10 Things that Amaze about Zagreb, Croatia

It is a city that really grows on you, and I found myself naming it as the best of the 14 cities I have lived in in a previous video (which you can watch at the end of this video).
Let's go a little deeper than visiting the cathedral or the bars of Tkalceva, and find out some other things that amaze about the Croatian capital. Some obvious, some not so obvious. Did you learn something new?
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Video produced by Igor Vuk of Wolf Media.
Additional thanks to Marc Rowlands, Velinka Buljan and Saša Alavanja. Full lamplighting video here - • Around Zagreb Upper To...
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[@jozefemperor]

Fun fact: grički top (or 12 o'clock cannon) has a Facebook page, and every day at noon it writes BUM! That is croatian for boom! Clearly inspired with Monty python humor

[@PaulBradbury]

Haha, yes, should have added that

[@hanasrna5120]

Obožavam svoj voljeni, prelijepi Zagreb. To je grad mojih predaka i potomaka. Grad mog rođenja i življenja. Pun znamenitosti, kulture, prirodnih ljepota. Prelijepa je i okolica. Jezera, rijeke, dvorci, terme, parkovi prirode i nacionalni parkovi. Na more se dođe za dva sata. Veličanstveno ! Hvala Vam Paul!👍

[@auscro7399]

The best short video about Zagreb

[@PaulBradbury]

You are very kind, but not sure I would agree, but lots more coming if you want to subscribe

[@ijskender]

Lijep video! Hvala Vam na ovakvom predstavljanju Zagreba, Paul!

[@PaulBradbury]

haha you are welcome - great city

[@cro-ero8469]

Paul, I hope that more people like you will come to live in Croatia

[@PaulBradbury]

haha, tx - well it is a great place to live

[@fernandomilicich8160]

I was there, and I loved so much. Greetings from Argentina

[@PaulBradbury]

Time to come back...

[@alenq21]

Oh man, you are like the gasllighter - without fail lighting up my love for Zagreb! Thank you!

[@PaulBradbury]

Haha, there is a lot to love

[@j.p.9295]

One other thing I absolutely love about Zagreb is Dolac . Wonderful Farmers market , full of local produce and delicacies . 💕

[@PaulBradbury]

We will have a very cool feature from dolac starting soon

[@j.p.9295]

@@PaulBradbury Brilliant, look forward to that . 👍

[@SculptExpress-gv8jp]

It’s still the same:) Things don’t change rapidly in Zagreb, which is a good thing - sometimes.

[@technodoglicapa]

Today started Špancirfest in Varaždin,and You HAVE TO SEE THAT🎉

[@PaulBradbury]

Yes it is great. I lived in varazdin for 5 years

[@lore2222222]

Fun fact: apparently Madrid and Zagreb are the only European capitals where there is no river flowing through center of the city.

[@HandleGF]

You may as well add Vienna to that.

[@lore2222222]

@@HandleGF, there is Danube passing through Schwedenplatz which is right in the center of the city. Also, the part where Prater lays today was almost all flooded before.

[@HandleGF]

@@lore2222222 Schwedenplatz? The water there is like a little leak from the Danube. 💦

[@slobodniusername]

Center of Solar system, Grounded Sun (Prizemljeno Sunce), is actually sculpture by famous Croatian artist Ivan Kožarić, first displayed in 1971. Davor Preis made installation "Nine views" in early 2000s (Pluto was still a planet then).

[@PaulBradbury]

Noted, thanks for the info

[@e.b.4379]

Brilliant video. Thank you for making me appreciate Zagreb even more as an expat!

[@PaulBradbury]

Glad you enjoyed it! Lots more coming if you want to subscribe0

[@e.b.4379]

@@PaulBradbury Thanks, I've been a subscriber for a while now...

[@zagrepcanin82]

Thank you for such a lovely promotion of "my" city. I hope you are enjoying it as much as I did for 30y while I was living in it and still do when I come....there is no place like home! Za nikaj na svetu ja menjal te ne bi,moj Zagreb tak imam te rad.... But I have to tell you something you did not mention,maybe you do not know this fun fact.... "Dedek" an oak in Maksimir is the oldest oak in Europe. you can not miss it... And there are 3 botanical gardens in Zagreb...the other 2 are: in courtyard of Brodarski institut(it is protected otherwise thieves would already demolish that priceless building company,I am sure you know what is in there,and build apartments and the other one is above Poliklinika Nemetova where asian sequoias are planted which are most likely tallest trees in Zagreb

[@PaulBradbury]

Great info, thanks

[@Lily-cv1ds]

Good video I agree with you Mr.Bradbury about Zagreb 👍

[@PaulBradbury]

Glad you enjoyed - lots more coming if you want to subscribe

[@mladbozic]

Thanks Paul. I was born and have lived for 56 years in our beautiful Zagreb. Thank you for everything you do for us.

