How To Make The Most of Your Weekend in Zagreb – Even On a Tight Budget?
Zagreb isn’t one of those big European cities you’d need days and days to see. Even though there are many things to do, places to visit, people to meet and (local) food to taste, you can still do plenty in just one weekend if you just organise your time efficiently. In fact, Zagreb is among travel destinations tourist like to visit as a short getaway or if they just need a weekend break. Since it’s in a heart of Europe, it’s pretty easy to get here, fulfill your touristic needs, see this brand-new city and make great memories while doing so.
A friend of mine from the USA visited me last month and it was her first time in Zagreb, so I wanted to make it extra special for her and really wanted her to like Zagreb. She comes from a much bigger city and I knew I had to pull out the big guns if I wanted to impress her with everything Zagreb has to offer. Problem was that she was, as most millennials usually are, on a tight budget since she still has unpaid student loans from her college days. Long story short, we were searching for options to save as much of her money as possible. That’s when I found out about Zagreb Card which offers you Zagreb’s top 8 main touristic attractions free of charge, but also to get various discounts for hotels, restaurants and entrance fees for museums and galleries. Here’s how we spent our weekend – it just might inspire you to do something similar. Let’s call this Weekend Tour of Zagreb.
Saturday
After breakfast at Tkalča (as Zagrebians call Tkalčićeva Street) in the very heart of Zagreb, we decided to have a short drive with funicular towards Upper Town. A friend of mine has never been or seen a funicular before, so this was a pretty unique experience for her. She loved taking pictures as we were climbing to the top. Her picture of red rooftops of Zagreb, taken while riding a funicular, gained her the most Likes ever on her Instagram profile which she was very proud of. Oh, and, have I mentioned – since she had Zagreb Card, she didn’t have to pay for a ride on funicular? Yes, she just showed it before the ride and hopped on for free.
Image Credit: Zagreb Tourist Board, Marko Vrdoljak
Once we’ve reached the Upper Town of Zagreb, we took a stroll through all those enchanting old streets and I could see my friend was mesmerised. Later, I recommended visiting The Zagreb City Musem because it was right around the corner on Opaticka Street. A friend of mine studied Arts and History at college so I knew that seeing exhibitions there would be right up her alley. And I was right, she loved it. So, naturally, I took her to another museum, but this time, I wanted her to get a completely different experience. That’s why I took her to Museum of Broken Relationships and she cried her eyes out.
To calm her down, we went to grab a late lunch but started chatting and before we knew it, the sun was already setting and the day was coming to its end. Once again, Zagreb Card came to our rescue and we used it to enter Zagreb 360 Observation Deck where we admired the beautiful view over the entire city while the sky looked like it exploded into millions of colours. We witnessed one of the loveliest sunsets that day while overlooking Zagreb’s skyline and I would highly recommend this to everyone to remind themselves of how wonderful this city can be.
Sunday
The next day, we wanted a more relaxed touristic experience. We woke up quite early and used ZET’s tram to reach Maksimir, a city district known for its beautiful park and the Zoo in the very heart of that park. Since Zagreb Card offers a free ride when using city transportation, I’ve used that opportunity to show my friend around the city as we were travelling toward Maksimir. After having our morning coffee in a café at the park, we went to the Zoo and had great fun for a few hours. She and I are both big fans of red pandas and we were so happy we got to see them there.
After grabbing hot dogs at Zoo’s restaurant, we hopped on a tram once more and took a trip to the other side of the city. I wanted to show my friend what life looks like across the Sava River so I took her to New Zagreb. We wandered around the streets, enjoyed ice cream and eventually we made it to Museum of Contemporary Art. The museum's collection has been collected for more than half a century, since the museum was founded in 1954, and it covers the period from the mid-twentieth century to the present day. Even though it wasn’t my first time there, I still enjoyed it immensely because I could see my friend’s first experience at this museum and she loved every second of it.
Image Credit: Zagreb Tourist Board, Marko Vrdoljak
Once that was over, our watches reminded us it was time to go back since she had to pack her suitcase and catch her flight back home to the USA. Short and sweet, but most importantly, simple and cheap because Zagreb Card allowed us to go everywhere we planned without paying any extra fees. Now we have great memories, great photos and great tips on how to make the most of your stay in Zagreb.
Header Image Credit: Zagreb Tourist Board, Marko Vrdoljak
Author: Paula Bracko