Best of Central Croatia, Croatia

The complete guide to Central Croatia: 102 hand-picked beaches, towns, viewpoints and hidden spots, mapped and honestly described.

Zagreb’s cafés, hilltop castles like Trakošćan and the green rolling Zagorje hills. This is your complete guide to the 102 places we have mapped in Central Croatia.

What’s here

City & Town (32), Cultural Landmark (20), Spomenik (14), Viewpoint (11), Abandoned Place (10).

Browse every spot

1. zub. map
Antunovo Vrelo. map
Belec Ivanšcica Trail. map
Belec grad ruin. map
Belecgrad, fortress ruin. map
Brestovac Sanatorium, opened in 1908 on the slopes of mount medvednica above zagreb as a state-of-the-art tuberculosis sanatorium, with sunny verandas and fresh mountain air as the treatment. map
Burg Vinica. map
Donja Stubica, a hrvatsko zagorje town at the centre of the great 1573 peasants’ revolt (gupčeva buna) led by matija gubec against the nobles, crushed at nearby stubičke toplice. map
Dubovac Karlovac. map
Duga Resa, a town on the emerald mrežnica river that grew around a large 19th century textile mill, one of the earliest industrial sites in the region. map
Dugo Selo, a town east of zagreb whose name simply means long village, now a commuter and rail junction at the edge of the capital. map
Dvor Jelačić. map
Dvorac Erdödy. map
Garešnica, a market town in the moslavina plain, an agricultural centre on the edge of the oil bearing moslavina hills. map
Grad labirinata. map
Grob neznanog junaka. map
Grubišno Polje, a market town on the bilogora slopes, surrounded by the fields and forests of western moslavina. map
Hrvatska Kostajnica, a town on the una river at the bosnian border, watched over by a medieval fortress. map
Hrvatski sokol. map
Ivanec, a town at the foot of the ivanščica mountain in hrvatsko zagorje, long known for its vines and for the stone quarries on the hillside. map
Ivanić-Grad, a former habsburg military border post east of zagreb, now known for its naftalan therapeutic naphtha baths drawn from local oil wells. map
Japetić. map
Jastrebarsko, a zagorje resort town since the 19th century, set around the 16th century erdődy castle and the fish rich jastrebarsko lakes. map
Kamensko Monument, a spomenik near karlovac marking the partisan struggle in the kordun and banija regions during wwii.
Karlovački miljokaz. map
Klanjec, a zagorje town and the birthplace of antun mihanović, who wrote the words of the croatian national anthem. map
Klinac grad. map
Klupa iz Austro-ugarske. map
Koprivnica, a renaissance fortified town on the drava plain, a former habsburg military centre whose old ramparts now ring parks in the town centre. map
Križevci, one of the oldest royal free towns in croatia, chartered in the 13th century, and the seat of the greek catholic (uniate) bishop for inland croatia. map
Kutina, a moslavina town that became the centre of croatia’s petroleum industry after oil was found nearby, with the ina refinery still its main employer and lonjsko polje nature park on its doorstep. map
Lepoglava, a zagorje town known for its 14th century pauline monastery, later turned into one of croatia’s most notorious prisons. map
Lipicanac Klupa. map
Lipik, a spa town famous for its mineral springs and for the lipizzaner stud founded here in the 19th century. map
Lisicine, a deserted village in the virovitica-podravina hills, typical of the rural settlements that lost their population to urban migration and war across inland croatia. map
Lonjsko Polje Nature Park, floodplain. map
Lovrakov centar. map
Medvednica Nature Park, zagreb mountain. map
Meteorološki stup. map
Mlin na Muri. map
Mursko Središće, the northernmost town in croatia, on the mura river at the slovenian border, a former coal mining centre in međimurje. map
Novi Marof, a town in the hrvatsko zagorje hills at the foot of ivanščica, a modest market centre that grew around a 14th century estate. map
