Lower town Zagreb – All our local tips

If you’re ever bookless in Zagreb – this is the right place to go.

Located in the city center, this bookstore offers a lot of books in English (that’s what you’re looking for, right?) and will keep you busy for some while when you go down (books are in the basement) and choose the perfect book. Probably you’ll find whatever you need. My close friend was here few weeks ago and she wanted to buy her grandma a Croatian cookbook, but in French since her grandma doesn’t speak English nor Croatian. We found it, all it took was a question to one of the friendly ladies working there.

On your way to the basement you will pass a section with computer games, hardware and software, DVDs and international magazines. Great thing if you’re fed up with books. But you aren’t, right? So go down, pick a book, find a peaceful place to read it (on Zagreb.SpottedbyLocals.com, of course) and enjoy your book reading experience in Zagreb.

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Algoritam | Shopping | Books Kn 50.00
Gajeva 1 | Lower town | +38514881555
Mon – Fri 08:30 – 21:00, Sat 08:30 – 15:00

All jazz lovers coming by train won’t see much of Zagreb if they enter Bacchus. Situated less than 100m from the central train station, this bar offers food and drink for both body and soul, serving as a perfect welcome, farewell or just a quick resting place for an inquisitive wanderer.

A bar with history, a former legendary notorious hot spot and gay meeting point, reopened its doors in 2008. with a new concept, slowly regaining it’s undeservedly lost cult status.  The first thing that one notices upon entering is the details.

Everything here is about details. Every time you look around you will notice something new, from numerous antique writing machines, gramophones, radios, television sets, car models and wardrobes to a trapped baby doll, yellow rubber duck and a shark gnawing on a disco ball, to name just a few. The counter itself is made of an old bookshelf filled with books, and you get the check in one of them.

Jazz is played Wed-Sat, and the programme can be checked on their web page. If the weather is nice, you can sit in the garden up front, which reminds of a grandma’s back garden, extremely pleasant and relaxing.

The bar is rather small, with just 8 or so tables, which adds to the appeal, but should be taken into account when coming in the evening.

The wine list is rather short but carefully selected, featuring wines from Argentina, Chile, California, Republic of South Africa as well as Croatian pride and glory.  Besides wines, they offer a great list of cocktails and rakija made with herbs, berries, sour cherries, honey, pear, myrtle, and even nettle.

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Bacchus Jazz Bar | Art & culture, Bars, Music, Relaxing | Wine bottle from Kn 110
Trg Kralja Tomislava 16 | Lower town | +38514922218
10:00 – 00:00 daily

Bonita is a nice sandwich bar only a minute away from the ban Jelačić square. It has really tasty, warm sandwiches (like mixed sandwich and Slavonian sandwich, my favorite), various salads, vegetarian fast food, refreshments. The prices range from kn 10.00 to kn 20.00. All food is “to go”, and during the week days from 09:00 to 20:00 Bonita has a delivery service.

But the reason we love this miniature sandwich bar so much lies in one other characteristic that it has. Bonita is open almost non-stop. That makes it a perfect spot for a Saturday night scenario that I’m sure you’re all familiar with. You spent  the whole night dancing, clubbing and having fun, and at the end of the night you get hungry from all that excitement. At this point you don’t wish to go to a fancy restaurant. Instead, you fancy an open snack bar, and if you’re in Zagreb, you definitely fancy Bonita!

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Bonita | Snacks | Sandwich Kn 15.00
Cvjetni trg, Oktogon | Lower town | +38514813835
Fast food 06-04 daily | Delivery service: Mon – Fri 09:00 – 20:00

When it comes to bars in Zagreb, great interior design doesn’t always mean good things on the menu. However, in Flores, a fancy café situated a couple of steps away from the Jelačić square, you can get both.

For me it means the best chocolate pie I’ve had in this city, plus pretty good coffee. What more could you ask from life? Well, Flores will also give you good background music (a little bit of lounge, a little bit of funky – nothing that loud that you won’t hear yourself talk), decoration that’s posh but not overly pretentious and a polite staff that will serve you right away and won’t be troubled to recommend a dessert you’ll surely like. They also offer a wide range of both non-alcoholic drinks and fine spirits.

Of course, quality comes with a price: the pastries and drinks in Flores will cost you a bit more than in some other bars. Still, you won’t regret it – empty tables are hard to find in this place for a reason.

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Café Flores | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Chocolate pie Kn 15.00
Frane Petrića 1 | Lower town | +38514819272
07:00 – 23:00 daily

Situated next to the Student’s Centre, this café is very popular amongst younger population. In line with its name, everything about it has a slightly artistic, yet tasteful, air. The chairs on the terrace are some old wooden chairs, usually no two of the same design, and the interior is filled with retro billboards and posters. The lights inside are dim, the music is blended in the background chitchatting noise, which combines into a very pleasant and cosy atmosphere.