[@PaulBradbury]

It is a great city

[@debelix]

It's my Hometown💪

[@PaulBradbury]

it is a great place

[@debelix]

@@PaulBradbury I agree 100%

[@SculptExpress-gv8jp]

Thank you! Once an old French (upss Corsican!) military officer said to me that Zagreb was ´Porte d’Orient.’ I thought that was so romantic 😊

[@PaulBradbury]

Haven't heard that description before

[@SculptExpress-gv8jp]

I don’t know why. Maybe because of the train - the Orient Express - that went to “orient” via Zagreb and Slavonia. For French, in olden days, the orient started already in Vienna and definitely Venice. So, it makes sense that Zagreb fits into that geographic definition. It was a friends father, a former military, who spent many years in his youth in the Middle East and upon learning where I was from said quite delightedly « Zagreb, la porte de l’Orient! » I thought that was so beautiful and being too young never asked why. Well, when I met him, he was one of the general managers of a known French bank and sometime later ended in prison for xyz, so it might had been just one of his many charming fraudulent claims 😂

[@MrDurin]

Well, you can find all those sightseeing attractions that you mention in every tourist prospect. Something that is imho amazing in Zagreb, and is almost completely unknown to tourists and the locals, is the number of smaller hidden palaces in the center, especially in the upper town. True, many of those palaces are closed off, but some are open to public, like the Croatian Institute of History with its Golden Hall, and Croatian State Archives in the lower town, which has completely preserved interior designed in the Secession style.

[@ivanbilic5697]

Thank you Sir! To all of us been bor in, been raised and influenced by Zagreb, this video and your words about our city, means a lot. Even more to all of us, being "forced" by lifee to leave our Zagreb and now we live our lifes far from our city. Like've you said at the end, yes, Zagreb is special. Zagreb is pure emotion! 💙

[@PaulBradbury]

I have to say I really like living here

[@anacallow509]

Mr. BILIĆ ! DIJELIM SA VAMA OSJECAJE , VIDJEVŠI OVAJ PREDIVAN “ WALKING TOUR “ KOJI NAM JE POKAZAO SIR.PAUL . I MENE JE ZIVOT “FORSIRAO “,DA SAM NAPUSTILA MOJ RODNI KRAJ I GRAD ALI SAM MU OSTALA VJERNA I GOTOVO NEMA DANA DA U MOJOJ MAŠTI NE PROSECEM MOJIM DRAGIM BIJELIM ZAGREBOM .ZA MENE NEMA GRADA DO ZAGREB GRADA! SINCERELY , ANA

[@suzegiljer3206]

Thank you Paul,you are a great story tellera,lot of very interesting things

[@miropoljak8184]

Kako krasan,pozitivan čovjek koji voli Hrvatsku!

[@PaulBradbury]

It is a great place

[@hrvatskinoahid1048]

God bless you Paul!

[@PaulBradbury]

Tx!

[@crashryanphoto]

Museum of the 80's!!?!?! You couldn't have posted this while I was there in July !??!?!?! Oh well .. next summer!

[@PaulBradbury]

Because we want you to come back next year

[@mariopandza]

Thank you ambassador! 🙏🏼

[@PaulBradbury]

Lots more coming if you want to subscribe

[@mariopandza]

@@PaulBradburyI am subscribed already. 🌟

[@mianmenu]

Love it! Thank you for showing the best of our country, the things we locals don't even know. Zagreb is amazing, the only true city in Croatia.

[@PaulBradbury]

I really like it for sure

[@bubee8123]

You mentioned way more then the rest of the people when talking about Zagreb. Another great promotional video! I also have few recommendations for next video about Zagreb. Zoo in the middle of Maksimir park, Jarun and Bundek lakes, Medvedgrad medieval fortified town located on the south slopes of Medvednica mountain, Nikola Tesla museum. That is just of the top of my head, I hope I helped you make our little town famous!

