Zagreb,Croatia – A City from Fairy tales

Date: 27^th -29^th March,2018

We came to Zagreb, Croatia yesterday and fell in love with this city! It looks like a place straight out of childhood storybooks of pastel colored castles and tall towers. Everything about this town is cute. However, the thing that sets this place apart is its people – they are SUPER friendly! The friendliness is infectious. We have never felt so welcome and in a way ” taken care of” in any other European city before. People here go out of their way to help us, tourists. They are always excited to hear that we came here all the way from India.

We started the day with reaching the old town via tram 7 which dropped us near Lotrascak Tower (Frankopanska Stop), we took a winding uphill stretch which led to the tower and going through Strosmayer promenade we reached St. Mark’s Church. The walk was scenic and church is unlike any other we had seen anywhere else. In the old town. All the main attractions are near to each other as depicted in the map below. (we took the same path as shown in the map).

On the way to Lotrscak Tower

Sayani is all smiles 🙂

Just a stroll away is the old market which is assembles each morning and is over in afternoon. Good place to get something for healthy snacks or fruits ( we got some delicious prunes, nuts and oranges). on the same drag you will find the stone gate which is like a small place to worship on the way

we arrived at the main square(piazza) which had a small farmer’s market there and the famous statue(Ban Josep Jelacic) which is truly a meeting point for people.

Quick Facts:

• Reaching Zagreb: We arrived in Zagreb from Venice by Bus (booked via Flixbus- they have decent app). Cost was around 15 euros per person, booked a month ahead.
• Moving around City: Tram is the best option to move around the city, while reaching to your place of stay from bus stand take the tram which is right opposite to Bus stand. The fares are cheap (4 Kunas = 45 Rupees approx. per person for 30 mins with multiple hops)
• Currency

      Official currency is Kunas but some outlets also accept euros but offer a very unfavorable exchange rates. Have some Kunas handy with you as some establishment don’t have card transaction available (1Kunas = approx. 11 INR  at the time of visit).

• Eating Out

Zagreb is totally value for money when it comes to food (although it’s predominantly meat oriented food). 15 Euros for a decent meal for two with drinks is enough (portions are huge).

A few places where we had a bite:

• Zar Grill– A nice restaurant with good ambience and tasty beer.
• Hot & Fresh – A corner take away shop which serves tasty kebabs, sandwiches and salads (remember, one sandwich or salad may be good enough for one person).
• El Greco- A Greek restaurant near Zagreb Cathedral and old market.