Once there, it is advisable to enjoy a cup of great coffee, a pint of excellent beer or just some plain old cider (the only place in the city that has it, as far as I know). If you’re wondering whether you’ve come to the right place, you’ll know by the time it takes for the waiter (they’re called WAITers for a reason) to take and bring your order. Then again, in a place called “Godot”, that’s probably the point.

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Café Godot | Coffee & tea | Cider Kn 14.00
Savska 23 a | Lower town
07:00 – 00:00 daily

Cinema “Europa” is sort of a left over from the era before multiplex cinemas inside shopping malls. Back then Zagreb had “little” cinemas all over the town and Europa was among the most beautiful ones. Today it can still proudly wear that epithet and that’s not where the story about Europa ends.

Nowadays this cinema is a place where you can enjoy many film festival like the Human Rights Film Festival, Queer Zagreb, Subversive Film Festival, Animafest or Jewish Film Festival. More than any other cinema it is open to movies produced in Croatia.

Locals love this city centre cinema so much that, when it was supposed to get shut down, they started a petition and other initiatives in order to stop that from happening. Fortunately, they were successful in their actions, so today Zagreb still has a cinema with personality, history and reputation. It is much more that just a hall with a big white screen.

February 2010:

Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement

Machan  (www.machanthefilm.com)

Festival of Croatian Animated Film (www.hrvatska-animacija.org )

Crnci (The Blacks)

A Serious Man

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Cinema Europa | Cinemas | Ticket Kn 22.00
Varšavska 3 | Lower town | +38514829045
Depends on the show

After being bought by Varta in the 90’s, this factory has expanded in the recent years and broadened their palette of products. Unfortunately, as the business got going, they closed the discount shop that was previously in the factory yard.

However, you can still go to the factory’s workshop (first building on the left once you enter the yard) and buy some freshly assembled batteries for almost half the price they’re sold in the stores. If you need to replace the old batteries from a device (such as wristwatch), they will do it free of charge, i.e. they will charge you only new batteries.

So, if you use a lot of gadgets, or like to do some photography – you’ll appreciate a backup set of (re)charged batteries. This is the place to get the stuff when in Zagreb.

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Croatia baterije | Shopping | 2500 mAh AA NiMH rechargeable Kn 30.00
Koturaška 69 | Lower town
Mon – Fri 07:00 – 15:00

Hidden, but still in the midst of the town, just 5 minutes walk from the main square, this internet café brings much more then you expect. The owners, a young couple, are used to travelers having been some themselves: they traveled through 40 countries around the Globe and spent 5 years in Dublin; so you can always count on a pleasant conversation, a few advices on what to see and where to go in Zagreb, exchange experiences of your travels, etc.

Besides the 30% student discount on internet, they offer over 40 types of fresh juices and smoothies, cheap sandwiches, daily soups, fruit salads, tea, dozen types of coffee to go and lately they got great cookies – so you can make it a chill out zone for couple of hours. My favourite is definitely big smoothie that Martina (the owner) mixes, depending on her inspiration. She is always inspired!

They also have a summer garden in which you can relax after sightseeing or just spend some time in shade if it’s too hot.

All in all, the name is a great resume: a funky cyber connected place that deserves to be better known by the passers-by of this town.

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Cyberfunk c@fe | Coffee & tea, Relaxing, Snacks | Big smoothie Kn 23.00
Masarykova 26/courtyard | Lower town | +38516399070
Mon – Sat 08:00 – 22:00

Zagreb is packed with various bakeries, ranging from big chains like Pan-Pek to little independent ones, so it might seem a bit hard to pick your favourite.

Since I’ve moved here, I’ve been to every bakery- well, to the ones in the city centre, which is what you’re probably interested in the most. So, when you see my curvy figure, it gets pretty obvious that I know a good doughnut when I find it, and believe me- Dinara is the place where you want to buy your doughnuts. Or bread, bagels… any other thing you crave at the moment. My favourite is their sour cherry strudel.

Situated a few streets away from the Jelacic square, the Dinara bakery offers a wide range of delicious products. It’s one of the smallest shops in the whole city; only four or five people can squeeze in. Yet there’s never a line in front of the store- the nice kind ladies behind the counter work really fast and they’ll always give you the freshest things, warm and tasty, just taken out of the oven.

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Dinara bakery | Snacks | Strudel Kn 6.00
Gajeva 8 | Lower town
06:00 – 19:00 daily

Džamija is a great place to go to if you simply want to stop and take a five minute break, read a book, enjoy the sun or talk to a friend. If art is something that interests you, you can always check some exhibition, because the building itself is a museum.

Džamija is a Croatian word for mosque. Even though this building really was a mosque from 1944 for a short period of time (before that it was a Association of Artists Ivan Meštrović, and now is a Croatian Association of Artists) local people still call it džamija. But the word has hardly any religious connotations.

