Zagreb hits the sweet spot of a small city Christmas market: its small enough to explore in a day, but decorated to the nines and perfect for a festive market experience!
It's one of the best cities for decoration I've seen, and the whole place feels like a step back in time.Â
I have a separate Zagreb guide focused on the city's sights and restaurants, so grab that as well to round out your time!Â
Zagreb Christmas Market Specialties
The best thing about Zagreb Christmas markets is that they create a party atmosphere. All the markets have plenty of decoration and an emphasis on space for decor and mingling, rather than cramming as many market stalls into every corner. There's a ton of live music on the weekends, full of people singing along and enjoying themselves.
There are fewer stalls selling souvenirs or goodies, with a bigger emphasis on food & drink. This adds to the feel that everyone's there to enjoy themselves, not just buy stuff.Â
Foods to Try
In addition to the usual favorites, here are a few things to try at the Zagreb markets!Â
🍖 cepavi: ground meat shaped around a stick and grilled! It's found throughout the Balkans, and delicious!Â
🥟 Asian food: Hear me out. It's not Croatian, but I loved having the option to mix it up!Â
🍩 fritule: fried dough balls topped with powdered sugar and chocolate! The best way to finish up any meal.
LogisticsÂ
📆 2023 dates:Â
December 2 - January 7thÂ
⏰ Hours:
No overall opening, but most are open by 2 pm and close around 9 pm
How much time do you need?
You can pretty easily see the Zagreb Christmas markets in one day, because the city isn't big. I'd recommend spending a night to enjoy them after dark, and give yourself time to see more of Zagreb itself!Â
Getting around
Everything is easily walkable! But the city does have old school trams that run through the city center.Â
Hotels
These are ordered loosely cheapest to most expensive, but can vary depending on demand, weekday/weekend, or neighborhood.Â
Zagreb Christmas Market Locations
Zagreb is a small enough city that it's not helpful to break them down into major and minor markets - they're all close together, and easily doable in a day!
The biggest Christmas market in Zagreb. You'll find a mix of decorations, festive corners, and food & drink stalls.
Park Zrinjevac has live music all evening long! The bands play crowdpleasers (both Christmas music and pop), and the crowd all sings and dances along!
Get dinner at Park Josipa Jurja Strossmayera. There's a good mix of Croatian, Italian, Asian, and more, so everyone can get what they want. I got bao buns at **** and loved them, so head there if you're craving Chinese food!Â
Trg Kralja Tomislava holds an ice rink! On opening night, they do a fun skating performance complete with costumes and props, set to songs about Zagreb!Â
There's another smaller one towards the Cathedral, in Park MeÄ‘unarodnoga Priznanja. It mostly offers booths with drinks & small bites, and a few souvenir options.Â
Great decor corners
There are plenty of areas with great decor that aren’t part of a market! Here are a few of my favorites:
Use the Nikola Tesla statue as a landmark for this cute corner!
They set up a big tree in front of St. Mark’s church!
This little covered pathway is all decked out, and leads to a festive Hendrick’s bar tucked into the bottom of the hill.
Amelie sets up a super festive heated patio too!
There's a Christmas tree inside the Oktogon too!Â
Need more information? Always check the official website for the latest updates!Â
If this was helpful, check out my other Christmas market guides!
Want more travel tips? This is just a taste of what I can offer you! Check my bio for all my guides. You can also reach out so I can make you a custom trip list or a daily itinerary! Grab all the details in my bio.Â
Zagreb hits the sweet spot of a small city Christmas market: its small enough to explore in a day, but decorated to the nines and perfect for a festive market experience!
It's one of the best cities for decoration I've seen, and the whole place feels like a step back in time.Â
I have a separate Zagreb guide focused on the city's sights and restaurants, so grab that as well to round out your time!Â
Zagreb Christmas Market Specialties
The best thing about Zagreb Christmas markets is that they create a party atmosphere. All the markets have plenty of decoration and an emphasis on space for decor and mingling, rather than cramming as many market stalls into every corner. There's a ton of live music on the weekends, full of people singing along and enjoying themselves.
There are fewer stalls selling souvenirs or goodies, with a bigger emphasis on food & drink. This adds to the feel that everyone's there to enjoy themselves, not just buy stuff.Â
Foods to Try
In addition to the usual favorites, here are a few things to try at the Zagreb markets!Â
🍖 cepavi: ground meat shaped around a stick and grilled! It's found throughout the Balkans, and delicious!Â
🥟 Asian food: Hear me out. It's not Croatian, but I loved having the option to mix it up!Â
🍩 fritule: fried dough balls topped with powdered sugar and chocolate! The best way to finish up any meal.
LogisticsÂ
📆 2023 dates:Â
December 2 - January 7thÂ
⏰ Hours:
No overall opening, but most are open by 2 pm and close around 9 pm
How much time do you need?
You can pretty easily see the Zagreb Christmas markets in one day, because the city isn't big. I'd recommend spending a night to enjoy them after dark, and give yourself time to see more of Zagreb itself!Â
Getting around
Everything is easily walkable! But the city does have old school trams that run through the city center.Â
Hotels
These are ordered loosely cheapest to most expensive, but can vary depending on demand, weekday/weekend, or neighborhood.Â
Zagreb Christmas Market Locations
Zagreb is a small enough city that it's not helpful to break them down into major and minor markets - they're all close together, and easily doable in a day!
The biggest Christmas market in Zagreb. You'll find a mix of decorations, festive corners, and food & drink stalls.
Park Zrinjevac has live music all evening long! The bands play crowdpleasers (both Christmas music and pop), and the crowd all sings and dances along!
Get dinner at Park Josipa Jurja Strossmayera. There's a good mix of Croatian, Italian, Asian, and more, so everyone can get what they want. I got bao buns at **** and loved them, so head there if you're craving Chinese food!Â
Trg Kralja Tomislava holds an ice rink! On opening night, they do a fun skating performance complete with costumes and props, set to songs about Zagreb!Â
There's another smaller one towards the Cathedral, in Park MeÄ‘unarodnoga Priznanja. It mostly offers booths with drinks & small bites, and a few souvenir options.Â
Great decor corners
There are plenty of areas with great decor that aren’t part of a market! Here are a few of my favorites:
Use the Nikola Tesla statue as a landmark for this cute corner!
They set up a big tree in front of St. Mark’s church!
This little covered pathway is all decked out, and leads to a festive Hendrick’s bar tucked into the bottom of the hill.
Amelie sets up a super festive heated patio too!
There's a Christmas tree inside the Oktogon too!Â
Need more information? Always check the official website for the latest updates!Â
If this was helpful, check out my other Christmas market guides!
Want more travel tips? This is just a taste of what I can offer you! Check my bio for all my guides. You can also reach out so I can make you a custom trip list or a daily itinerary! Grab all the details in my bio.Â