Whether you’re looking for destinations around Europe to visit during your European road trip, or you’re just looking for a quick city trip, chances are you might have considered Zagreb. Here’s why you should, or shouldn’t, go there.
Disclaimer: most of the images I’m sharing with you in this post are taken from my travel video, which is why they’re low quality. I’m sorry, I didn’t really take a lot of pictures, but I focused mostly on the video.
As you may or may not know, my family and I spent four days in Croatia last week. The main objective of our trip was to visit Plitvice, but we stayed in Zagreb for accommodation and to explore the city. Yes, I realize that strolling around in a foreign city for three days doesn’t really make me qualified to tell you why you should and shouldn’t visit – but I was able to get a pretty good understanding of Zagreb’s positive and less positive points.
If you’re going to Zagreb, the chances of you finding some junk on the streets are incredibly slim. The city centre is ridiculously clean. Admittedly, this wasn’t something I was expecting from a big city in eastern Europe, but hey, no complaints here!
When I say the city is clean, I’m mostly talking about the streets and public places, though. Some of the buildings look a little rough around the edges, and at times even straight up unappealing. But I guess that’s the case in most, if not all, major cities around the world.
If you’re doing a road trip through eastern Europe, Zagreb is the perfect place to begin. For starters, Croatia is located fairly centrally within Europe. Most other European countries and major cities are easily accessible by plane, train or bus.
Besides, it’s easy(ish) to find a fairly cheap apartment or hostel in the city centre of Zagreb. That means you’re in the centre of the centre of the centre. Could it get any more central than this? (Spoiler alert: no)
Compared to other major European cities like Paris and Rome, Zagreb is a cheap place to travel to. You might pay a little more for your airplane ticket, but I guarantee you’ll make up for that lost money with the money you spend on food, drinks and shopping.
Quick tip: if you’re coming from a country other than Croatia, you’ll have to convert your cash. The official currency is the Croatian kuna (1 HRK = 0.13 EUR = 0.15 USD).
I’ve heard that the people in Zagreb have been called the Dubliners of the East. Both people possess the immeasurable quality of being friendly and open-minded toward strangers.
To continue the analogy with Paris and Rome, inhabitants of the big European cities will definitely give you weird looks when you take a picture of yourself, when you look on a map to see where you’re going or when you put on sunscreen. In Zagreb, people are accepting and accommodating of tourists and they don’t make a big fuss out of them.
Another thing that surprised me about the people in Zagreb is their knowledge of the English language. Obviously, most people in big cities have a basic understanding of English and know how to express themselves, but the Croatian people even have a great accent and can speak with ease and with a broad range of vocabulary. I must say, as an English major, I was impressed.
Now, on to the drawbacks of Zagreb. First – and foremost – the food. Croatian cuisine isn’t really something you should incorporate into a culinary road trip. I mean, there are obviously worse things to survive on than schnitzel and French fries, but it’s not something I would travel across Europe for.
Opposite to what Perk 1 would have you believe, there are very few sincerely beautiful locations in Zagreb. Undoubtedly, someone living in Zagreb would tell you something else, but that’s just because they’re too proud to admit that they really don’t have that many things to see.
Keep in mind, I’m not saying that there’s no Croatian heritage and culture to be found in Zagreb. I’m only pointing out that the actual buildings and sites left much to be desired.
People from India, New York City or Italy might feel tempted to object, but I felt like the traffic in Zagreb was pretty crazy. There were traffic lights, but nobody cared whether they were on green or on red. People crossed the street whenever and wherever they saw fit, speed limits appeared to be relative and you can pass cars on the highway left or right.
To an experienced driver who is used to being in these traffic situations, it might not seem like much. But to me, a whimsy kid who doesn’t even have his license yet, it was a true sight to behold.
Zagreb is a decent city. I feel like it’s a good thing that I’ve seen it once, but I don’t feel the need to return to the Croatian capital any time soon – if ever.
You have to make the decision for yourself, and weigh out the benefits and the disadvantages of visiting Zagreb. If you want to visit a place where you can take loads of beautiful pictures to show off to your friends, I’m afraid Zagreb is not for you. If you want to explore Croatian culture and maybe take a day trip to Plitvice, go for it!
As always, thank you guys very much for reading!
-S
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