The round shape of the building, its exterior and the fact that the place is surrounded by the roads, streets and traffic jam has always made me think of džamija as a getaway island from the city noise, situated in the city center. Even though you can still hear the noise while sitting there, it is only a background noise that you don’t pay much attention to.

When I was in high school this was my number one spot to go to when skipping classes. Nowadays is my number one spot when I just want to sit and relax.

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Džamija | Art & culture, Relaxing | Free
Trg žrtava fašizma | Lower town
24 hours daily

The KIC club is a funky little place situated on the second floor of a building overlooking the edge of the Preradović square.

The bar itself isn’t really visually impressive- it could be described as a simple square room with walls painted in a dull shade of grey, and a cluster of small tables surrounded by colourful but shabby chairs and sofas. Yet there’s a cool, laid-back vibe to it that you just won’t be able to resist. KIC is always buzzing with lots of people, mostly young intellectuals.

The waiters have serious mood swings- one time they’ll serve you right away and even throw in a smile for free, another time you’ll wait and wait until you get pretty frustrated. Eventually you’ll grow fond of them and you’ll start to play along.

Oh, not to forget- as KIC stands for ‘cultural information centre’ in Croatian, you might think that something cultural actually takes place there every now and then. You’d be right: there are movi

e nights (and most of those aren’t silly blockbusters, but something you’d be glad to watch), various lectures and photography exhibitions.

Those photos are one of my favourite things about this place- you’ll spot them the minute you walk in, and they’re usually quite attractive so they’ll give you something to occupy yourself with as you’re drinking your morning coffee. Oh, it’s evening already? Well, just enjoy the company of your friends while having a drink and chilling out at this great artsy bar.

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KIC club | Art & culture, Bars, Coffee & tea | Cappuccino Kn 10.00
Preradovićeva 5 | Lower town
Mon – Sat 08:00 – 01:00, Sun 10:00 – 01:00

King Tomislav square is the first thing you’ll see in Zagreb if you come here by the train, because this square and king Tomislav’s statue are directly opposite of the main railway station.

This place is really nice, especially the park behind the statue. It has become sort of the first station to tourists that visit Zagreb. It is pretty big, full of flowers, benches and green grass. You’ll get an impression that the statue of Tomislav is calling you to take off your bags and have a little break after a long travel.

But tourists are not the only ones that love this place. During the day, local people also like to have mini breaks, so the benches are always full. The park is not empty even when the night falls because young people like to hang around there.

If sitting on the bench is not your style, at the northern side of a park, in Art Pavilion, there’s a coffee bar so you can sit there. That can also be a great way to start your “Zagreb experience”.

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King Tomislav square | Relaxing | Free
Trg kralja Tomislava | Lower town
24 hours daily

Kolding is one of the coffee bars that I always return to. It is in the very city centre, in the Berislavićeva street, but still, it is not a coffee bar that you go to just to be seen. You go there to enjoy yourself.

And the first thing you’ll enjoy when you come to Kolding is the interior decoration. A big photo of  the street of some town (unfortunately, I’m not sure what town it is) covers the entire wall and a couple of palm trees will make you feel really cosy and comfortable.

Then you’ll sit down and order your drink. Very soon you will start  to feel like you could just sit here, doing nothing, for hours. And that’s what is so great about Kolding: its easy going atmosphere is infectious and something you always want to repeat. Whether you come here just to get a coffee in the morning or a drink in the evening, you’ll return pretty soon; you simply can’t help it. I know I never can!

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Kolding | Bars, Coffee & tea, Relaxing | Beer Kn 15.00
Berislaviceva 8 | Lower town | +38514872488
Mon – Sat 08:00 – 01:00, Sun 12:00 – 01:00

Kraš is the finest candy factory in Croatia and Kraš bonbonieres is a store where you can buy their products. Even if you don’t like candies, Kraš bombonieres is a place to visit just to experience the sweetest side of Zagreb. A list of suggestions of products to try is really hard to make, because Kraš has so many delicious candies to offer.

Here are my favorites: Pepermint – a chocolate mint candy, chocolate with nut creme filling, banana chocolates, biscuits with chocolate topping, Krašotice and Krašuljci – Kraš’s brownies, Griotte – dark chocolate with liquid center and a sour cherry.

Last but not least, Bajadera chocolates is possibly the finest product that Kraš makes and the most famous-  once you try it you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. And if you still don’t know what souvenir to bring back from Zagreb, Bajadera is a great choice, even though it’ll be gone as soon as you open it (especially if you have to hang out with chocolate addicts like me).

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Kraš bonboniere | Shopping | Bajadera Kn 44.00
Trg bana Josipa Jelačića 12 | Lower town | +38514810443
Mon – Fri 07:00 – 21:00, Sat 07:00 -15:00

Kraš (see the Kras article) is a famous Croatian candy factory founded in 1911. There’s another side of Kraš, though, that’s a lot younger than the original.