[@PaulBradbury]

Nice additions

[@bosnianborn]

Paul, this is absolutely amazing how you know this beautiful country, Croatia. Congratulation. Well done. Please, continue often your great work.

[@PaulBradbury]

Well, I have been very fortunate to have travelled through a lot of it - but lots more to discover

[@NenadBach]

Paul, you kept the self imposed standards. Thank you for the passion and the truth your fundamental ingredients of all Croatian. Lucky we!

[@PaulBradbury]

Haha tx!

[@vjekoslavvnucec326]

Top notch content, as always! :D

[@PaulBradbury]

Tx, lots more coming if u want to subscribe

[@marijahrastinski2945]

Hello from Zagreb! You mus visit, park Maksimir, Jarun, Bundek, Medvedgrad.

[@PaulBradbury]

Have visited them all - lovely

[@bazoo513]

I am delighted to see you are still hanging around with us, becoming a proper _purger,_ Congratulation on your almost perfect pronunciation of our proper nouns.

[@PaulBradbury]

I must say, as a hard core bodul, it feels a bit strange, but I do love Zagreb

[@nenjinublado]

Can’t wait to visit Zagreb this Fall! How is is the situation in Zagreb with dogs? I heard it is very dog-friendly, but we have a special situation as we have a small dog that is always on leash and afraid of big dogs running towards her off-leash, as she was already attacked and almost died 😢 so we are always very careful with her. Would be great to get some infos about it from the locals of Zagreb! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@PaulBradbury]

Pretty good - there is a great FB group called Expats in Zagreb (Official) where you can find lots of help and advice on teh subject.

[@lottaek1202]

Center is fine, but avoid residential areas beyond the city center because you'll not be able to avoid the scenarios your dog is afraid of. People walk their dogs off-leash and are not even aware of the whereabouts of their dogs

[@nenjinublado]

@@lottaek1202thank you very much for your comment! We are currently travelling in Dalmatia and here it is crazy especially in the high tourist season and huge dogs running around everywhere and it’s really stressful walking my small dog…

[@SculptExpress-gv8jp]

There aren’t any stray dogs in Zagreb, so your pup will be fine:) Some dog owners could be irresponsible, but hopefully you’ll not run into those. There are lots of parks, cafes and restaurants and you will be able to take your dog everywhere, but grocery stores; locals are quite old fashioned and don’t like dogs around when shopping for food. Don’t worry and welcome to your pup and you to Zagreb!

[@EdoModun]

Fantastic video, as always.

[@PaulBradbury]

Haha, tx. Lots more coming if you want to subscribe

[@fapmashina1]

Amazing video guide!

[@PaulBradbury]

haha thanks - lots more coming if you want to subscribe

[@andygreen6123]

Great video thanks.

[@PaulBradbury]

Lots more coming if you want to subscribe

[@danbet7710]

Great city with beautiful buildings. Just solve the graffiti issue

[@PaulBradbury]

Yes there is a lot of graffiti

[@eddysanta1213]

Nice video.

[@PaulBradbury]

Thanks - lots more coming if you want to subscribe

[@HandleGF]

Yes, it's great. Pozdrav iz Irske. I was in Zagreb twice in the last year and a half. I'll be back next spring. I found the KZbin series Kvart Priča (by Vid Juračić) rather useful for picking up local information and some of the language ... though I only watched closely the episodes about Gradec, Kaptol and Centar. One question: I'd love to know is there a short way to say "Grička vještica" when one is ordering a bottle of it. :)

[@PaulBradbury]

Yes that is a great series. Not sure of a shorter way, but a great brew

[@larissalamb3648]

Thanks for sharing this video! I have wedding in Aug 2023 in Opatija and will try to visit Zagreb :) Would you have any other recommendations near Opatija? Thanks a lot!

[@PaulBradbury]

Congrats and yes, lots of magic even closer kzbin.info/www/bejne/qomkYn15nMeEq6s

[@leejamieson92]

Great little video im going in december for four days whats the chances of it snowing 🌨

[@PaulBradbury]

Less and less these days but some chance - but Advent in Zagreb is a fantastic atmosphere

[@leejamieson92]

@PaulBradbury thanks for the reply paul yes me and my wife looking forward to seeing advent

[@zeljkakrznaric2440]

❤

[@joelfaulk]

Alert. Don't go to Zagreb expecting to visit sites because they are all closed. Or at least all Cathedrals are closed. So that is "another secret the tour guides don't tell you"

[@KungKokkos]

Stockholm also has a solar system like that

[@damirhlobik6488]

thank you, purger

[@PaulBradbury]

From Bodul to Purger...

