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Boutique or Grand: Choosing Where to Stay in Zagreb

Zagreb, CroatiaAugust 31, 20252 min read
By MASA Editors
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A grand pale corner building in Zagreb's Lower Town in warm hazy light, its stone facade rising through arched windows and gabled dormers to a slender cupola01
A grand pale corner building in Zagreb's Lower Town in warm hazy light, its stone facade rising through arched windows and gabled dormers to a slender cupolaPhoto: David Boca / Unsplash

A 1925 Orient Express hotel, a chain of 19th-century townhouses and a hill town with almost no beds — how to pick your Zagreb base, neighbourhood by neighbourhood.

Zagreb makes the accommodation decision unusually easy and unusually interesting. Easy, because the centre is so compact that almost any central address puts you within a fifteen-minute walk of everything. Interesting, because the choice is genuinely binary: a handful of grand historic hotels with real stories, or a large, good-value supply of small design hotels and apartments. Here is how to choose.

Key facts

  • Best base: the Lower Town (Donji Grad), around the Green Horseshoe of parks
  • Grandest address: the Esplanade, built in 1925 for Orient Express passengers
  • Apartment city: private apartments dominate the market and are often the best value
  • Price spike: December, when Advent fills the city
  • Getting around: trams and walking; a car is a liability in the centre
The twin neo-Gothic spires of Zagreb Cathedral rising above the red and yellow rooftops of the old town
The twin neo-Gothic spires of Zagreb Cathedral rising above the red and yellow rooftops of the old townPhoto: Domagoj / Unsplash

The Lower Town — where most people should stay

Donji Grad is Zagreb's Austro-Hungarian grid: wide streets, ochre facades, the chain of parks and pavilions known as the Green Horseshoe, and the main square at its northern edge. Everything is flat, the trams all pass through, and the restaurant and cafe density is the city's highest. If you only visit Zagreb once, stay here.

Lower Town, Zagreb
Lower Town, ZagrebPhoto: Lukas / Unsplash

The grand hotels

The Esplanade Zagreb Hotel is the city's landmark address, built beside the railway station in 1925 to receive Orient Express passengers, and still an art deco stage set — famous locally for its strukli, which non-guests order too. Nearby, the Hotel Palace Zagreb occupies a handsome 1891 mansion on Strossmayer Square that has taken guests since 1907, and bills itself as the city's oldest hotel. On the main square, Hotel Dubrovnik puts you at the exact centre of Zagreb life, and the Sheraton and Westin supply reliable international comfort within walking distance of the Horseshoe.

A quiet Upper Town street lined with pastel townhouses leads to a church clock tower flying Croatian and city flags.
A quiet Upper Town street lined with pastel townhouses leads to a church clock tower flying Croatian and city flags.Photo: Caz Hayek / Unsplash

The boutique and design side

This is where Zagreb has changed fastest. Restored townhouses, small design hotels and serviced apartments now fill the streets between Ilica and the parks, generally at a fraction of Western European prices for equivalent style. Canopy by Hilton Zagreb City Centre brought a design-led international name to the centre; smaller independents around Ilica and Britanski trg trade grandeur for character and better rates. Read recent reviews carefully — quality in this bracket varies more than the photographs suggest.

Pedestrians walk a cobblestone old-town street at dusk with a modern glass skyscraper rising behind the rooftops.
Pedestrians walk a cobblestone old-town street at dusk with a modern glass skyscraper rising behind the rooftops.Photo: ᛟᛞᚨᛚᚹ / Unsplash

The Upper Town — atmospheric, and awkward

Gornji Grad is the postcard: gaslit lanes, St. Mark's tiled roof, the noon cannon. It also has very few hotel beds, mostly apartments, and it is reached by cobbles, steps or the funicular. Wonderful with light luggage; a genuine nuisance with suitcases or a stroller.

A festively lit square at night with Christmas trees, an illuminated arch, and a crowd gathered around a statue.
A festively lit square at night with Christmas trees, an illuminated arch, and a crowd gathered around a statue.Photo: Emmanuel Cassar / Unsplash

The alternatives

Around Britanski trg, west along Ilica, you get a residential neighbourhood with a Sunday antiques market and lower prices. Near the station in Trnje, rates drop again and transport is excellent, though the streets are duller. For green and quiet, Maksimir sits beside the park and the zoo, twenty tram minutes out.

Tip: If you are coming for Advent, book several months ahead and pay for a central address. Zagreb's Christmas market is spread across the Lower Town squares, and walking home through it beats any taxi.

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