Kraš choco bar is a place where you can enjoy cake and pastries, some of whose ingredients are the most popular products of this great brand. For example, there’s a palette of ice cream flavours that are designed to remind you of famous Kraš chocolates. You’re not into ice cream when it’s cold outside? Well, there’s no reason not to treat yourself to a great chocolate fondue with fruit to dip in.

You also might want to try one of the numerous cocktails. You can get them either hot or cold- just choose a combination that you like best. They include coffee, milk, vanilla, chocolate syrup, nougat, fruit, juice, popular liqueurs… when you taste one, you’ll probably want to go back and get some more.

Most of the pastries in Kraš choco bar are so sweet that both your teeth and your brain might hurt afterwards, but it’s worth it. I would usually suggest trying some of the cakes, but as it gets really hot over the summer, I recommend dark chocolate icecream – it’s lush, not too sugary, but really really intense.

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Kraš choco bar | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Icecream Kn 7.00
Ilica 15 | Lower town | +38514876362
07:00 – 23:00 daily

First things first – this ain’t no fancy lounge bar or a cozy bean-bag chair club, you need to have some balls when going here. When a couple of alternative hotspots around the city closed, Krivi put (Wrong Way) filled the much needed space by becoming the starting point (god forbid the ending point, since it closes at 2am) for people that love and know how to party.

The insides look pretty grim, with uncomfy wooden benches and a huge open podium and graffiti covered walls, but when did that mean anything. The most important is that the drinks are cheap, the music good and loud and the crowd filled with positive energy.
By coming on Thursdays or Saturdays you can sometimes get lucky and see a concert, if not, you’ll probably see the band members mingling around with other punk/rock/ska music lovers.

Anyways, no words can do justice to this place, it’s like Marmite, you either like it or not. If you have ever drunk a bottle of the cheapest wine on a bench in a city park, you’d feel at home in this place. If not, you can always join somebody on the benches out front and then get inside! No entrance fee, dark atmosphere, sweaty crowd, loud energetic music, cheap drinks (eeeeeeexcelllent rakija)… I hope you’re not reading this far because you should already be on your way to Krivi put!

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Krivi put | Bars, Music | Beer Kn 12.00
Joispa Runjaninova 3 | Lower town
10:00 – 02:00 daily

There are bars you can’t stay indifferent to – you either fall in love with them at first sight, or you start hating them five minutes after you walk in. Maraschino is one of those bars- with its psychedelic wallpapers, kitschy decoration and a funky choice of music, it quickly makes you decide whether you’re going to be here every day of the week (as myself) or if you’ll never step inside again.

This colourful place is located in the heart of the city, just a minute away from the Jelacic square. The ground floor is pretty peaceful compared to what you’re going to find if you head to the basement. There’s a messy bunch of tables, crystal chandeliers, pillars wrapped in orange fur and occasionally a good movie being projected to a nearby wall. The waiters are buzzing around in that nonchalant way of theirs, the coffee is good and they also have the coolest, most creative menu design in town. At weekends the tables are removed from the room, making more space for a dancing crowd.

Maraschino takes its name from the popular Croatian sweet cherry liqueur produced in the city of Zadar. That’s also the first thing you’ll find on the menu… you can even get coffee with a drop of this great marasca stuff in it. Cheers!

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Maraschino bar | Bars, Coffee & tea | Coffee latte Kn 10.00
Margaretska 1 | Lower town | +38514812612
Mon – Sat 08:00 – 01:00, Sun 09:00 – 01:00

Marko Marulić’s square is a part of so called Lenuzzi’s green horseshoe, a series of eight green squares which also include Zrinjevac, Strossmayer’s square, King Tomislav’s square, Ante Starčević’s square, Botanic garden, Brothers Mažuranić’s square and Marshal Tito’s square. Lenuzzi’s green horseshoe is the most valuable and indigenous urbanist project in Zagreb at the end of 19th century.

The square got its name by a Croatian Renaissance poet, one of the most important figures in Croatian literature. Marko Marulić is even called the father of Croatian literature.

The square itself and its surroundings are really enjoyable. The statue of Marko Marulić dominates the entire place and his impressive figure tells a lot about his importance. On the square you will also find the beautiful building of the former National and University Library. Today this is the building of Croatian State Archives.

Even if you don’t like to visit buildings during your travel, you should at least visit this square because it will give you a chance to get a more complete picture of Zagreb.

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Marko Marulić’s square | Art & culture, Relaxing | Free
Trg Marka Marulić’s | Lower town
24 hours daily

When you’re visiting a foreign city, especially if it’s the capital, it would be a shame not to go and see its greatest galleries and museums. I know it’s a pretty conventional tip, but as I’m studying to be an art historian, it’s the first thing that comes to my mind.

One of my favourite places of that kind in Zagreb is the Modern gallery. Don’t mix it up with the Museum of Modern Art- that one is still in construction. Until it’s completed, the Modern gallery is the best place to go if you’re into modern art. It’s situated in the city centre, halfway between the Central train station and the Jelačić square.

