Zagreb

Welcome to Zagreb, Croatia’s lively capital! A cultural, political, and educational centre of the country is eager to guide you through its charming old town and medieval streets, its historic buildings and enchanting squares. Then, take you through its exquisitely maintained parks, lakes, woodlands, and let you rest on one of its benches of Zrinjevac Park. The park serves as a central point for its various cultural events and festivals throughout the year.

Zagreb is also going to take you on a true gastronomic adventure with its diverse culinary landscape spanning from traditional Croatian cuisine to international flavors.

As a cultural centre Zagreb has so much to offer – clubs with live music, numerous concerts, festivals, exhibitions, museums and art galleries, theatres, and performances.

Our Erasmus+ teacher training courses in Zagreb are specially designed by teachers for teachers to help you explore the best of the city as some of the training takes place outside as well. The future of education is rapidly changing so school and teaching should evolve as well. Our courses are directed at developing digital literacy and soft skills, learning some of the best innovative strategies for foreign language teaching and improving language skills that will prepare you for your classroom like no other course before.

Zagreb has its way to steal your heart. So we recommend taking a lovely tour starting from the old town. Make sure not to miss anything from our list:

1. The old town of Zagreb, also called the Upper Town
2. Mirogoj cemetery
3. Saint Marko’s Church – One of the oldest buildings and symbols of Zagreb
4. The Cathedral of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – the most monumental and the most impressive Gothic-style sacral building
5. Dolac green market in the morning
6. Radićeva and Tkalčićeva street
7. Museum of Broken Relationships
8. Museum of Selfie and Memories
9. Zrinjevac Park
10. Maksimir Park
11. Bundek Lake
12. Klovićevi dvori Gallery
13. Find all planets of solar system – Sculptures located around the city revolving around the Sun, a sculpture located in Bogovićeva street
14. Medvedgrad – located at the top of Medvednica mountain
15. Croatian National Theatre
16. Botanical Garden
17. Britanski Trg on a Sunday morning – A flea market with great finds at affordable prices

What to see near Zagreb

A half day trip to Samobor

The history of this charming little town has always been intertwined with Zagreb. Located only 24 km from Zagreb, it is an ideal place to take a walk and try their traditional vanilla pastry cream called kremšnite.

Enjoy this wonderful town as a part of our half-day excursion of cultural programme.

A half day trip to Trakošćan Castle

Trakošćan Castle is located 80 km from Zagreb and consists of a castle, buildings around castle, park, and forest park with a lake. The castle was built at the end of 13th century as an observation post. It is a true gem, a fairy-tale like place that you will definitely enjoy.

A day trip to Plitvice

Plitvice Lakes National Park are one of the most beautiful places you will ever see. Located 180 km from Zagreb,  with its exceptional natural beauty, this is a perfect place to rest your mind, connect with nature, and admire the lakes and waterfalls. Ideal getaway for your well being and mental health. Since 1979 Plitvice National Park has been a part of UNESCO World Heritage List.

The lake system consists of 16 larger and smaller lakes, cascading one into the next with steep cliffs. There are seven different routes to tour the lake system and four hiking trails. Each season is magical. Just make sure to wear appropriate clothing and footwear, bring rain and sun protection as well as water and some food as some trails are longer than others.

Continental part of Croatia tends to revolve around meat and vegetables, so make sure not to miss some of the traditional food delicacies like: roasted turkey with mlinci, kotlovina, vegetables are widely used in stews, or krpice sa zeljem – pasta flakes with cabbage.

If you have a sweet tooth, make sure to try Paprenjak – pepper biscuit, edible souvenir from Zagreb or enjoy delicious cakes at one of many pastry shops in and around center of Zagreb. The city has a long tradition of cafes so don’t miss your chance to visit places like “Kavkaz” (the theatre café where all prominent names of Zagreb used to meet), or “Johann Franck” (the main city café located at Ban Jelačić Square).

Remember, your education doesn’t end in the classroom and your whole Erasmus+ experience should involve getting to know Croatia to the fullest, including its tastes, people, culture and tradition.

Zagreb has a typical continental climate, meaning the summers are warm and sunny, while winters get cold and snowy.

Summer temperatures range from 20-30 C, while winter temperatures go as low as -5 to around 8 C. Spring and autumn are usually the best time to visit Zagreb as temperatures are around 12-16 C.

It’s not particularly windy in Zagreb, but the air gets cold so bringing gloves and a wool cap might be a good idea in winter months.

How to get to Zagreb by plane

Zagreb is extremely well connected with many airports across Europe and it should be quite easy to find plane tickets throughout the year. Most airlines have direct flights, meaning your Erasmus+ budget will not suffer a lot.

The airport is located only 16 km from city centre. Shuttle Bus leaves from the airport to Zagreb Central Bus Terminal every 30 minutes. It takes somewhere between 35-40 minutes to reach its destination. The ticket costs 8 €. You can buy it online or directly from the bus driver.

There is also an option of taking a public bus number 290 from Velika Gorica to Kvaternik Square in the city centre. It leaves every 35 minutes. It is less frequent during weekend. A single ticket costs 0,5 € and the ride to Kvaternik Square, close to the city centre, takes 35 minutes.

Erasmus+ Green Travel options

Getting to Zagreb by bus:

Zagreb is well connected to most big cities around Europe. Central bus station is located in the city centre. From there it is possible to take a tram in any direction, and the cost of a tram ticket is only 0.50 € (if bought outside the tram, at a newspaper stand TISAK).

Getting to Zagreb by car:

Croatia’s motorway connects Zagreb to major European roadways, and plenty European capitals are under 10 hours from Zagreb by car. Some of the closest cities are Ljubljana (1.5h), Budapest (3.5h), Venice (4h), and Vienna (4h). Not only is it a good green travel option, especially if you’re traveling with a group, but it is also a very comfortable way to get around the city. The whole city has excellent, well connected, and cheap public transport so leaving your car in one of the narrow streets close to the city centre would be a great option.

Getting to Zagreb by train:

Zagreb is internationally connected to the following countries via railway: Austria, Germany, Hungary, Serbia, Slovenia, and Switzerland. International trains are usually on time and quite comfortable, whereas Croatian trains are neither punctual not very comfortable.

Don’t miss the opportunity to visit this incredible place with a group of teachers from the course, join our cultural programme! Leave the classroom for a day, and continue your education through this ultimate outdoor experience. Develop your communication skills, network and make new friends at one of the most instagrammable places you’ve ever seen!