GOLDEN THREADS ROAD

Zagreb-An Old City with a Young Soul

Zagreb is the Croatian capital, and largest city in Croatia by population. Historically, the city of Zagreb has grown from two neighboring settlements, Gradec and Kaptol, which form the core of todays Zagreb, its historical center. According to the legend, Zagreb got its name when an old ancient ban, tired and thirsty, makes the girl Manda to bring water from the spring. Ban said: "Mando, dear, zagrabi!“ (zagrabi – grabs) 

Zagreb is an administrative, economic, cultural, and scientific center of Croatia. By its position, Zagreb belongs to the cities of Central Europe. Zagreb is situated in continental central Croatia, on the southern slopes of Medvednica and on the banks of the Sava River. Its favorable geographic position in the southwestern corner of the Pannonian Basin, between Alpine, Dinaric, Adriatic and Pannonian regions, the cause is the fact that Zagreb is the transport hub between Central and Southeastern Europe and the Adriatic Sea. Due to its history and significance, Zagreb is rich in monuments and architecture. The center of Zagreb are considered historic district Upper Town and Kaptol, and Donji Grad, which has an exceptional diversity of architecture from Baroque to the present day. The center is surrounded on the north side with residential neighborhoods with higher levels of housing, and to the south of the former working-class neighborhoods that are experiencing strong reurbanisation. Appearance and arrangement, Zagreb is a typical Central European city.

Zagreb is the largest cultural center of the Croatia. The town has several institutions that traditionally have great prestige. In music, it is the Lisinski Concert Hall, in the world of theater, ballet and opera Croatian National Theatre, among libraries National and University Library. Among many quality museums and galleries, the cultural echo exhibitions maybe the most prominent Klović Palace. Zagreb also hosts several significant festivals, such as Animafest - World Festival of Animated Film, which takes place every even year, INmusic - one of the largest open-air festivals in Croatia, International Folklore Festival, theater festival Eurokaz, and Festival of contemporary dance. Zagreb has a film festival „Zagreb Film Festival“, and is particularly interesting ZagrebDox, documentary film festival.

From important exhibitions of recent visual expression, there is Zagreb Salon. From music festivals, there is Zagrebfest, one of the oldest events of Croatian pop music, avant-garde music festival then Music Biennale Zagreb every odd year and the Festival of the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra. Since 1996, the streets of downtown Zagreb maintains Cest is dBest, an international multimedia festival of street performers. In the summer, there are also open-air concerts, mostly in the Upper Town (Summer in the Upper Town).

Zagreb Michelin Restaurants

This year Zagreb has received its first prestigious Michelin star, which was awarded to Noel Restaurant. Noel Restaurant has amazed by its superb modern European cuisine and the perfect harmony of delicious creative dishes with Croatian, French and Italian wines. 

13 Zagreb restaurants with the Michelin Plate label

Among the 50 restaurants in Croatia that carry the Michelin plate label for the top dishes made with fresh ingredients there are 13 Zagreb restaurants: Pod Zidom, Time, Boban, Dubravkin Put, Apetit, Takenoko, ManO, Zinfandel's, Le Bistro Esplanade, Bistro Apetit by Marin Rendic, Tekka, Mon Ami and Mundoaka which is unfortunately closed. 

The famous luxury Esplanade Hotel Zagreb takes two places on this list: Le Bistro Esplanade and Zinfandel's. Le Bistro Esplanade opened in 1986, modeled after small French restaurants. A blend of traditional cuisine and French chic, as well as pleasant ambience attract many local and world famous celebrities. 

Bib Gourmand Recommendations 

The Michelin Bib Gourmand label has been given to two Zagreb restaurants that stand out for their good quality and affordable menus: restaurants Agava and Tač. In the heart of Zagreb there is a classic Italian Agava restaurant whose large windows offer a magnificent view of Tkalciceva Street. Italian cuisine with a Mediterranean twist combined with a cozy atmosphere makes this restaurant one of the most desirable Croatian restaurants.  

A popular family Tač restaurant located at the top of the hill outside the center of Zagreb is known for its Mediterranean menu where you can find many Istrian specialties and simple fresh seasonal food.  

Slavonia is a historical region in eastern Croatia. It lies between the river Drava in the north (border with Hungary), the Sava in the south (border with BiH), the Papuk mountain in the west and the Danube in the east (border with Serbia), with the exception of Srijem (the border between Slavonia and Srijem is not precisely defined). Slavonia is the main granary and the most agriculturally developed part of Croatia.

Thanks to numerous rivers and streams, preserved forests, traditional hunting and fishing tourism and rural tourism have been preserved. Slavonija and Baranja are ideal destinations for tourists who want to spend their vacation in peace and quiet, far from the city crowds.

Slavonia is surrounded by three rivers: Sava, Drava and Danube, creating an area of exceptional beauty with rich forests, pastures and hills. In Slavonia, there are numerous castles and summer houses that once belonged to rich families, and they give this part of Croatia a special charm. Osijek, the largest city in Slavonia, located on the Drava River, is an interesting tourist destination with numerous parks, cultural monuments and numerous entertainment facilities.

Baranja is naturally the best isolated entity. It stretches between the Drava, the Danube and the border with Hungary. At the place where the rivers Danube and Drava meet, nature has created a special phenomenon, the Kopački rit Nature Park. Kopački rit is rich in animal and plant life. 1967 it was declared a nature park, and the narrower area a zoological reserve. Larger towns in the area of Slavonia and Baranja are: Osijek, Vukovar, Vinkovci, Slavonski brod, Požega, Daruvar, Nova Gradiška, Kutjevo, Županja, Đakovo, Našice, Virovitica. Most accommodation is boarding houses with apartments and rooms or hotels. The main tourist offer of Slavonia and Baranja is based on hunting tourism, fishing, and rural tourism, i.e. agritourism.