The collection, composed of some 700 pieces, covers a period of two hundred years of Croatian art, from 1800 to 2000. You’ll find a number of great Croatian artist from Vlaho Bukovac to Edo Murtić. The names may not mean much to you, but if you’re an art lover you will surely have a positive reaction when you see the paintings and sculptures. Don’t be intimidated by the ‘modern’ part- even if you’re not into avantgarde and abstract art you’ll find something you will like, as the collection consists of works created during several art movements. The part on the first floor mostly covers the 19th century and is a bit more traditional and classic. It’s on the second floor where the colours and lines go wild.

If you have an hour or two to spare when sightseeing in Zagreb, please take my advice and go give our great national art some love.

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Modern gallery | Art & culture | Entrance adults Kn 20.00
Andrije Hebranga 1 | Lower town | +38514812599
Tue – Fri 10:00 – 18:00, Sat – Sun 10:00 – 13:00

The museum for Arts and Crafts is one of the most important national museums. Its permanent exhibition includes around 3000 displays on more than 2000 m2 of space.

There are collections of furniture, metals, textiles and fashion equipment, ceramics, sculpture, glass, watches, photography and photographic equipment, music instruments, graphic and industrial design, architecture, toys, painted skin, smoking equipment, paintings, ivory, typography which contains more than 100 000 items. They give you a look on development from Gothic period till art deco and changing in styles that reflects changing in times.

Besides the permanent exhibition, this museum always has exhibitions that attract many visitors. One of the most successful exhibitions was  “Secession in Croatia” a couple of years ago. One of the museums specials is Late Thursday: every Thursday this museum is open till 22:00.

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Museum for Arts and Crafts | Art & culture, Festivals & events | Adults Kn 30.00
Trg maršala Tita 10 | Lower town | +38514882110
Tue – Sat 10:00 – 19:00, Thu 10:00 – 22:00, Sun 10:00 – 14:00

In the first years of the 3rd millennium, prof. Carole Meredith discovered that grapes Zinfandel and Crljenak Kaštelanski have the identical genetic profile, therefore are the same sort.  After a couple hundred more hours in the lab (i.e. wine cellar) she also discovered that the aforementioned Mr. Zinfandel had an affair with Mrs. Dobričić from the island of Šolta which gave birth to the little and much beloved Plavac Mali.

P.Z. Podšpilje (a farming cooperative) from the island of Vis produces excellent Plavac Mali, a quality dry red wine, which can be bought for ridiculously cheap prices in the centre of Zagreb.  Although it seems very light and it slides down smoothly, do not be tricked by its apparent playfulness, this wine has 12.5% alcohol. Goes well with red meat, cheeses and oily fish. And Coke.

As its faithful companion, also from the wine growing hills of Vis, comes Vugava – a quality dry white wine. Vugava is made by grapes cultivated in Dalmacija since the Ancient times, when Vis was called Issa and when the Greek historian  Agatharchides claimed that Vugava “is superior to every other wine whatever“.  Today’s Vugava is a rather sweetish and fruitish wine, which lacks a bit of acidity. Nevertheless, beware of Vugava because it reaches up to 14% alc. content. Goes well with all fish and white meat.

Besides those two wines, available from huge barrels or bottled, one can also find some great grape rakija with herbs and vinegar, all from the island of Vis. And when you get hungry, there’s a big cask of salted anchovies on the premises for just 50kn/kg. Ok, now try getting out of there alive!

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P.Z. Podšpilje | Shopping, Snacks | Plavac mali Kn 14.00
Kralja Držislava 10 | Lower town
Mon – Fri 09:00 – 15:30, Sat 09:00 – 14:00

Bakeries are really popular in Zagreb and my absolute favorite chain is Pan Pek bakeries. Most of the bakeries here have pretty much the same offer. Pan Pek stands out in that area with various and unique “menus”, offering the usual products like bread, donuts, rolls, croissants, strudel… etc. But also delicious snacks like “shell” pizza/cheese (puffed pastry with cheese or pizza flavour filling), cakes, they are bakery with the best pizza and if you wish to have a classic snack, yes, you can also have sandwiches there.

You’ll find Pan Pek bakeries all over the town, but they are not all the same size. Even though they all have the same offer, the bigger ones are better because they bake some of their products on the very spot, while in the smaller ones all products are delivered. Chances of getting warm, fresh, just baked snack are really big by the end of working hours, so don’t hesitate to drop by.

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Pan Pek | Snacks | Pizza slice Kn 10.00
Trg bana Josipa Jelačića 15 | Lower town | +38514812272
Mon – Sat 07:00 – 22:00

If you love fast food and you’re fed up with McDonalds, Subway, Burger King or whatever – visit Pingvin, the best known fast food place in Zagreb. And if you ask me – the best one.

