Medvednica Nature Park

Medvednica is the mountain that rises directly behind Zagreb, and the nature park that covers it is the city’s great green escape, a forested massif of beech, streams, meadows and walking trails that you can reach from the edge of the capital by tram and a short path. The highest point, Sljeme, is just over a thousand metres.

The park holds several sights inside it: the medieval fortress of Medvedgrad, the show cave of Veternica, the abandoned Brestovac sanatorium, and a network of mountain huts serving food and drink along the trails. In winter there is a small ski slope near the top, reached by road and a cable car from Gračani.

For most visitors Medvednica is a day of walking above the city rather than a single destination, and the huts are the real social centre, full on weekends with hikers eating beans and sausages after a morning on the trails. The Sljeme summit can be crowded on a fine Sunday.

For photographers, the view over Zagreb from the higher meadows, especially at dusk, is the shot. Take a layer, the summit is cooler than the city, and check the cable car is running if you had not planned to walk up.

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