Top 9 Things to do in Zagreb with Kids

Loaded with tourism superstars like Plitvice Lakes, Hvar, Split and Dubrovnik, there are so many amazing places to visit in Croatia with kids. For all the attention that Croatia gets as a world-class tourism destination, Zagreb (Croatia’s capital city) remains out of the limelight. We weren’t sure what to expect on our one day visit to Zagreb with kids, but with a wide variety of kid-friendly activities, we were pleasantly surprised!

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9 Things to do in Zagreb with Kids

We set out the morning of our full day in Zagreb with kids armed with a Step-by-step walking tour booklet in my back pocket. We enjoyed every stop along our self-guided walking tour and are able to share the following 9 fun things to do with kids in Zagreb:

1. King Tomislav Square

Our first stop on our self-guided walking tour of Zagreb with kids was King Tomislav Square. This beautiful Zagreb square sits in the south east corner of the Green Horseshoe (a series of parks in Zagreb which form the rough shape of a horseshoe).

We arrived at King Tomislav Square with our kids shortly after 7:30 am and practically had the place to ourselves. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, the flowers were in bloom and the fountain was flowing.

King Tomislav Square was really beautiful and was a good start to our day in Zagreb with kids.

2. Nikola Subic Zrinski Square

From there, we continued north up the Green Horseshoe to Nikola Subic Zrinski Square. Wow, what a pretty square!

Home to rows of towering trees, fountains and flower gardens, and a classy gazebo at its heart, Nikola Subic Zrinski Square is a beautiful Zagreb park. In fact, it was our favorite square we visited during our walking tour of Zagreb with kids.

3. Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Continuing north on our walking tour of Zagreb with kids, we entered the Upper Town in Ban Jelacic, the commercial heart of the city. Our next stop was the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is a beautiful neo-gothic church.

Adding an extra level of interest is the fact the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is surrounded by defensive walls, which were built in the 1500’s to protect the Cathedral against the threat from the Ottoman Turks.

We visited Zagreb with our kids on a Sunday and we didn’t feel we were dressed appropriately, so we didn’t go inside.

4. Dolac Market

A few blocks later we arrived in the Dolac Market, Zagreb’s most famous open air market. The first few stalls we passed at the Dolac Market were tourist trinkets, so we thought it wasn’t going to be all that interesting, but then we reached the main market and it was a vibrant, busy fruit and veggie market.

Our kids always love exploring markets and looking at the fun displays, so we spent some time walking through. The vendors at local markets are always so kind and friendly to kids, and Dolac Market in Zagreb was no different. The vibrant Dolac Market was one of our kids favorite things to do in Zagreb.

5. Tkalciceva Street

Next up was a meander down Tkalciceva Street, the most colorful street in Zagreb. We were excited to visit Tkalciceva Street as our Lonely Planet raved about the coffee on this this colorful & charming Zagreb street. In fact, they listed having coffee on Tkalciceva Street as one of the top things to do in Zagreb.

Our kids love exploring pedestrian-only streets, so they were a little bit crazy on Tkalciceva Street. We decided that our two hyper kids wouldn’t sit still long enough for us to sit and enjoy a cappuccino, so we kept on walking. 

6. St. Mark’s Church

Continuing our self-guided walking tour of Zagreb with our kids, we climbed a series of stairs to the Stone Gate, the only remaining Zagreb Old Town gate, on our way to St. Mark’s Square.

The roof tiles on St. Mark’s Church are so bright, colorful and amazing that even our kids noticed (and they never care about architecture). Seeing St. Mark’s Church roof tiles is on our list of must-see things to do in Zagreb, Croatia.

7. Catherine’s Square

A few blocks south of St. Mark’s Church we found ourselves in Catherine’s Square, where we enjoyed a nice view of the Zagreb Lower Town from the deck right next to the upper funicular station.

It felt good to already be in Upper Town without much physical effort and without needing to take the funicular.

We walked down the path next to the funicular tracks to return to the Lower Town. We walked on Jurisiceva, Zagreb’s main commercial street for a few blocks, before turning off to Petar Preradovic Square. Zagreb has so many beautiful squares, this is yet another one! 

