What is the Zagreb self-guided walking tour?
The Zagreb self-guided walking tour climbs from the Lower Town to the medieval Upper Town at a pace you set, with audio narration on your phone where a guide would otherwise be. Allow about 3 hours: 42 minutes of that is time on your feet, the route measures 3 km, and at 10 stops you stand still and listen. Nothing is timed, and no group moves off without you.
In front of the Croatian National Theatre the narration stops at the Well of Life, the sunken bronze fountain Ivan Meštrović made in 1905, and at the opening night of 1895, which Emperor Franz Joseph attended. At the Stone Gate it tells how a fire in 1731 burned the wooden parts of the gate while a painting of the Virgin inside came out unharmed, which is why candles still burn there. Later you hear that the cannon on Lotrščak Tower has been fired at noon since 1877, and that the tunnel under the Upper Town hill was dug in 1943 as an air-raid shelter.
- Durationabout 3 hours
- Walkingabout 42 min · 3 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch
What you do on the walk
Listen
Every stop brings narration about the place, its legends and the details you would otherwise walk past. The same text sits on screen for anyone who would rather read.
Walk on
Google Maps carries you from stop to stop: 42 minutes on foot over 3 km, with a climb and a few flights of steps in the middle.
Break off
Sit down for a coffee on Tkalčićeva or spend an hour in a museum, then pick the walk up again, the same day or another one.
Eat and browse
Tips for food and shops near the route come with it. Your starting point and the order of the stops are yours to set in the app.
See the route and attractions →
How it works
- Book online Choose the number of people. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
- Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
- Walk when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.
Who the walk suits
A first visit
One walk separates the parks and arcades of the Lower Town from the medieval lanes above and explains what you are standing in front of.
Anyone who avoids groups
No raised umbrella to follow and no meeting time: you stay where something holds you and move on when you are ready.
A single day in the city
3 hours and 3 km take in both towns, which leaves the afternoon for Maksimir park, a gallery or a long sit on a terrace.
Good to know
- Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
- No entry tickets needed: everything happens outside the buildings. Going inside is optional and paid separately.
- Family friendly; children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Not suitable for wheelchair users and difficult with strollers.
- Groups of up to 5 work best; larger groups split up, one ticket per person.
- Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.
The walk stop by stop: the Botanical Garden, Dolac Market, St Mark's Church, the Grič Tunnel
10 stops · about 42 min walking · start: Botanical Garden · finish: Grič Tunnel
The walk opens in the Botanical Garden, one link in the Green Horseshoe of the Lower Town. It carries on to the Croatian National Theatre, slips through the Oktogon passage off Ilica, and climbs to the red umbrellas of Dolac Market and to the twin spires of Zagreb Cathedral on Kaptol. The Upper Town takes over from there: the Stone Gate, St Mark's Church under its tiled roof, the Museum of Broken Relationships and Lotrščak Tower beside the funicular. The Grič Tunnel closes the walk underground. A different opening stop or another order can be set in the app, and no stop asks for an entry ticket.
Open the route map ↗
1Botanical GardenStart
The university's Botanical Garden was founded in 1889 and is part of the Lower Town's Green Horseshoe, a U-shaped chain of parks and squares. Laid out as an English-style landscape garden, it has ponds, a small bridge, old trees and greenhouses, and holds thousands of plant species from Croatia and around the world.
2Croatian National Theatre
The yellow neo-Baroque theatre was designed by the Viennese architects Fellner & Helmer and opened in 1895 in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph. In front of it lies the Well of Life, a sunken bronze fountain by the sculptor Ivan Meštrović from 1905, showing human figures crowded around a well.
3Oktogon
This elegant shopping passage links Ilica, Zagreb's main street, with the streets behind it and was built in 1899 for the First Croatian Savings Bank. It takes its name from the eight-sided hall at its centre, which is covered by a glass dome with stained glass.
4Dolac Market
Zagreb's main open-air market opened in 1930 on a raised square just above Ban Jelačić Square. Under its red umbrellas, modelled on the traditional umbrellas of nearby Šestine, farmers sell fruit, vegetables, cheese and flowers, while a covered hall below holds meat, fish and dairy.
Read the full story →
5Zagreb Cathedral
The cathedral on Kaptol was badly damaged in the earthquake of 1880 and rebuilt in neo-Gothic style by the architect Hermann Bollé, with the twin spires that became the symbol of Zagreb. In front of it stands a column with a gilded statue of the Virgin Mary surrounded by four angels, and parts of the 16th-century walls built against the Ottomans still surround the complex.
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6Stone Gate
The Stone Gate is the only one of the old gates of Gradec, the medieval Upper Town, that still stands. According to tradition, a great fire in 1731 destroyed the wooden parts of the gate, but a painting of the Virgin Mary inside was found unharmed. It became a shrine, and people still stop here to pray and light candles.
Read the full story →
7St Mark's Church
The parish church of Gradec dates back to the 13th century and is famous for its tiled roof, laid in 1880, which shows the coat of arms of Zagreb and that of the Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia. The square around it is home to the Croatian Parliament and to Banski dvori, the seat of the government.
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8Museum of Broken Relationships
Two Zagreb artists, Olinka Vištica and Dražen Grubišić, started this collection after their own break-up, gathering objects left over from ended relationships. It began as a travelling exhibition in 2006 and opened as a permanent museum in the Upper Town in 2010, with each item shown alongside its anonymous donor's story.
9Lotrščak Tower
This tower was built in the 13th century to guard the southern gate of Gradec. Since 1877 the Grič cannon has been fired from it every day at noon, and Zagreb residents still set their watches by the shot. Next to the tower, a funicular opened in 1890 links the Upper Town with Ilica below.
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10Grič TunnelFinish
The Grič Tunnel was dug during the Second World War, in 1943, as an air-raid shelter beneath the Upper Town hill. It runs for about 350 metres, with side passages, and was reopened in 2016 as a pedestrian route that is also used for exhibitions and events.
Read the full story →
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