48 Hours in Zagreb, Croatia | Notes from the Archive
exploring the beautiful croatian capital
*SHARED TO THE BLOG IN OCTOBER 2025.
ARCHIVE / aar•kive / (noun): a collection of historical documents or records providing information about a place, institution, or group of people.
Welcome to a new Notes from the Archive post, a series in which I am sharing some of my old & well documented travel notes to the blog. I’ve been keeping detailed notes and journals from my travels abroad long before I ever started sharing that content to this little corner of the internet. For some reason, it only dawned on me recently that, although not as thorough as my note-taking and journaling of today, this information could a. be useful to someone out there planning a trip, b. offer a glimpse into my travel days of yore, or c. just be fun for me to relive briefly under the pretense of being useful — so I figured why not share them here!
If you have stumbled across this post on a deep-dive through the blog archives, hello! I have done my darndest to make sure every piece of information shared here is just as relevant today as it was the day it was scrawled in my journal. I would also like to take a moment here to apologise in advance for any poor-quality photographs. You have been warned.
Today’s Notes from the Archive post — 48 Hours in Zagreb, Croatia — covers everything myself and my then-boyfriend got up to during our 2012 inter-railing trip. Zagreb was the second official city of the trip, and I absolutely loved everything about it: the gorgeous parks every few blocks, the beautiful old town, and the bohemian atmosphere of the place!
Listed below is all the useful information I could garner from my trusty old journal, divided into the following categories for ease: getting there / where we stayed / where we ate / and where we touristed.
Enjoy, friends!
getting there
Here’s how we made the journey to Zagreb from Split:
from Split, we took an overnight train to Zagreb. We departed from Split train station and arrived into Zagreb Glavni Kolod — or Zagreb Gl. Kol. — , the main train station, about 9-hours later.
for some reason, we only booked regular seats for this journey, so it wasn’t exactly the most comfortable night’s sleep ever. However, from the brief search I just conducted online, couchettes and sleeper cabins are actually available! This website seems to have good information if you’re looking to dive deeper.
this overnight train from Split was the first official use of our inter-railing tickets, which allowed us to travel on any 7-days within a 1-month period. For more info on the different inter-railing tickets, see the official website here.
from Zagreb Gl. Kol., we strolled the super straightforward 15-minute walk to our hostel, below.
where we stayed
Fulir Hostel // a brilliant hostel with a fabulous location right in the centre of the city. Our first foray into the world of sharing dorm rooms with strangers! Address: Ul. Pavla Radića 3a, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia
*2025 UPDATE: sadly, now permanently closed.
where we ate
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ll know that, nowadays, I consider myself somewhat of a foodie — but this certainly wasn’t the case back in 2012! Listed below are the food stops I named in my journal, which I am sharing for posterity only! Eat here today at your own peril.
Nokturno // I know I just wrote a warning about eating at your own peril, but I’d actually be intrigued to go back here. This, dear readers, is where I ate my first ever bowl of risotto: chicken and white wine risotto, to be exact. It was so! tasty! and I’ve been a risotto fan ever since. Address: Skalinska ul. 4, 10000, Zagreb
Dolac Market // you might notice a pattern developing: we stopped in the daily markets for fresh fruit and pastries basically every day of our inter-railing trip. Nectarines, strawberries, peaches, etc. — just a big bag of fruit to munch away on all day long. Would recommend. Address: Dolac 9, 10000, Zagreb
where we touristed
free attractions
Mirogoj Cemetery // the most beautiful cemetery, about a 40-minute stroll outside the city centre. Listen, I don’t know what made us want to go there, but I’m so glad we did — it was beautiful! The surrounding brick walls are massive, with gorgeous green dome-like features, and a major ivy/overgrown moss situation. Inside, the 7-acre(!) cemetery is less like a place of death and more like a beautiful park; we spent 1.5-hours wandering the grounds, listening to the birds singing, soaking up the peaceful atmosphere, and admiring some of the more beautiful graves. A must visit. Address: Aleja Hermanna Bollea 27, 10000, Zagreb
Walk of the Century, Zagreb Edition // at only 1.6-kilometers long, this was nowhere near as epic as our London walk, but we still saw a lot! Starting and ending at the main square of the city, here’s where we hit:
Trg Bana Jelačića // aka: the main square.
Ilica // aka: the main shopping street in the city — not that we went shopping.
Ulica Tomića // the street that leads to the city’s funicular. Unfortunately, the funicular was out of order when we visited, so we had to climb the steep hill to the Upper Town the old fashioned way.
Strossmayerovo šetalište Promenade // for fantastic views over the city below.
Lotrščak Tower // aka: a fortified tower overlooking the city below. You can pay to go in and climb it — or you can do it the cheap way and not.
St. Mark’s Church // known for its beautifully decorated tile rooftop, which, I must say, is rather a cool sight to see!
The Stone Gate // aka: a shrine to Mother Mary in the middle of the street.
Statue of St George and the Dragon // depicted with his head bowed in respect for the slain dragon.
paid attractions
Strossmayer Gallery of Old Masters // listen, I can’t remember any specific artwork in here, but the art history student in me is always down for exploring a new-to-me gallery. Address: Zrinjevac 11, 10000, Zagreb
*2025 UPDATE: sadly, this museum is temporarily closed after suffering severe structural damage during a 2020 earthquake. Reconstruction works are ongoing.
*DISCLAIMER: coincidentally, our visit here fell on International Museum Day — May 18th — so we availed of free entry! However, that probably won’t be the case for you, so I’m including this in the paid attractions section of this post.
Mimara Museum // likewise, no standout artwork from here is coming back to me. However, I did note in my journal that I preferred the collection at the Mimara compared to that of the above — so that’s something to keep in mind if you only want to visit one! Address: Rooseveltov trg 5, 10000, Zagreb
*2025 UPDATE: sadly, this museum is temporarily closed after suffering severe structural damage during a 2020 earthquake. Reconstruction works are ongoing.
*DISCLAIMER: coincidentally, our visit here fell on International Museum Day — May 18th — so we availed of free entry! However, that probably won’t be the case for you, so I’m including this in the paid attractions section of this post.
Zagreb Botanical Garden // never met a botanical garden I didn’t like, and this was no different. A very peaceful spot for a stroll and a picturesque sit. Address: Marulićev trg 9a, 10000, Zagreb
*DISCLAIMER: coincidentally, our visit here fell on International Museum Day — May 18th — so we availed of free entry! However, that probably won’t be the case for you, so I’m including this in the paid attractions section of this post.
And there we have it: 48 Hours in Zagreb, Croatia! I hope you enjoyed this latest post in my Notes from the Archive series! I’ll be back soon with the next stop from my inter-railing trip: Budapest!
Until then,
Vicki xo
*Date of trip: 18th - 20th May, 2012*
related posts
My 2012 Inter-Railing Itinerary | Notes from the Archive
Four Days in Split, Croatia | Notes from the Archive
An Afternoon on Hvar, Croatia | Notes from the Archive
