As the weather warms, tourists are quickly setting their sights on their next holiday destination. Croatia is often high on the list of holiday spots, but all eyes tend to look to the coast.
Here you will find stunning destinations in Split and Dubrovnik, located on the Adriatic coast. However, looking further inland around 120 miles of inland will reveal another city where the Croatian capital could be added. It is one of the most important transport hubs in the country Central Europe, the Mediterranean and Southeastern Europe meet via roads, rail and aviation networks. This makes it a great destination for the quickest break this spring.
Zagreb is Croatia's largest city. Located in the north of the country, along the Saba River, the longest tributary of the Danube, on the south slope of Mount Medvedica, it offers a stunning backdrop that is difficult to beat anywhere else.
According to The Telegraph, Zagreb is nominated as one of the best spring city breaks as it has around 767,000 people live there.
The oldest settlement near the city was Roman Andeutonia in Sitarievo today. Here you can still find traces of the settlement where residents can walk on the same roads they went to about 1,200 years ago.
It is a city known for its diverse economy, high quality living, museums, sports and entertainment events. For something a little more eco-friendly, head to Maximir Park, Zagreb's oldest park, which opened in 1794 before most of the European parks.
The park has several large meadows, numerous streams and five lakes, and is home to a variety of plant and animal species, including the central spotted woodpecker, an endangered species of Europe. The Zagreb zoo forms part of the park's territory, located south of Maximir Park.
If you want to leave the main city, the slopes of Medvedica, Chastin, Grachani and Lemete, which maintain a rich tradition of folk costumes, schink umbrellas and gingerbread products are full of picturesque villages.
The recently restored medieval fortress, the old Medvedica Hill, was built in the 13th century. It overlooks the western part of the city and also hosts a home temple, a monument with eternal flames that pays homage to all of Croatian fallen heroes.
Many Zagreb restaurants serve great national cuisine worthy of taste, including turkey, ducks, geese (flat pasta soaked in roast juice), kremschneite (custard slices of flaked pastries), and orange cha (traditional warnut rolls) along with murin and murin.
Several airlines, including British Airways, Lufthansa and Eurowings, offer direct flights from London to Zagreb, with flight times of around 2 hours and 10 minutes. From the airport, you can take a cheap Croatian Airlines airport bus and take them directly without stopping, and take them to the main bus stop in central Zagreb (Aveniyama Marina Doritzka 4) in about 35 minutes.
The bus departs every 30 minutes (or there are times when flights arrive during busy periods outside the airport terminal).
