Spending a few days as a Zagreb tourist

After leaving from the Plitvice Lakes I decided to be a Zagreb tourist for a couple of days but didn’t really have any accommodation reserved and since it would be at least 9pm by the time I got into town, I knew it could become an interesting night.

Just outside St. Stephens Cathedral

A friend I had met at Plitvice was also headed to Zagreb after being at the park so when we arrived, we decided to team up to find accommodation but after getting lost twice and finding out the first place we stumbled upon was booked up, we finally came across a place that was available but by now it was after 11pm. My status as a Zagreb tourist is now off to a rough start! Definitely a long day considering I had spent 8 ½ hours on a bus and had just walked at least a few miles getting lost in the city of Zagreb with my bags in hand. Fun! Either way, I was glad to have found a place.

Zagreb’s open air market

Zagreb is actually a really cool city with a good bit of history and a good energy about it with bikes everywhere. It was also great because coming from both Dubrovnik and Split, with both those towns flooded with tourists it was good to be in Zagreb where you’re back to getting the weird stares from the locals, which is welcoming of course…

Jelacic Square in the center of town

During my first full day there, some friends and I decided to take a tour of the city on our own. We stopped at most of the major sights along the way but to me, what was most interesting was the fact that many buildings still had war torn damage showing. With Croatia at war just fifteen years ago, you can find a lot within the country including Zagreb that shows this evidence.

Croatian National Theater

In Split and Dubrovnik, you can still find damage if you look for it but here, it was much more up close and personal in some places. While walking the city, we visited

Friends from France and Japan

the St. Stephen’s Cathedral, the main market square, the National Theater and a few other monuments along with an impressive overlook of the city after a short hike we made at the end of the day. After deciding to book an extra night here, I headed out with some friends and met a lot of locals that talked about their current political situation in the country, the war and many other things which made my visit to Croatia that much more interesting.

King Tomislav Square just outside the main train station

After spending about a week in Croatia, I would recommend to anyone that they visit this country. From the islands they have off the Adriatic Coast to the towns and lakes I visited and the people, it really is a diverse country with a lot of history, a lot

St. Mark’s Church built in the 11th century – There was actually a wedding taking place in the street in front of this church while I was here

of personality, beautiful countryside and beaches. You may not be able to speak much Croatie with the locals as a tourist but they will do their best with English, just ask Mama D-Lo I stayed with in at my villa in Dubrovnik.