[@MentalMickey]

My hometown today looking very sad and poor in comparation with Zagreb 30 years ago when we call it "Beli Zagreb grad... (Clean and neat city of Zagreb)". Today Zagreb is sometimes like a Napoli with the garbage care system problems, city still looks like a deep eastern coldwar era area... traffic system is close to breakdown, there are no logical and proper bike runways, all of them are in same position with walking line (they just write lines on floor)... And so much more... I think that story about Zagreb is based only on strictly old center of the town, nothing else... and that looks cool for tourists, but real story is different.

[@vladimir9586]

Beli Zagreb grad actually comes from way past times when the city was reflecting from the distance and appeared white to the arriving visitors in contrast to the dark mountain forrest of Medvednica.

[@sulicigor3565]

Jel ti sad lakse ..Takvi trebaju u njemacku ici

[@anacallow509]

M

[@anacallow509]

“ Moj Zagreb tak imam te rad’ ! Vu tebi sam rodjena pred skoro 89 godina ! Thank you Paul for this great video ! ❤️🇭🇷🇨🇦

[@nexe7271]

Paul, you are bigger Croat than most of Croatians I know. (And I am born here).

[@PaulBradbury]

I am bigger than most people these days...

[@Belamarimages]

Thank god someone is saying Zagreb (and Croatia) are actually Central Europe. They all label us as Balkan. Just check the map and take a look where Balkan acitually is. 👍🏻

[@goranpavkovic]

You should be on a ballot... top marks

[@PaulBradbury]

haha, no thanks -having too much fun doing what i am doing

[@miroslavpendelj9685]

Our friend Paul, the word - Balkan is turkish word and means - balcony! It was the turkish name of the mount - Stara planina between Serbia and Bulgaria!!! Where is Croatia in this story?Please, tell this story to the rest of the world! You can do it!

[@PaulBradbury]

We will have a video about Croatia and the Balkans soon.

[@adeleg505]

It’s not the only city in the world that begins with Z,don’t fool people. But I agree with the rest of the video

[@PaulBradbury]

Capital city

[@silmerion6528]

I have depression and anxiety while others are having fun and living

[@MrNomados]

Zagreb is nice but absolutely ruined by ugly graffiti that are everywhere... Maybe Paul you can attract attention to this problem? Even in you video the Sun is covered with some filth and nice old walls are also smeared with this... As a tourist I would be really disappointed with that

[@PaulBradbury]

I think the problem is well known, not sure what I could do to attract attention to it

[@MrNomados]

@PaulBradbury I mean you are already a famous person in Croatia, promoter of tourism and I would say an influencer... I think it must be articulated that this is a huge problem for the country relying on tourism and must be solved on all levels... if more ppl talk about that, the chances are better for improvement and denormalization of such kind of behavior.

[@joseroeder5492]

I have never been in an uglier western city. Croatia has a dwindling population and Zagreb reflects that. The countryside is full of empty villages. Don't get too close to Bosnia it is dangerous. Nothing to see on Ban Jelačić Square is not worth seeing and the upper town is run down with lots of cheap restaurants selling burgers, pizza, and Ćevapi. It is like Stalin never left.

[@apscoradiales]

Paul, you should also do a video of Zagreb mentality. People who live in Zagreb have this attitude that they are the best, the smartest people in Croatia, and tend to look down on others. Just look at the fights between Dinamo, Zagreb fans and Hajduk Split fans, for example. There is no love between the two, because one thinks of the other as not intelligent. I was born in a small town south of Zagreb, and people who come from Zagreb to visit think of the locals as hillbillies. Look at the drivers of cars with Zagreb plates. They think they own the roads in Croatia. Sadly, if you see car crashes anywhere in Croatia, you will probably see at least one car with Zagreb plates, particularly in tourist season. Cheers.

