Chilling In Zagreb With The Kids

We spent five great days in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Our Airbnb apartment was very close to grocery stores, bakeries, restaurants and to several tram lines, making it very easy for us to move around the city without ever getting into our car.

Zagreb is a really lively city, filled to the brim with bakeries and coffee shops with outdoor seating. There are also many parks, little playgrounds, and art. It was a very fun city to explore without a set plan. We mainly wandered around and kept finding fun alleys, parks, and lively streets.

We also happened to be there during the semifinal World Cup game, in which Croatia beat England to advance for the first time to the championship match. The city was alive with team spirit (and red-and-white-checkered jerseys and gear) and we checked out pregame celebrations at the central square before heading back to watch the semifinal match at home (we opted not to stay out on the street with the kids for the game, which was a good idea since both kids were asleep by halftime). We joined the bandwagon and were later disappointed when Croatia lost the final to France in an exciting game where Croatia played better (but both teams were great).

World Cup ruminations aside, here’s what we did during our time in Zagreb:

• We explored the lower old town of Zagreb and checked out the Dolac Market, a large market where we found stalls selling fresh fruits, vegetables, plants and flower, and handicrafts, including lots of fun little wooden toys for kids. After buying some delicious fresh cherries (about a dollar a pound) and stopping for a cup of coffee by the market, we walked over to the Zagreb Cathedral, which was very nice.

• On a rainy morning, we visited the Nikola Tesla Technical Museum where the kids got to see old classic cars, antique bikes, old locomotives, space satellites, plane propellers, and a variety of vintage household items such as televisions and sewing machines. We spent about 45 minutes in the museum but you could probably spend more time than that with older kids (for example, we didn’t tour the coal mine replica or submarine, since those require tours).

• We explored the upper old town to check out Saint Mark’s church, the Stone Gate, and the beautiful view of Zagreb. The Stone Gate, about half way up the (small) hill to the upper old town is famous because a fire in 1731 burned down the entire gate except for a 17^th century painting of the Virgin and Child—as a result, many people believe the painting possesses magic powers and they come there to pray.

• We spent a morning checking out Zagreb’s zoo, located in the huge city park. The zoo was a great place to walk around and, overall, it looked like a good zoo in terms of what animals they had in captivity and the size of their enclosures. We felt bad about the owls, who obviously looked sad, but most other animals had plenty of room and were happily moving around the habitats. They had a great section on reptiles, which the kids really loved! Also, we saw a couple of animals who had recently had babies (including a very spunky one-year old sea lion), which made us think that they must have a good conservation and breeding program. And the petting zoo was a hit—since we visited, Valentina now says at least once a day, “I pet goat.”

• On two consecutive nights, we went to Art Park to enjoy a nice craft beer and to watch the kids play in the playground equipment, all while listening to live music from a DJ. Art Park is a new addition to the city, built in 2016 on an empty lot on a steep hillside in the middle of the city. They terraced the park, put a bunch of public art and murals around it, and added a small playground, lots of benches, a ping-pong table, and a stand selling craft beer. Brilliant! Oh and there’s also a tree house for adults to drink their beer from up high. We really loved this park! It had such a low key feel with parents chatting while enjoying a beer and kids playing around. There were people of all ages hanging out and having a good time. It was just a wonderful community gathering place.

• Art Park is also right outside Gric Tunnel, a tunnel consisting of a main tunnel and two passageways under a big hill in the center of the city. The tunnel was built during World War II to serve as a bomb shelter and was used again as a shelter during the Croatian War of Independence. In 2016, the tunnel was remodeled and opened to the public. It’s an eerie place to walk through, but also a handy way to move through the city. (It’s also a great echo chamber for kids who feel like screaming at the top of their lungs to hear echoes…) We also saw an art exhibit on display inside the main corridor.

• On our way out of Zagreb, we took a short detour to visit Medvedgrad, a medieval castle that sits atop a hill overlooking Zagreb. The castle was fun to explore, but it was not one of the best we’ve seen on this trip, since it’s mostly ruined (it was abandoned hundreds of years ago and not much has been restored). It does have a neat history, though, including a “Black Queen” who supposedly hid treasure there, so that made it fun for the kids. The fun part, at least for us grown-ups, was the hike from where we parked the car through the woods up to the entrance. It’s always fun to stretch your legs before spending a couple of hours in the car en route to your next destination!

Overall, we really enjoyed our time in Zagreb. Five days was a great amount of time to visit and relax in the city, and we felt we could have spent longer there. It’s not a city of big tourist sights, but it has such a great feel and it’s rewarding to explore. We also loved the fact that we didn’t have to get in the car once while we were there as everything was easily accessible using the very modern and ever-present trams (which cost about 75 cents to ride).

And a few more pictures of the kiddos…