It’s a favorite destination during nights out (check out the working hours) for many people in the city center, and a great place to go during the day if you’re hungry and in a hurry. They offer all sorts of burgers, sandwiches, salads, etc., and everything is made in front of you so they can guarantee the freshness of their all Croatian products. Sauces are free, vegetables too.

My favourite sandwich is with beefsteak and grilled vegetables and mushrooms (biftek ficleki), and it is the most expensive one. But, no matter what your budget is, you will find something of your liking.

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Pingvin | Snacks, Restaurants (Fast food) | Biftek ficleki Kn 32.00
Nikole Tesle 10 | Lower town | +38514811446
Mon – Sat 09:00 – 01:00, Sun 17:00 – 01:00

As I’m a self-confessed bookworm, bookstores are where I really like to spend some of my free time. I can’t afford to shop every time I enter one, but there’s something about that type of place that really calms me down and makes me happy even if I walk out empty-handed.

There are many bookstores in Zagreb, but the one I particularly like is the Profil Megastore. Being one of the biggest publishing houses in Croatia, Profil also has the most impressive bookshop in the city. It was composed of three levels, but after recent expansion, now there are five storeys: multimedia in the basement, Croatian and foreign fiction (along with stationery) on the ground floor, and on the remaining three you’ll find a nice gift shop and a great selection of literature on various subjects like art, architecture, science, psychology, health etc. Don’t worry - a big part of the content is in various languages, mostly English, so you won’t have a problem with the language barrier.

There’s even a little café on the first floor- so when all that shopping or browsing wears you out, you can have a drink and relax.

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Profil Megastore | Coffee & tea, Shopping | Books from Kn 40.00
Bogovićeva 7 | Lower town
09:00 – 22:00 daily

Located on the 2nd floor, above casino Fortuna, 2 minutes from the main square, this restaurant is a discovery that few people know of – probably because people come here to gamble, not to eat. But even if they lose, they have enough money to drown their sorrow in great meals that the restaurant offers.

The restaurant looks very classy and expensive, but every day you can get one of three daily meals at very low prices, and most of the days it is specific Croatian food…if it isn’t you won’t care cause it will be delicious. The meal usually consists of soup, salad and a main dish. If you don’t get soup and salad – you will get a desert.

The staff is extremely polite and very professional, and also friendly and relaxed at the same time – probably because its never crowded so they will be focused on you – and you will get your meal in max 10 minutes. Their English in excellent, but if they don’t know how to translate some specific Croatian meal, they will do everything in their power to somehow describe it anyway.

If you want to try some Croatian specialities and you want to do it with style but cheap, and don’t want to move from city center – this is what you’re looking for.

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Restaurant Fortuna | Restaurants (Croatian) | Daily menu Kn 40.00
Vlaška 9/2nd floor | Lower town | +38514812860
Mon – Sat 10:00 – 02:00

Being one of many Chinese restaurants opened in the last half a dozen years, the offer in Dinastija restaurant does not differ much from the lot. However, what is different, is the taste. It’s better!

Situated on the main street in Zagreb (Ilica) this pleasant oasis of Far East offers great food for more than decent prices. My favourite dish there is definitely spring rolls, which are perfectly crispy and never too greasy. Besides them, the vegetables there are never overcooked so you can actually try what they taste like and see for yourself that they are fresh and not frozen.

The interior is not impressive, a couple of generic vases and some ornaments with rosewood panels and lampoons. The soft background music sometimes gives me the creeps, because it is too squeaky for my taste (though it just might be culturally determined That’s why I mostly order takeaway! The portions are abundant and the working hours are decent. All in all, if you find yourself in the vicinity, stop by to fill the tummy with tasty Chinese food – otherwise, just call the delivery. (Note: Minimum delivery is 100kn).

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Restoran Dinastija | Restaurants (Chinese) | Spring rolls Kn 14.00
Ilica 113 | Lower town | +38513731418
12:00 – 00:00 daily

If you take a stroll down the Ilica street, at one point you will come across a shop window so different from the rest of them, it would seem like you’re looking at an enchanted place. Welcome to the world of Saša Šekoranja.

Šekoranja’s a well-known Croatian artist and designer whose work never fails to amaze and inspire. Behind the little window in Ilica you’ll find his floral arts shop, but I never really felt the need to go beyond the enormous creativity displayed behind the glass. Šekoranja works mostly with flowers, but adds everything he needs to materialize his ideas: other plants, fabric, paper, wire, glass…  the final result is never plain and conventional.

There are people who dislike Šekoranja’s work and complain it’s overrated. Maybe. But you know what? If you don’t like it, just pass by. He won’t walk out of the store and force you to buy something. You can just watch and enjoy something highly aesthetic. After all, in a chaos of shop windows filled with clothes, shoes, make up, books, food and other prosaic products, it’s nice to be offered a visual experience equal to a little piece of heaven.

(Yes, on the photo the lights in the shop are turned off- go and check out the place yourself!)

