Uniquely Zagreb in 72 hours

In the 3 weeks that I spent in Zagreb, I fell in love with the city whilst having to get a medical situation sorted. Luckily it wasn’t something that required rest so my days were dedicated to exploring and finding the coolest spots to eat, drink and be culturally entertained.

If you only have 72 hours, keep reading for a detailed plan on how to spend them. If you want to learn more about each individual spot mentioned in this article and others that did not make the cut, check out “The really good vs the nasty in Zagreb”.

Day 1

When I’ve just arrived anywhere after traveling all I want to do is drop my bags where ever it is I’m staying and sprint off to a cool bar or pub to unwind with a refreshing pint. The perfect place to kick off your stay is The Old Pharmacy. Order Paulaner on draft, either the cloudy or the clear one will be spot on. Enjoy the vintage pub-look, sitting on a very comfy leather couch.

After a cold brew stroll to Park Josipa just a few blocks away from The Old Pharmacy. There are many city parks in Zagreb but this one is the most charming. It is slightly bigger than the others and it is meticulously manicured; cute gazebo included. Relax the beer buzz on one of the benches while looking at head sculptures of unknown men.

Next on the agenda would be to walk up to the city center to check out St. Mark's Church. Walk up to Kaptol to catch a glimpse of the tallest most monumental gothic building in the Alps: the Zagreb Cathedral. From there head to the Zagreb Funicular upper station. You will find the Strossmayer Promenade. Enjoy the fantastic view as this is one of the best lookouts in the city.

When you're done sightseeing in the historic center of Zagreb hit the Medgrava Beer Pub. Enjoy a craft from the broad selection of their very own brewery.  My favorite one was the lager-like option.

This place is perfect for dinner as it has the best pizza in town. The crust is fluffy yet not to thick and the meat selection is super tasty. A great end to the first day with amazing beer and delicious food!

Insider’s Tip: make sure to go to the one in the city center, they have a second location just outside and the ambiance is not as nice. It has a cool garden but inside is just an open, heavily lighted space with weird castle chairs. The feeling is more of an odd medieval conference meeting room.

Day 2

Buy snacks at Bio and Bio or for a more substantial breakfast go to Mlinar and get the cheese Bureka to go (it is absolutely to die for).

Take your snacks and go to Lake Jarun. When I did it, I walked from the city center, where I was staying, which gave me a full grasp of the city. Towards the lake, it is very different than the more touristic area.

Jarun is a beautiful man-made lake with a gorgeous park around it. The perfect spot to walk around and have a little picnic. In case the weather is not nice, I would change it up for a museum visit, there are so many to choose from. (Top picks later on the article.)

On the way back take the tram to A Most Unusual Garden. This place is more than just a Gin house. The design is in the very wacky Hendrick’s Gin style. A giant octopus coming out of a bathtub and a tree house included in the parameter of a huge house, with a garden.

The menu offers a wide selection of gins with plenty of spices to garnish and flavor it. My favorite one was a house concoction of cherry tonic water, rose buds and gin.

Insider’s tip: Back downtown the owner of the bar has a store called Kofer where you can buy your favorite ingredients from spices to flavored waters and, of course, a wide selection of gins; all you need to keep that party going at home.

After a good couple of gin cocktails nothing better than local, heartwarming food. For this take the tram back and go past the city center onto Kod Sima. They have the best homei treats. I had the beef stroganoff with mash potatoes. It was amazing!

To finish off the day you can hit The Garden Brewery. This is the most popular local craft beer. I had their version of a lager and it was one of my favorites. They also have off the rack seasonals such as the Milkshake IPA. In their main location (there is another one in the city center) they do DJ events plus you get to see their in-house production process. Pretty cool!

Day 3

There is no better way to start the day than with a good, high cholesterol, diabetic coma, fatty breakfast. The number one place for that in Zagreb is at Kava Tava. They do the fluffiest pancakes with the sweetest toppings paired obviously with bacon.

To ease the digestion process, why not hit the Torture Museum! This place is more like an educational gallery but it is so worth the visit. You can do really cool impromptu photoshoots with the objects and you will learn so much about this human practice dated to centuries ago. Just make sure the gallery lady doesn’t see you touching the pieces as she doesn’t seem to be too keen on it. However, I read online they want you to interact with the objects, probably because somebody in their team knows it is free P.R.

After this hair-raising experience, nothing better than a drink. Hit the Craft Room but only for beers and gins. The cherry flavored beer is a good option but my favorite was the gin selection, all local and a reasonably priced.

To finish cooling off and going back into a more light-hearted mode visit the Illusion Museum. The place is ultra-wacky and also has some cool spots for pictures. It is an interactive museum and the only way to really enjoy it is by engaging in the activities and exhibitions. It is a place to go play and have fun.

The ultimate place to have your last dinner is Smash Submarine Burgers. This place is a dream come true. The food is locally sourced, organic and sooo tasty. My favorite option is pairing their local draft lager (so light and refreshing), with the Smokehouse burger accompanied with truffle fries. (They are simply to die for, perfection at its best!)

Insider’s tip: Skip the sliders, they are not worth it!

If you would like to fit in a more artsy type museum on your trip I highly recommend the Modern Gallery. It holds the most important and comprehensive collection of paintings, sculptures, and drawings of the 19th and 20th century by Croatian artists.

Craving a bit of sweetness? Hit Dessert Chocolat 041. They have the only ice cream and dessert bar worth the stop. The ice cream is thick and rich, with a wide range of flavors and they have a few different chocolate cake options that are really nice.

My recommendation is to order the chocolate cake with pistachio filling paired with hazelnut ice cream. The place is a local’s favorite because one of their A-list football players owns it. I learned that after I found the place, I would have probably not gone if I had known this.

If you want to check-out my totally not worth it places and a full review on my favorite Zagreb spots please check out my other article “The really good vs the nasty in Zagreb”.