8. Croatia National Theatre

Our day in Zagreb with kids was flying by and we soon arrived back at the Green Horseshoe, this time at Marshal Tito Square (in the north-west corner, which is occupied by the large and beautiful Croatian National Theatre.

We finished our Zagreb walking tour a few blocks south in Marulic Square, in the south-west corner of the Green Horseshoe, home to the Croatian State Archives, which sounds boring, but it is a very nice building.

We walked approximately 3.7 miles (6km) on our self-guided walking tour of Zagreb with kids. It wasn’t overly hard, with only one long set of stairs to contend with. Our 2 & 4 year old kids were able to walk nearly all of it.

9. Mirogoj

Having seen most of central Zagreb’s sights, we went a little further afield in the afternoon. We hopped on a local bus outside of the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and 10 minutes later we arrived at Mirogoj, Zagreb’s main cemetery.

Yup – a cemetery…  with kids… but this is no ordinary cemetery, in fact Mirogoj is considered to be one of the most beautiful cemeteries in all of Europe.

What attracted to visit Mirogoj with our kids, was not just the very impressive architecture and the interesting, historical gravestones, but the trees. It was 29C (84F) this afternoon and the Mirogoj cemetery is home to rows upon rows of ancient, towering trees, providing lots of shade.

Visiting Croatia with two small kids, we wanted to make sure they stayed out of the powerful midday sun as much as possible. We had a very enjoyable walk through the beautiful grounds at Mirogoj and would add this to the must see places in Zagreb with kids (or without).

10. Family Photo Shoot

On several of our family trips around the world, we were lucky enough to capture some special moments from our family trip with a session with a professional photographer. Some of the family photos we received from these photo sessions are some of our most treasured possessions.

Zagreb is such a beautiful destination. We didn’t have a chance this family trip, but you can book a family photo shoot in Zagreb. Your professional photographer will make you feel relaxed and help you find photo-friendly locations in and around Zagreb.

We really enjoyed our one day visit to Zagreb with kids. We were really impressed with Zagreb’s charm, sights and history. We’re glad we decided to stop in Zagreb on our European family holiday. We probably wouldn’t recommend much longer in Zagreb with kids though…

Kid-Friendly Zagreb Tours

A fun and easy way to see most of the sights we visited in Zagreb with kids is to hire a guide for a 2.5 hour private walking tour. Alternately, a 4 hour combo walking & driving tour of Zagreb will allow you to see more, including the beautiful Mirogoj cemetery.

Plitvice Lakes and Rastoke – Small Group Full-Day Tour from Zagreb

Where to Stay in Zagreb with Kids

Central Zagreb is the best place to stay in Zagreb with kids. It’s where the best restaurants, shopping and the majority of the things to do in Zagreb with kids are located.

We rented a three-bedroom condo about 10 minutes walk from Old Town Zagreb. We chose to stay at a vacation home rental as we enjoy the family-friendly amenities like separate bedrooms, a kitchen and laundry facilities. Plus, it’s location just outside of Old Town Zagreb made it more affordable.

There are plenty of family-friendly Zagreb vacation rentals homes on VRBO.

If hotels are more your style, we personally use and recommend using Booking.com as their Top Picks for Families search filter makes it easy to find good family-friendly hotels in Zagreb.

How to Get Into Zagreb with Kids

The Zagreb airport is a 20 minute drive outside of central Zagreb. When traveling with kids, it’s often difficult to find a way to get your kids safely from the airport to the hotel without car seats. Taxis and Ubers will not have car seats and taking an airport bus with kids is often a pain in the butt.

We are big fans of private transfers when traveling with kids. Your driver meets you at the gate with your family name on a sign. He’ll walk you to your private car with your pre-reserved child seats already in place. It’s an affordable luxury after a long day of flying with kids.

Next Stop in Croatia with Kids

After our really fun day in Zagreb with kids, we hopped on a bus from Zagreb to Plitvice Lakes National Park. We were super-excited to see Plitvice Lakes with our kids as it was one of our bucket list items. Visiting Plitvice Lakes with kids was amazing! See our 15 tips you need to know when visiting Plitvice Lakes with kids.

Read more about our European family vacation with stops in the Czech Republic with kids, Budapest with kids, Croatia with kids and a final stop in Iceland with kids.

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