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 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.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
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

One of my favorite places in Zagreb is definitely Booksa. Booksa is a book club, but you don’t have to be a member to enjoy everything this place offers (only, if you come there more than once, it’s advisable to sign up for their membership card). The catchy name comes from a slang – in Croatian “buksa” means prison. So, if you are “prisoner” of your love for literature you will feel like home here.

The atmosphere is very “homely” indeed – ordering drinks is a sort of self-service thing and after you sit back and relax on one of the cozy sofas you can feel free to take a look at various newspapers and literature magazines, even in foreign languages. This tobacco-free place delights all your senses because, once you enter, you are immediately surrounded by pictures or photos from local artists, good music and, of course, books.

You can run into a live concert, book presentation, some literature festival or one of many literature workshops held for its members. However, Booksa isn’t a standard bar – they serve alcohol only when mentioned manifestations are being held. “Soft” drinks, like coffee or tea are always attainable.

Booksa also offers lots of brochures and information about Zagreb cultural happenings. In that way, this book club is a perfect starting point for exploring the city.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Booksa | Art & culture, Coffee & tea, Relaxing, Shopping | Caffe Latte Kn 9.00
Martićeva 14d | Lower town | +38514616124
Tue – Sun 11:00 – 20:00

The Botanical garden of the Faculty of Science (University of Zagreb) is situated in the very Centre of the city. It’s easily accessible and represents a truly peaceful oasis, excluded from city’s everyday turbulence. It is also a monument of nature and culture, because of its important educational, cultural and historical value.

The Garden is divided into a few sections – the arboretum, designed in an English landscape style, a flower parterre, made in French style, greenhouses with exotic plants, a rock garden section with indigenous plants and an attractive artificial lake.

Croatian indigenous plants are something worth seeing, due to the extremely diverse Croatian flora. Because of the country’s unique location between continental and Mediterranean climates its plant species are more numerous than the plant species of France, Spain or Germany, for example.

The Garden has many benches to sit on and enjoy the quiet. You can read a book or simply relax while watching turtles and fish swimming in the pond. You can also see an authentic 19th century exhibition pavilion. You see, there are lots of things to do and explore. Whatever you choose, this place assures you of its relaxing quality with every step you take.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Botanical garden | Relaxing | Free
Marulićev trg 9a | Lower town | +38514898060
May – Sep Mon – Tue 09:00 – 14:30, Wed – Sun 09:00 – 19:00 | Apr & Oct 09:00 – 18:00

The Museum of Street Art, like any other street art exhibition space, doesn’t have a permanent space or opening times for its exhibitions. Therefore, its current whereabouts could easily transform when you decide to visit Zagreb. Moreover, it represents the continuous dialogue between the artists, citizens and city’s authorities.

In 2010,  the Museum of Street Art initiative was taken under the supervision of internationally renowned Croatian artists and concluded one of its efforts by repainting the old graffiti-covered Branimirova street wall.

The idea of this project is to revitalize city’s everyday appearance and remodel the traditional sightseeing paths which usually end in front of the Museum of Modern Art.  The whole project itself is consisted of continous sporadic sub-projects. The first one, like I mentioned, was to repaint the Branimirova wall, which was successfully done. Lately, another project took place at Novi Zagreb, thanks to which the neglected Dugave area, along with its walls and facades, transformed into the new must-see street art hotspot. 

As far as I can tell, all the projects have been received with praise – the locals are overjoyed with the changes in their everyday surroundings and eagerly await new street art actions, as well as seeing how Zagreb transforms into more lively space of imaginative intersocial dialogue.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Museum of Street Art | Art & culture, Relaxing
Kneza Branimira | Lower town
24 hours daily

It has been known that Zagreb has a Sun. Actually, a Grounded Sun, sculpture made by Ivan Kožarić in 1971. It changed a few locations over the years but it has been situated in Bogovićeva street since 1994.

The Grounded Sun has been a source of inspiration for many artists. Among them is a designer Davor Preis, who made an installation called Nine Views in 2004 – he placed nine models of planets (Pluto was still considered a planet at the time) all over Zagreb, which, along with the Kožarić’s Sun form a model of the Solar System. The planets’ sizes and distances from the Grounded Sun are in the same scale as the Grounded Sun itself.

The installation gained little publicity and most of the citizens of Zagreb aren’t even aware that they daily pass right besides Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, which are placed within the city’s center.

The locations of the planets are easy to ignore, especially the outer ones, which are hard to find without putting an effort. Zagreb Physics students were the first to organize a planet search-party, after which they revealed all their locations to the public.

If you’re interested to see those planets, have fun and REALLY get to know Zagreb, here are the planets’ locations:

Mercury – Margaretska 3; Venus – Trg bana Jelačića 3; Earth – Varšavska 9; Mars – Tkalčićeva 21; Jupiter – Voćarska 71; Saturn – Račićeva 1; Uranus – Siget 9; Neptune – Kozari put; Pluto – Aleja Bologne (underpass)

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Zagreb Solar System | Art & culture, Relaxing
Bogovićeva | Lower town
24 hours daily

Trg Nikole Šubića Zrinskog, or Zrinjevac, is a square and a park, which you inevitably pass if you walk from the Ban Jelačić square to Tomislav square, or vice versa. It’s a part of Lenuci’s Green Horseshoe project – series of parks and squares, situated in the Central Zagreb and positioned in a form of a horseshoe.

Zrinjevac is indeed beautiful. It consists of several fountains and music pavilion. When you’re there, you can also see the busts of several Croatian great men, or enjoy the smell of flowers while sitting on a bench.

The park is also a place of various art projects or live concerts, which are held at the pavilion, for the joy and amusement of many bystanders, regardless of their age. Even, if there’s no manifestation and the weather conditions are good, you’ll see different people just lying on the grass and enjoying the atmosphere.

That especially counts during night time. Namely, this park has become a popular hanging place for younger generation, at least for the last two years or so.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Zrinjevac | Art & culture, Relaxing
Trg Nikole Šubića Zrinskog | Lower town
24 hours daily