ZAGREB · CROATIA
Tiled roofs, blue trams, the lakes by mid-morning.
Upper Town walks, Plitvice Lakes day trips, Yugoslav-era underground and the day trips Zagreb is built around. Lake Bled, Rastoke, Postojna, the lot.
Only in Zagreb
Three things you can’t do anywhere else.
Walking tours, museums and day trips exist in every European capital. These three don’t. A UNESCO karst cascade two hours away, the underground city Tito kept private, and a coat-of-arms roof you only see here. Build the trip around them.
Croatia's natural icon
Plitvice's turquoise cascade
Sixteen turquoise lakes connected by waterfalls and wooden boardwalks, all carved from a single travertine karst cascade. UNESCO-listed since 1979. There is no other landscape like it in Europe. Most travellers do it as a day trip from Zagreb.
- 1 From Zagreb: Plitvice & Rastoke Guided Day Trip with Ticket
- 2 Zagreb: Rastoke & Plitvice Lakes Guided Tour with Ticket
- 3 Plitvice Lakes with Ticket & Rastoke Guided Tour from Zagreb
20th century, underneath
Yugoslav-era tunnels and tours
Tito's air-raid network under Gradec, the apartment blocks of New Zagreb, the buildings that became museums. The Yugoslav century only happened here. Cars on these tours are 1980s Yugos and the guides remember it firsthand.
- 1 Communism & Croatian Homeland War Tour
- 2 Zagreb: Communism and Croatian Homeland War Tour
- 3 Back to Socialism Bike Tour
Cobbled hill town
Upper Town from the funicular up
St Mark's Square with its checkered coat-of-arms roof, the Lotrščak Tower cannon at noon, Croatia's shortest funicular, Dolac market through the back gate of the cathedral. The historic core walks itself in a half day.
- 1 Zagreb: Small Group Walking Tour City Center and WW2 Tunnels
- 2 Old Zagreb Private Tour
- 3 Zagreb: Restaurants, Food & Old Town Walking Tour
The first day
Start with the day everyone books first.
If you've only got one day from Zagreb, this is what most travellers book. The combination of operator, route and rating that lands at the top of the rankings.
Most popular
Zagreb's Most Popular Tours & Day Trips
Plitvice waterfalls, Upper Town walks, Yugoslav-era tunnels and the lakes and castles within day-trip range. The classics.
Beyond the City
From Zagreb in a day.
Croatia's capital sits in the middle of one of Europe's richest day-trip ranges. Six destinations, none more than two and a half hours from the cathedral square. Drive times by car from central Zagreb.
By destination
Pick the day you want.
Plitvice for the lakes. Upper Town for the cobblestones. Bled for the island chapel. Rastoke for the watermills. Postojna for the cave train. Pick where you’re going.
By experience
Or pick how you spend the day.
Walk the cathedral end to end. Cycle along the Sava. Eat your way through Dolac market. Drop into the tunnels under Gradec. Pick the kind of day.
Past the lakes
Day trips beyond Plitvice.
Lake Bled with its island chapel, Postojna’s underground cave train, the watermills of Rastoke, Trakoscan castle in its lake. The days most travellers do after Plitvice. If we had to pick three, these.
The local rhythm
Eat where Zagreb eats.
Tkalčićeva’s café strip, Dolac market on a Saturday morning, štrukli pastries and the local sparkling wines. Our three favourites for a first-time visitor who wants the food before the museums.
On two wheels
The city by bike.
Zagreb is flat enough that bikes outpace walking once you leave the Upper Town — Maksimir park, the Sava riverside, Novi Zagreb. Three guided rides we’d shortlist if you’ve got a half-day.
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