Discover Zagreb, Croatia capital of cool

The Croatian capital Zagreb has enjoyed the uncertain honor of being undervalued twice over. Cold-shouldered by Croatia-bound visitors because it’s a landlocked city without a beach, it has also been overlooked by city-breakers bound for Prague, Kraków or Budapest.

When you travel to Croatia, one effect of this loved one overlook is that Zagreb is one of the few European capitals completely unknown to be still considered something of a discovery. And also Zagreb’s new-found status as Central Europe’s shock bundle is fully been entitled to a preconception-challenging city that combines the abrasive urban culture of northern Europe with the laid back manners of the Mediterranean south. Here is a brief guide to Zagreb from Roughguides.com.

So what unexpectedly made Zagreb so hip?

Zagreb has actually always been a little bit extra ephemeral, eccentric and also innovative than its tourist-deluged cousins on Croatia’s coastline– it’s just that Adriatic-bound travelers never paid it any kind of focus until now.

Always residence to a flourishing metropolitan scene of alternative music, edgy styles, creative clubbing as well as characterful bars, Zagreb is presently enjoying something of a moment, with an abrupt rise in the variety of things that make a city truly purr– even more excellent locations to eat, more good locations to drink, as well as a festival-driven sense that points are occurring in the arts.

The relative lack of international franchises (and the universality of tiny, regional cafés serving great solid coffee) make Zagreb something of a collection agency’s item among lovers of Central European credibility. The globalized little bits of Zagreb (the shopping malls, the manifold cinemas) are mostly on the borders, leaving the center free to seek its own, idiosyncratic path.

What should I see?

Zagreb doesn’t a lot have a must-see listing of views as a must-stroll checklist of squares and also streets. It is one of minority European capitals that can still flaunt an open-air fruit and also veg market bang in the center of the city, as well as it’s the stalls at Dolac that provide you with an obvious base camp for additional exploration.

West of below, Tkalčićeva is not only the most beautiful enduring nineteenth-century road in the city yet likewise the center of much of its café-life. Looming over Tkalčičeva, the Upper Town (or Gornji grad) is a silent location of quaint Baroque roads, its south-facing ridge offering sweeping sights across the city.

Dežmanov prolaz, the arcade-like alley with a shake of posh shops and cafés, is a helpful jumping-off place for timberland walks in the ravines as well as ridges of the northern residential areas.

Gotten here on a wet day? The unorthodox Gallery of Broken Relationships beats the set-piece nationwide galleries and galleries in regards to resourcefulness and also appeal. Or else take a tram south across the River Sava to the Contemporary Art Museum for a chin-stroking experience with the Croatian progressive.

What should I eat?

Zagreb has actually gone bistro-crazy with a brand-new generation of quick, informal eateries that summon amazing fusion food by utilizing the best regional components as well as a Mediterranean-meets-global approach to the cooking.

Bistroteka chalks up a daily food selection of sandwiches, pasta, salads and major dishes based upon what season price is presently mixing the chef’s imaginative juices; while the small busy Mundaka utilizes fresh neighborhood lamb, fowl and also fish as the springboard for some really global concoctions. The irresistibly sleek and fancy Dežman Bar will certainly arrange you out with a premium sandwich and a thick black brew provided by local direct-trade coffee-roasters Cogito Coffee. “Life doubts: consume dessert very first” is the adage of the Cookie Factory coffee shop, purveyor of some of the most obscenely addictive chocolate brownies in Central Europe.

Where’s the celebration?

A lot of evenings start on Tkalčićeva, the pedestrianized strip so packed with pavement-terrace bars that it looks like the epicenter of some perpetual year-round holiday. Down a pint or two of locally-brewed ruby-red ale Griška Vještica (“Witch of Grič”) at Mali Medo, before sampling a vertigo-inducing series of natural herb, fig, carob as well as also quince brandies at the perfectly well-stocked Rakhia Bar.

For early-hours relocating as well as socializing, join the post-industrial clubbing crowd at Shock Show Sector situated in a previous tar factory.

Exists anything to get?

Present talk-of-the-town is the Croatian Design Warehouse Store, where you’ll discover everything from wearable fashion to extravagant furnishings, with a lot of highly original souvenir ideas scattered in-between. Check out fashion stores like Dioralop, Roba or I-Gle for insight right into Zagreb’s typically different, edgy feeling of design.

Any kind of budget-friendly lodging?

There’s a significantly characterful option in every classification. Newly-opened Hostel Bureau uses an option of dormitory (from EUR 16) as well as exclusive increases (EUR 46) in a sharply-decorated former office block with all mod-cons. Svi-Mi has a range of self-catering apartment or condos with wise contemporary furniture (two-person workshops from EUR 65, family-size apartment or condos from EUR 85). For an adorable and also colorful downtown B&B attempt 4 City Windows with doubles from EUR 62.