More than Words

Advent in Zagreb - Going Back To Your Childhood

This year, Advent will take us back to different times, in the most beautiful way possible, through a reunion with our dearest childhood friends - toys. Grab your favourite toy and go back in time.

How does this sound: lamps sparkling all around the city, warming your hands on a cup of mulled wine or hot chocolate, smiling faces all around you, spreading a sense of Christmas spirit. This is the magic of Christmas that only Zagreb can offer you during Advent.

Image credit: TZGZ, Boška i Krešo

Zagreb and Christmas - a classic duo


In the past five years, Advent in Zagreb has become a destination for visitors from Croatia and the world, due to the unsurpassed atmosphere, wide offer, various accompanying facilities and, of course, the hospitality of locals who use this magical time of year to present their city in full glory. So it's not a surprise that Zagreb was awarded the prize for the best Christmas fair in Europe three years in a row. If you didn't know, well, now you know! 

Image credit: TZGZ, S. Carek

Grab your favourite toy and go back in time


This year, Advent will take us back to different times, in the most beautiful way possible, through a reunion with our dearest childhood friends - toys. Every child associates Christmas with the exciting opening of presents and the feeling of immense happiness when they see a new toy, that they have been so eagerly awaiting. Many generations remember with unspeakable nostalgia the toys that were produced in the heart of Zagreb.

Image credit: TZGZ, S. Carek


The only factory outside the US in the so-called 'socialist bloc', that had a license to produce Disney toys, the Biserka toy factory, is part of many happy memories of opening presents on Christmas morning. You can imagine the smiles on children's faces when they were greeted by the hand-painted face of Mickey, Sheila, Smurfs or Bambi. Add to that Vavrin handmade toys, a hairy and stuffed bunny, a cat or a fox - that's precisely the charm of Christmas that this year's Advent will bring back. At a dozen different locations throughout Zagreb, you will be greeted by these cute time machines, luring you into the past through artificial reality.

Image credit: TZGZ, S. Kaštelan

Expand your Advent experience through your smartphone screen and tell the younger generations the most beautiful Christmas story. After that, you can stroll through the many charming and romantic squares, parks and locations. If you hear the lovely voices of church choirs, take a peek into Zagreb's churches. Enjoy concerts of the most beautiful Christmas songs performed by local soloists, ensembles and orchestras. Take your little ones to shows that will engage their imagination and strengthen their faith in the magic of Christmas.

Image credit: TZGZ, J.Duval

Christmas awaits in Zagreb

You can admire the decorations on the buildings of the Upper Town or you can try some of the classics of local gastronomy on the numerous terraces of Zagreb restaurants, as well as in the catering houses, and learn first hand why the way to the heart is through the stomach, as the saying goes. From carefully designed holiday menus with traditional food and local wines, to appropriately decorated facades and interiors, the Christmas story also lives on in city hotels.

Image credit: TZGZ, J.Duval


All of this will create unprecedented Zagreb Advent postcards and breathe love into every corner of Zagreb, which will be decorated with Christmas trees, shiny decorations, nuts, toys, cones, garlands, gift boxes and lots and lots of light, just waiting for you. 

Header image credit: TZGZ, J.Duval

Author: Ivona Kezić