headed off to the Zagreb Cemetery.
I know, you’re like, “I have a SMALL amount of time in Zagreb i’m not wasting it on a cemetery.”
to which I say, “Baby it is HARDLY a waste.”
In fact, it was my favorite part of Zagreb and something that in and of itself makes Zagreb worth visiting.
It is MASSIVE. We could’ve easily walked around for hours. The gravestones were ornate and enormous and the landscaping was beautiful.
Obviously, as it is a cemetery, if you end up going, please be respectful of the people there; stay quiet and try to just observe.
And just like that our time in Zagreb was over! Although we only flew into Croatia’s capital to be close to Plitvice National Park, we ended up loving Zagreb. There’s so much it has to offer, we walked through war bunker tunnels and shopped at markets and explored the art park as well. I’m so glad we got to experience a city that I otherwise might not have had the opportunity to; Zagreb wasn’t even my radar, but it should be on yours!
In conclusion, I can say with complete certainty that Zagreb is worth visiting
Whats a city you’ve been to that surprised you?
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Are you looking for an epic Croatia Itinerary that includes the iconic cities of Split and Dubrovnik but also don’t want to miss out on the north of the country and the epic Plitvice Lakes? Follow along with this Croatia Road Trip Itinerary that will take you from Zagreb to Dubrovnik, and everywhere in between.