Zagreb

Zagreb is the capital of Croatia, a Central European city of about 800,000 people set below the forested slopes of Mount Medvednica, and it is the country’s political, cultural and transport centre. It is the only genuinely large, continental city in Croatia, and it reads as such: a grid of squares, tram lines, grand 19th-century facades and a dense cafe life that fills the pavement through the warmer months.

The historic centre is split between the old Kaptol, around the cathedral, and the old Gradec, on the hill above, linked by the curving streets of the upper town and reached by the short funicular, one of the shortest in the world. Below them lies the lower town, the 19th-century ring of parks, squares, museums and the national theatre, laid out on a plan borrowed from Vienna and Budapest.

Zagreb holds the great museums of the country, the Archaeological Museum, the Mimara, the Museum of Naïve Art and the tear-inducing Museum of Broken Relationships among them, and it is the hub for rail and the main hub for air. The Dolac market, the open-air food market above the main square, is the daily heart of the city.

For photographers, the cathedral and St Mark’s Church with its coloured roof, and the Dolac market in the morning, are the shots. Use Zagreb as the entry and exit point and give it at least a full day, more if you like cities.

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