Most people seem to skip Croatia’s capital for the coast, but we thought it deserved a stop. What we found was a city with some real charm, a few surprises, and a fair bit of sweat – mainly thanks to August heat and an air-conditioning unit that didn’t work.
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Museum of Broken Relationships
The headline stop was the Museum of Broken Relationships. Elliot knew about it through work and we weren’t sure what to expect, but it’s genuinely worth it. The collection started as an art project between a former couple in Zagreb who didn’t know what to do with the objects left over from their breakup. The idea caught on and now it’s become a full museum, filled with donated objects and the short stories that go with them. Some are funny, some are tragic, and plenty are somewhere in between. It’s the kind of place that stays with you afterwards.
St. Mark’s Church
We also did the rounds of the Upper and Lower Towns, starting with St Mark’s Church – famous for its bright roof tiles that make up the coats of arms of Croatia and Zagreb. This is a really iconic image and a landmark we’d both seen pictures of, and it really lives up to expectations in real life.
Zagreb Funicular
The funicular nearby is billed as one of the world’s shortest, only 66 metres long. It’s more curiosity than essential transport, but worth the ride just to say you’ve done it.
Dolac Market
The Dolac Market was probably the most “real” part of our visit. It’s not dressed up for tourists – just rows of fruit, veg, meat and fish under the iconic red parasols. Downstairs is even more visceral, with locals haggling over cuts of meat and wheels of cheese. In the intense heat of August, being honest, it wasn’t a fantastic advertisement but we do love an outdoor market so can let it off!
We ducked through the Stone Gate afterwards – the last surviving medieval gate – where people still light candles at a shrine to the Virgin Mary. The painting there survived a huge fire in 1731, which is why it’s so venerated.
Ban Josip Jelačić Square
Back in the centre, Ban Josip Jelačić Square was busy with trams and people, dominated by the equestrian statue of Jelačić himself. He was a 19th-century governor who abolished serfdom, so was fairly popular. This is a bustling square but its size makes it feel semi-anonymous…it’s quite long and sprawling and there’s a lot of people and vehicles down one side.
Tkalčićeva Street
Our favourite street was Tkalčićeva. Before the Second World War it was lined with brothels – which were legal but had to be advertised “on the quiet” using lanterns. Now it’s full of bars, cafés and restaurants. We liked it – lively but not over the top – and had breakfast here a couple of mornings and seemed to gravitate back to for drinks a few times a day. This is perhaps a pointer that we were struggling a little bit for things to do…!
By the same token, we made time for Amélie, a bakery not far from the cathedral,that’s all over the review sites. Elliot went for pistachio baklava, Kirsty for a Kremšnita – a vanilla cream slice that’s something of a local symbol. Both were fine, but with the hype we expected a bit more. Still, worth stopping in if you’re passing.
Seven Stories Rooms, Zagreb
We stayed in Seven Stories Rooms, right in the centre near the Sheraton. The room itself was fine and the small balcony was a great spot to watch the city with a glass of wine. But the air-con was broken and in 35-degree heat in August that was grim. The owner came and had a look, couldn’t fix it, promised us some wine as a sorry, which didn’t materialise…and that was that. To be clear, we’d recommend the room if the aircon worked – though ours was on the 4th floor and there was no lift, so bear it in mind.
To add to it, Kirsty came down ill on day two, so a lot of our Zagreb time was spent with her sleeping and Elliot reading on the balcony, sweating and slowly working through a bottle and some books. All of which colours our view of the place a bit.
For us, Zagreb has moments – the broken hearts, the tiled church, the market – but it feels more like a stopover than a destination. Or, a capital city that is perhaps more based on commerce than culture. If you’re heading to Croatia, there are better places to go – Zadar as a starter for ten.