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Saša Šekoranja | Art & culture, Shopping
Ilica 82 | Lower town | +38514847070
Mon – Fri 09:00 – 12:00, 17:00 – 19:00, Sat 09:00 – 12:00

The core of student life in Zagreb is the Student Centre, popularly known as SC (pronounce it as S-Tzay, otherwise people won’t get what you’re talking about). I’ll be honest – the main reason people go there is to eat, as it’s the biggest student restaurant in the city. But don’t give up on SC so quickly – there’s a bunch of structures besides the cafeteria where you can have fun, and you don’t have to be a local to do so.

First of all, there’s Teatar &TD, an experimental student theatre that gives quite attractive shows. Not your thing? Go see a movie or a photography exhibition – you can find your way through the complex using the legend on the big map hanging above the entrance.

My favourite part of everything this place has to offer are the concerts. The SC has brought a number of great bands to Zagreb, such as The Young Knives, Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band, Handsome Furs, Animal Collective… nothing mainstream, but fantastic music.

The slogan of the SC is the one mentioned in the title – the culture of change, and that’s exactly what they do. Through good movies, alternative music scene and various amazing cultural festivals, they’ll do their best to open up your mind and show you there’s more to this society than you can see in the newspaper and on TV.

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Student Centre | Art & culture, Music, Theaters | Concert ticket Kn 80.00
Savska cesta 25 | Lower town
24 hours daily

Although there are many theatres in Zagreb, Gavella is by far my favourite one. I haven’t disliked even one play that I’ve seen there, and I’ve seen quite a few. Gavella is well-known and really popular; each of their shows is packed with people as the locals are very fond of this place. The name itself comes from dr. Branko Gavella, a great Croatian producer, theatrologist and theatre critic who was one of the theatre’s founders.

The productions are worth mentioning. Most of them are classics written by dramatists such as William Shakespeare, A. S. Pushkin, Mihail Bulgakov and Tennessee Williams; those are translated, adapted and then directed by famous Croatian and foreign producers. Each evening one show is being held, with occasional guest performances by various troops.

I know, writing about a theatre where shows are played in Croatian might not seem like a very smart thing when it comes to suggestions for foreign tourists. Nevertheless, I just couldn’t resist to dare you to do something new: go and see a play in a language you don’t understand. You’ll see, it just might end pretty well. After all, theatre isn’t all words- it’s about movement, facial expression, emotions. When the actors are good (and believe me, the ones in the Gavella ensemble know what they’re doing), you can get the idea no matter what language they speak, and feel their passion.

So go on- visit the Gavella theatre and have some fun.

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The Gavella theatre | Art & culture | Ticket Kn 60.00
Frankopanska 8-10 | Lower town | +38514849222
09:00 – 19:30 daily (box office)

Even though I’m not the biggest fan of jazz music, this is the only place in Zagreb where you can find me on a night out, listening to some live music, hanging with my friends and drinking beer after work in Cyberfunk C@fe (see this article).

The place itself is only few minutes away from the main square, based in a basement with a small stage where almost every night there is someone playing, either a solo performer or some band. Genre they play is mostly jazz, but you can find blues, rock and few more types of music – something for everyone.

The waiters are friendly, prices lower than average in center of the city, and everybody is drinking beer or some home-made shots, which I strongly recommend – Medica is my favorite, its a strong drink made of honey, really tasty.

There is also enough room to chill out with your friends and engage in some conversation after few rounds of beer, the atmosphere for couples is great, just sit around with a candle on and listening some live music in the next room…what more do you want?

The ultimate place to go out if you enjoy great live music and friendly environment. Or if you just want to buy me a beer.

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The Jazz Club | Bars, Music | Entrance fee Kn 20.00
Gundulićeva 11 | Lower town
18:00 – 01:00 daily

Tvornica is a club/concert hall/coffee bar. During a day it is a regular coffee bar full of, mostly, students from the near by Faculty of Political Science. A couple of times a year some big shoe stores organise big sales in there.

But Tvornica didn’t earn its reputation by selling coffee or cheap shoes. Great concerts of so many famous and important musicians of our time, performances, dance shows… have made this place so special and unique on Zagrebian scene.

As a club, Tvornica hasn’t got a weekly program. Instead, from time to time, it pops up with something like Studio 54, a night dedicated to the disco music from the 70s. A few years ago this was a regular Friday night scheme (also one of the reasons of Tvornica’s popularity).

Nowadays Tvornica is focused more on making its own programmes instead of just repeating one week after week, so the full name of Tvornica, which is Tvornica kulture, meaning culture factory couldn’t be more true.