Novska, a western slavonian town on the main rail line, on the front line of the 1990s war and since rebuilt as a logistics and energy hub. map
Obelisk. map
Ozalj, a town on a bend of the kupa river, watched over by an old town perched on a cliff. map
Oštrc. map
Oštrcgrad. map
Pakrac, a slavonian town where the battle of pakrac in march 1991, the first armed clash of the war, took place around its old barracks. map
Palača Herzer. map
Palača Keglević. map
Patuljkova špiljica. map
Piramida Ravna Gora. map
Podgaric Monument, a swooping abstract monument in the moslavina hills, by dušan džamonja, commemorating a 1943 partisan field hospital. map
Podrevec. map
Political School Josip Broz Tito, a communist political school in kumrovec, the birthplace village of josip broz tito, used to train party cadres. map
Ponor 2. map
Popovača, a moslavina market town on the railway between zagreb and eastern croatia. map
Pregrada, a zagorje town in a green valley, dominated by a tall neo gothic parish church visible from the surrounding hills. map
Prelog, a 13th century market town on the drava in međimurje, for centuries a centre of the local grain and craft trade. map
Pusti Lobor. map
Raspelo. map
Rinkov. map
Roping poligon - Eko selo Žumberak. map
Sanatorij Brestovac. map
Slap Ferendol. map
Slap Sopot. map
Sljeme Medvednica, zagreb peak. map
Spomen dom Šamarica. map
Spomenik palim borcima NOB-a. map
Spomenik palim borcima NOR-a. map
Spomenik ranjenom borcu. map
Spomenik sinagoge. map
Stari grad Dubovac. map
Stražište. map
Stričevo. map
Sveta Nedelja, a fast growing town just west of zagreb, named after a medieval church and now largely a commuter settlement for the capital. map
Sveti Ivan Zelina, a historic wine town in hrvatsko zagorje, whose vines on the southern slopes of the hills have produced wine since medieval times. map
Tisin ponor. map
Trakoscan Castle, a romantic 19th-century castle in the croatian zagorje, rebuilt in the neo-gothic style by the drašković family, set above an artificial lake. map
Tušćak Gradina. map
Tvornica Končar. map
Varazdin, baroque capital. map
Varaždinske Toplice, a thermal spa town whose sulphur springs were already bathed in by the romans, who called the place aquae iasae, making it the oldest known spa in croatia. map
Velika Gorica, a town south of zagreb on the edge of the turopolje woodland, long the gateway to the capital’s airport and the lowland oak forests. map
Veliki Tabor, renaissance. map
Veternica. map
Veternica Cave, zagreb. map
Vidikovac - Odašiljač. map
Vidikovac Paragliding take off. map
Vila Wagner, derelict villa in zagreb. map
Villa Rebar, a hunting lodge above zagreb on medvednica, later used by the wwii fascist leader (poglavnik) ante pavelić. map
Vrata od krča. map
Vukanovec. map
Zagreb, capital. map
Zumberak-Samoborsko Nature Park, a protected highland west of zagreb along the slovenian border, dotted with abandoned military frontier villages, forest paths and the country’s highest peak, sveta gera, on the edge of the range. map
kupalište Plaža. map
vidikovac Velka Peč. map
Čakovec, the capital of međimurje, croatia’s northernmost county, and for centuries the seat of the powerful zrinski counts, whose old fortress still anchors the town centre. map
Čazma, a bjelovar region town whose church of st mary magdalene, consecrated in 1226, is among the oldest standing churches in inland croatia. map
Đurđevac, a podravina town famous for the local legend of the picoki, in which townspeople outlasted a turkish siege by firing their last rooster at the besiegers. map
Špilja Medvednica donja. map
Židovina. map

When to visit

June and September are the sweet spot across Central: warm, bright and thinner on crowds than high July and August. Winter is quiet and cheap inland, though coastal ferries run less often.

Part of the open Croatia library by Photograph by John, real places, real maps, no paywall.