Zagreb

Zagreb is a city where grand architecture meets living memory, where parks shelter history and culture hums in every square. From the soaring spires of its cathedral to the quiet paths of its oldest cemetery, the Croatian capital offers a route that moves between the sacred and the secular, the monumental and the intimate. Follow this trail through Zagreb’s landmarks and you will walk through centuries of art, politics, sport and everyday life, all within the embrace of a city that wears its past lightly yet wears it proudly.

A cathedral of stone and spirit

The Zagreb Cathedral stands at the heart of the city like a silent witness to time. Built in 1093 and rebuilt after earthquakes and wars, its twin towers rise 105 metres above the skyline, making it one of Croatia’s tallest structures. The building blends Gothic arches with Romanesque walls and Baroque altars, while inside, a Walcker organ from the 19th century fills the space with music. Pope Benedict XVI visited in 2011 to pray at the shrine of Archbishop Alojzije Stepinac, linking faith, nation and memory in one place.

A theatre of national pride

The Croatian National Theatre opened in 1895, a jewel of neo-Baroque design by architects Fellner and Helmer. Its stage has hosted giants of Croatian culture from composer Ivan Zajc to ballerina Mia Čorak Slavenska. The building, visited by Emperor Franz Joseph I, still anchors the cultural life of the city, its auditorium glowing under chandeliers while outside, the square bustles with life. Nearby, the Natural History Museum keeps watch over the city’s scientific past.

A bank at the heart of the economy

The Croatian National Bank, founded in 1990, sits in Donji Grad as the guardian of the country’s purse strings. It issues currency, sets interest rates and guards the nation’s reserves, its role now focused on the final exchange of the kuna into euros. The building itself is a study in order and authority, its corridors lined with the tools of monetary policy and financial oversight. From here, the pulse of Croatia’s economy beats steadily onward.

A library of memory and learning

The National and University Library, moved to Trnje in 1995, holds more than two million books, including the first printed Croatian text from 1483 and rare German volumes. Its six faculty libraries and 32 regional branches make it the intellectual heart of the country. From the Marulić Square entrance, readers step into quiet halls where history is kept alive between leather-bound covers and microfilm reels.

A church with a view

St Mark’s Church crowns Gornji Grad with its colourful tiled roof, a patchwork of Zagreb’s coat of arms and the old triune kingdom’s emblem. Built in the 14th century and rebuilt after the 1880 earthquake, it mixes Romanesque windows with Gothic vaults. From its hilltop position, the church overlooks the city’s red roofs and winding lanes, a quiet anchor in a district that has seen kings, parliaments and poets pass through its gates.

A fortress above the city

Medvedgrad looms above Zagreb on the slopes of the Medvednica mountain, a 13th-century stronghold built by Bishop Filip. Once home to poet Janus Pannonius and later ruined by earthquakes, it now offers sweeping views over the capital and the valley below. At its gate stands the Altar of the Croatian Homeland, a memorial to the victims of the 1990s war. The ruins and the chapel within are silent reminders of power, loss and resilience.

A park of life and memory

The Mirogoj Cemetery spreads across 72 hectares like a city of the dead designed by nature. Laid out in 1876 as a multiconfessional resting place, it is now a park of arcades, domes and tree-lined paths. Here lie writers Miroslav Krleža and poets, politicians such as Franjo Tuđman and sports heroes like Dražen Petrović. German soldiers from the Second World War share space with victims of Bleiburg and the Homeland War, each grave a chapter in Croatia’s modern story.

A zoo in the green heart

The Zagreb Zoo, founded in 1924 inside the Maksimir Park, shelters 2,225 animals across 275 species. It is the oldest zoo in Croatia and a leader in European breeding programmes, home to rare olms and lemurs. Visitors wander from the African village to the Australian centre, pausing at the walk-through insect house or the goshawk aviary. The zoo is both a living classroom and a place where families meet the wild.

A sports colossus

The Stadion Maksimir, opened in 1912, is Croatia’s largest football ground and home to Dinamo Zagreb. It hosted matches at the 1976 European Championship and now hosts concerts beside football. The East Stand remains closed after an earthquake, limiting capacity to 24,851, but plans for 2026 promise new roofs and a temporary Kranjčevićeva Stadium. Across the road, the Maksimir Park stretches out, its green canopy sheltering the zoo and the city’s Sunday strollers.

A hall for all seasons

The Arena Zagreb, completed in 2008, is a vast multipurpose space that hosts handball, concerts and congresses. With 16,500 seats for sport and 22,400 for gigs, it has drawn over 60,000 fans for ice hockey and welcomed global acts. Linked to the Arena Centar shopping mall, it sits at the western gate of the city like a modern agora where sport, music and commerce meet under one roof.

A museum of broken hearts

The Museum of Broken Relationships turns personal loss into public art. Born from a couple’s collection of mementoes, it now holds objects from failed loves around the world—a Swiss edible slip, an Egyptian hotplate, an axe used to destroy furniture. Each piece comes with a story in Croatian and English, inviting visitors to reflect on love, memory and the things we keep or discard. It is Zagreb’s most intimate museum.

A square that shapes history

Ban Jelačić Square is the city’s beating heart, a place where markets, protests and parades have unfolded for centuries. Named after the 19th-century ban who tried to suppress Croatian autonomy, its statue was removed in 1947 and restored in 1990, its sabre now pointing south. Surrounded by Art Nouveau façades and classical buildings, the square remains the stage on which Zagreb performs its daily life.

A lift through time

The Zagreb funicular, known locally as the Uspinjača, climbs just 66 metres from Donji Grad to Gornji Grad in 55 seconds. Built in 1893 and modernised in 1974, it is the world’s shortest public funicular and one of its steepest at 52 percent. Two wooden cabins carry 28 passengers each, offering a quick trip between the old and new cities with panoramic views along the way.

A garden of living green

The Botanical Garden, opened in 1889, is a green lung in the city centre. Its 50,000 square metres hold 10,000 plant species, from Alpine flowers to Asian exotics, arranged in English landscape style.