Note: Many museums right now (October 2023) are closed for repairs due to an earthquake that occurred in 2020. These include Atelier Mestrovic (scroll to bottom of page for info), the Croatian History Museum and the Mimara Museum. Several other museums have free or discounted admission because they only have small areas open while undergoing repairs. Check their websites for updates on opening. Note that Monday seems to be the day that all the museums are closed.
1) Dolac Market
This is a good local food market. It has a broad variety of meat, produce, goods such as honey and jam, pickled vegetables, bread, etc. It's actually on two levels, which we did not realize initially. At first, we climbed the stairs and browsed the produce and cheese on the top, outdoor level. This level is also surrounded by cafes and restaurants. Underneath, and inside, is the rest of the market - butchers, bakeries, cheese mongers, etc.
The market is located just north of Jelacic Square.
Dolac Market. Dolac 9, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia. Free. 6:30 AM - (1-3 PM; depends on day).
This museum provides a good overview of the history of the region around Zagreb over the last 3,000 years. In fact, the building itself was built on the remains of buildings from several times, including pre-Roman, Roman and medieval. Many of the excavations have been incorporated into the museum so you not only see exhibits in cases but you can see and touch the excavations too!
There are about 40 panels through the museum covering major topics about history, significant events, and religious life at various times in Zagreb. These all include English translations and help a lot with understanding the history of this region. While the history before about 1300 is fairly spotty, thereafter, the panels and exhibits are pretty detailed. Even the recent history of Croatia's war with Serbia in the 1990s is covered.
Zagreb City Museum. Opatička ul. 20, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia. 10 AM - 6 PM Wednesday-Saturday. 10 AM - 2 PM Sunday. Closed Monday. 5 euros/person.
They claim they are the only mushroom museum in the world! Beyond academic museums which may or may not allow public access, I'm not aware of any other mushroom museums, so we'll let that claim stand. This small museum on the second floor of an apartment building near Dolac Market is fun to explore, especially if you like mushrooms. The curators have done a great job of freeze-drying the mushrooms so they look fresh. There are hundreds of species, both local and global, each labeled with the species name and whether or not they are edible (or poisonous). There is also a display about using mycorrhizae (the non-fruiting body part of mushrooms; the filaments that grow underground) in building materials (a joint venture with a local university) and some description about how the mushrooms were preserved. If you are really into mushrooms and mushroom collecting, you can find out more at the Croatian Mycology-Fungi Association.
Mushroom Museum. Splavnica ul. 2, 10000, Zagreb. Open Wednesday 1 - 7 PM; Friday and Saturday 10 AM - 5 PM. 2.50 euro/person.
This is an absolute must-see. This park is located about 2 hours outside Zagreb and makes a good day trip. This is Croatia's oldest national park as well as a UNESCO Heritage Site. The park is over 300 km2 but the lakes make up a small part of that and are the prime attraction. There are approximately 16 small lakes, divided into the Upper and Lower lakes. The Upper Lakes are larger and formed over dolomite rock while the Lower Lakes are smaller and formed of permeable limestone. Between each lake are barriers of tufa, which, like coral, grow over time and modify the water flow downstream.
As a result of these tufa barriers as well as the water source for the lakes, consisting of several karst springs, there are waterfalls EVERYWHERE. If you are a waterfall fan, you will be in heaven. There are waterfalls between every lake; there are waterfalls above and around many lakes. The waterfalls range in height from 3 meters to 60 meters, and in width from 2-3 meters to dozens of meters. We visited in late October 2023; the weather was perfect (low 60s, mostly sunny) and the park was not crowded.
There are several well-marked routes around the lakes ranging from 3-12 kilometers (see photo below). Additionally, there are boats that stop at several locations on the biggest Upper Lake, and a shuttle tram. So, you have a lot of flexibility regarding how far you want to walk. The paths themselves are primarily log bridges that go over or just next to the lakes. There are several rest stations around the lakes with bathrooms and cafes/coffee shops (see photo for menu). We brought sandwiches and fruit from a bakery near our Zagreb lodging.
We booked this online via Viator (the day before we went); the trip was about US$100/person and included the entry ticket for Plitvice Lakes National Park. We used the company Roundabout Travel with the guide Luka (note that Roundabout is actually based in Ljubljana, but has a branch in Zagreb; our guide was Croatian). Luka was fantastic and the trip was well-organized with a maximum number of participants of 8 (and we had 6 in our party).
Plitvice Lakes National Park. Open daily 7 AM - 5 PM (ticket office is open 7 AM - 3 PM). Ticket price includes boats and tram/shuttle rides, and ranges from 10 euros (November-March) to 40 euros (June-September) (23.50 euros in October, April and May). Parking is 1 euro/hr for autos.
4) Rastoke
As part of our day trip to Plitvice Lakes National Park (see above), we stopped first at Rastoke, about 30 minutes away from Plitvice Lakes. At this town, the Slunjčica River flows into the Korana River, and the town has been built so that the rivers basically flow around all the houses. As a result, many water mills were built here, since every house is on (and in!) the river. Above the town are the remains of a Napoleonic arms warehouse (now a restaurant). You can walk through and thoroughly explore in the whole town in 30-45 minutes.
Town of Rastoke. 47240, Rastoke. Free though there are tickets for 3 euros to access a few scenic spots - we did not think that was necessary.
This tower was originally built in the 13th century as a 2-story guard tower built into the town walls. There have been several reconstructions and the tower is now 4 stories tall. Every day at noon, a cannon is fired (and has been since 1877), originally to ensure accurate time-keeping and now as a tourist attraction and tradition.
If you are coming from the south (e.g., the Lower town or Jelacic Square), you can reach the tower either by climbing a lot of stairs or taking the funicular. This funicular is actually the shortest public funicular in the world (66 meters) and as a result, it's a fast ride (64 seconds) and costs about as much as a regular public transit ride (0.66 euros).
Lotrscak Tower. Strossmayerovo šetalište 9, 10000, Zagreb. Open 9 AM - 7 PM Tuesday-Friday, 11 AM - 7 PM Saturday and Sunday, closed Mondays.
6) Sunday Antique Market
On Sundays, in the British Square (aka Britanski trg), various vendors sell all kinds of books, records, furniture, clothing, pins, etc. Most of the stuff is pretty interesting, not much junk. But hard to tell if items, such as Soviet pins, are counterfeit or genuine.
Antikvarijat at Britanski trg. Britanski trg, 10000, Zagreb. Open 7 AM - 5 PM Sunday. Free
7) Botanic Garden (full name: Botanical Garden of the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb)
This garden was located just half a block from our studio and yet we didn't go until the last day of our trip in Zagreb. The garden is large and pretty well-kept; signage of plants is also good. Several signs describe how they used to grow plants from Croatia's higher elevations but climate change has recently prevented these plants from growing in Zagreb. This is a nice way to spend an hour or two in a quiet park with lots of interesting plants and trees.
Botanic Garden. Trg Marka Marulića 9A, 10000, Zagreb. Open 9 AM - 4 PM Wednesday-Sunday and 9 AM - 2:30 PM Monday and Tuesday . 2 euros/person. 8) Park Maksimir has a zoo and pleasant places to walk. We did not go to the zoo, but if you are a zoo enthusiast or have kids, it would be a good target.
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