[@apscoradiales]

Forgot to mention; notice how pretty well everything in Croatia is about Zagreb or at least people who live in Zagreb think it is. For example, if you buy a pieces of furniture or an appliance at Emmezetta or Lesnina or Harvey Norman or even Ikea, and you want to have it delivered to some other place than Zagreb, the look of horror on part of the merchant is laughable. "Oh, you want to have it delivered to Zadar? Oh my God, that's more than 100 kilometers away. That will cost a lot of money", is usually what you will be told. "Yaaah, it's still Croatia last time I looked on the atlas! Is there a problem there?" Don't understand why all the government ministries are also located in Zagreb. Why not move the HZZO head office to, lets say, Ogulin? Croatia has lots of other cities, and towns, why is everything in Zagreb? Place needs to be de-centralised, in my opinion. Be cheaper to live in Korenica than Zagreb for the employees. And, we have the Internet nowdays, as well as the phones, don't we?

[@moooobkityy]

Wow talking about a party pooper

[@e.b.4379]

I think that's a rather subjective observation. As an expat, when I lived in Dubrovnik, I felt that Dubrovnikans espoused the qualities you mention to describe Zagrebians. I find people in Zagreb are more humble than people in the south of Croatia, and that the further north and inland one goes, the more pleasant and friendly people become.

[@ivanz3222]

Can't agree with that, u probably talk from your own experience. In Croatia the best people I met are from Zagreb. I love this mentality so much. No offense but I dislike other regions like Slavonia or Dalmatia (because of people's mentality). The only ones who's similar to Zagreb and central Croatia mentality are people in Rijeka and Istria. Also I found people from central Croatia the most educated and most opened to others cultures. Talking from my personal experience

[@SculptExpress-gv8jp]

Interesting, Ivan. I think we all suffer from some neurotic behaviors from time to time. I am from Zagreb and I always thought that we are fairly easy going and even have a bit of bohemian flair. Or, maybe that was Zagreb I knew in the 70s and 80s. The others would see Zagreb as a petty bourgeois town and there is that too. It’s big enough to choose your world. Dalmatia and the rest of the coast which I absolutely adore and know well are more complex. The life runs there by its own rules imposed by smaller and much more entangled communities. When I read Neapolitan novels of Elena Ferrante, I almost feel I read about the Croatia’s south. It’s all about families, the status determined by wealth or the lack of, connections and loyalties and betrayals. It’s about the group rather than individuals. In Zagreb, we got a bit of that urban loner mentality as well; it’s not all about the group, the tribe.

[@jansefran1752]

Zagreb is OK ... But Ljubljana is better. Much better. Majke mi.

[@dalibork]

When I was about 10 years old, my father brought me to the tower with the canon about three minutes till midday. When the canon fired, I was so scared that I fell on by bum. Who knew that in a year canons and guns would change everything.

[@ckdanekfan3397]

Paul, you are so persistent promoting croatian places despite all this treatment you got from croatian institutions. Where all that energy comes from🤔

[@PaulBradbury]

Thankfully, there is a lot more to Croatia than its institutions

[@gonetoheaven7478]

once a normal republic while it had the prefix SR

[@markozurak5206]

Previše radiš Pole Bredburi

[@PaulBradbury]

haha not really

[@zdenkopecirep2812]

What about bad things in Zagreb. Why dont you ask where is more than 200 000 people from Zagreb , why did they left this town......

[@e.b.4379]

It's clear that the Croatian depopulation and vast numbers emigrating is due to the political issues that are deeply rooted in the current corrupt and faulty system, and with the financial burdens people face in Croatia, it'll be hard to turn the tide of of the exodus.

[@zgudarac86]

Zagreb is the only city where the population is growing (im sure there are others but idk which one) and because of politics changing for an example the town of zapresic becoming independant and not part of zagreb it just means those people are not counted as living in Zagreb

[@sulicigor3565]

Ker su p.c.e ..Bitni su ovi koji su ostali i masa njih koji su se doselili. Najlakse je otici i pametovati onda ..

[@zdenkopecirep2812]

@@sulicigor3565 niste bitni, nikome

[@sulicigor3565]

@@zdenkopecirep2812 Samo ti peri guzice ....Moja baba moze vani ..Odlsze samo nesposobni i neskolovani koji u zivotu znaju samo kukati ..

[@DinamoDeet101]

Dear English man...i prefer any English (smaller) cities than Zagreb..it us the ugly place after 3 days i had spend here..

[@PaulBradbury]

We are all different. More than 2 years in Zagreb and i love it

[@sulicigor3565]

I live in London 3 years and preffer Zagreb ..