Things to Do in Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

Unlike most capital cities in Europe, Croatia’s Zagreb is hardly on the top of anyone’s travel list. But even if you’re visiting the country’s more popular coastal towns, you’ll probably at least have a short stay in Zagreb given its international airport. If you’re looking for some guidance on things to do in Zagreb while you’re in town, look no further.

The heart of Zagreb is divided into two distinct areas: Upper Town, comprised of the oldest parts of the city; and Lower Town, which is the newer and more modern part of the city. Upper Town is also literally located on a hill overlooking Lower Town, so in addition to being architecturally the more interesting part of the city, it also offers great views of the rest of Zagreb. If you’re not up for the walk you can take a funicular uphill. It’s notably the shortest funicular on earth, taking you just 66 meters up.

One of the most popular things to see as you make your way around Upper Town include the 13th century Lotrščak Tower, which you can climb to the top of as long as you don’t mind a tall spiral staircase. From the top of the tower, a cannon is fired every day at noon.

Despite being an iconic part of the city’s skyline, Zagreb evidently doesn’t draw a lot of tourists for its religious architecture because it doesn’t work very hard to make its churches accessible to tourists. The Zagreb Cathedral, which is the tallest building in the country, was damaged by an earthquake in 2020, so it’s been closed for renovation since then. But I’m pretty sure it was also being renovated when I last visited Zagreb in 2016, so this maybe isn’t really something they are in a rush to fix. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).