Some upcoming events:

20-02-10 Pakleni šund by Tomo Ricov | 22:00 | Tickets 40kn

06-03-10 Jura Stublić & Film | 21:00 | Tickets 70/80kn

13-03-10 Hugh Cornwell | 21:00 | Tickets 120/150kn

19-03-10 Belfast Food (St. Patrick’s Day) | 21:00 | Tickets 70/80kn

26-03-10 Esma Redžepova | 21:00 | Tickets 90/110kn

27-03-10 These New Puritans | 21:00 | Tickets 120/150kn

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Tvornica | Art & culture, Bars, Coffee & tea, Music | Beer Kn 15.00
Šubićeva 2 | Lower town | +38517778673
Coffee bar 08:00 – 22:00 daily, Club 22:00 – 04:00

To put it in the most simple words, Vincek is simply the best pastry shop in Zagreb. On Vincek’s menu you’ll find cakes, cookies and the biggest balls of ice cream in Zagreb. That is the reason this place is full of people any time of the year. Vincek is a place you’ll always return to for another dose of sugar. Good news for all Vincek fans: now there is a new , fourth Vincek open on the Kvatrić square.

And a word of advice: Vicek really gives big balls of ice cream, so people usually take one ball in which they get two flavors. So when you’re ordering just say in one ball half, for example, vanilla, half chocolate, and ask for chocolate topping. After doing that, you can consider yourself to be a half Zagrebian.

I remember my very first visit to Vincek. My friends suggested to go there, I was like, who the hell is this Vincek guy? But when I found out it was a love for a lifetime that still has no end.

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Vincek | Coffee & tea, Snacks | One scoop Kn 6.00
Ilica 18 | Lower town | +38514833612
Mon – Sat 08:30 – 23:00

Lots of locals don’t even know that they are walking around planets of Solar system without leaving their town – thanks to Davor Preis, artist from Zagreb. He was inspired by another artist – Ivan Kožaric, who made a sculpture back in 1971. named “The Landed Sun” that is located in the center of the city – Bogoviceva street.

So, Preis made small sculptures of all the planets (9 of them) and located them around the Sun, and the distance and size is calculated according to the size of the Sun.

When you’re walking around city center you can see at least 4 planets – Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, and for the rest of them you will have to make a big effort to find them – the last one (Pluto) is almost 8 kilometers away from the Sun. I plan to do it soon cause when you do it, you automatically become a local!

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Zagreb solar system | Art & culture |
Trg bana Josipa Jelacica 3 | Lower town
24 hours daily

Zlatni medo (golden bear in English) is a restaurant, as well as the biggest beer hall in Zagreb. As a restaurant it offers a good menu with lots of typical Croatian food, so it’s a good recommendation if you’re looking for a place to eat. But even though the food here is nice, I like Zlatni medo much more as a beer hall.

This place is great to go to when you don’t feel like going out the entire night, but you just want to spend a good time with your friends and a lots of great home made beer. The place itself is really big so the best thing is to come here with lots of friends. One other good thing about Zlatni medo is its furniture. Massive dark brown chairs and tables just make you enjoy your beer even more.

Zlatni medo is a place where you can have a good time, no matter if you just want to get a good meal or a good drink, so try not to miss it.

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Zlatni medo | Bars, Restaurants (Croatian) | Beer Kn 12.00
Savska 56 | Lower town | +38516177119
Mon – Sat 10:00 – 00:00, Sun 12:00 – 00:00

Zrin is a place you’re going to like the moment you step in it. This basement coffee bar/gallery is simply charming. The first thing you’ll like about Zrin is the fact that it is in the city centre, but it’s kind of hidden, and it’s definitely nothing like usual city -centre-coffee bars are.

The interior decoration is another characteristic that makes this place so special. Zrin’s furniture is giving the place old-fashioned vibes, it even has old Singer sewing tables re-decorated as tables. The atmosphere is always nice and easy going and so are the people that work there.

Besides being a coffee bar, Zrin is also a some sort of a gallery. In agreement with the owner, or if the owner invites them to, painters can exhibit their work

Zrin is one of the rare places that will make you feel good no matter if you’re the only guest or if it’s full of people and no matter what time of the day you come. and when it gets cold outside, this is a place with the best hot chocolate in town, so when you come to Zagreb, don’t miss a chance to experience that.

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Zrin | Bars, Coffee & tea | Chocolate Kn 18.00
Berislavićeva 3 | Lower town | +3851427693
Mon – Sat 07:00 – 23:00, Sun 09:00 – 23:00

Zrinjevac is one of the most beautiful parks in Zagreb, situated in the very center of town. It is a perfect spot for a short break after dealing with the city crowd on the near by main square or for a romantic early night walk.

On the south side of the park you’ll see statues of some very important people in Croatia’s history, science and culture. In the middle of the park there’s a music pavilion, and on the north side you’ll find a meteorological column.

Zrinjevac will make you feel nice and kind of poetic and romantic at any time of the year. In spring and summer you’ll enjoy the sun and lie down next to the flowers while in colder days of fall and winter you’ll sit on some bench with hot chestnuts warming you up.

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Zrinjevac park | Relaxing
Trg Nikole Zrinskog | Lower town
24 hours daily