With kids · Zagreb · Croatia
Zagreb with kids
Family-tested sights, a calm base and the practical details that make travelling with children easier.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Bobonajbolji, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Zagreb is relaxed and easy with children: green parks with playgrounds, a zoo, the funicular, a hands-on technical museum and Lake Jarun in summer. Advent brings ice skating and festive lights in December. Top picks: Maksimir Park and Zagreb Zoo, Technical Museum Nikola Tesla and Zagreb Funicular and Lotrščak Tower. Families usually base themselves in Donji Grad (Lower Town).
Key facts
- Family picks
- 7
- Best area for families
- Donji Grad (Lower Town)
- Rainy-day options
- 3
Best things to do with kids
Park · Maksimir
1.Maksimir Park and Zagreb Zoo
Opened in 1794, Maksimir is a large English-style landscape park of oak woods, meadows, five lakes and pavilions. The Zagreb Zoo inside the park has big cats, sea lions and a children's area, and paths are good for walking and jogging.
Take trams 11 or 12 from Ban Jelačić Square, which stop by the main park entrance.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Nature
Museum · Trešnjevka
2.Technical Museum Nikola Tesla
A large hangar-like museum packed with old trams, aircraft, fire engines and cars, a replica mine and a demonstration room devoted to the inventor Nikola Tesla, who was born in Croatia. It also has a small planetarium and is one of the city's best rainy-day options for families.
Time your visit to catch one of the guided tours of the mine or the Tesla demonstrations.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- Rainy day
- History
Experience · Gornji Grad (Upper Town)
3.Zagreb Funicular and Lotrščak Tower
The funicular, in service since 1890, climbs about 66 metres of track from Tomićeva Street off Ilica to the Upper Town, making it one of the shortest public funiculars in the world. At the top stands the 13th-century Lotrščak Tower, from which the Grič cannon is fired every day at noon.
Be at the top station just before noon to hear the cannon; if the funicular is not running, the stairs beside it take about five minutes.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- History
- Iconic
Nature · Trešnjevka
4.Lake Jarun
A recreational lake in the south-west of the city with a rowing course, gravel beaches, cycling and jogging paths around the shore and bars that turn into clubs in summer. It hosts the INmusic festival and is where locals go to swim on hot days.
Rent a bike and ride the loop around the lake; the full circuit is about 6 km.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Outdoors
- Kids
- Active
Museum · Donji Grad (Lower Town)
5.Museum of Illusions
The original Museum of Illusions, opened on Ilica in 2015 before the concept spread worldwide, is a small, hands-on collection of optical illusions, tilted rooms and puzzles. It is popular with families and on rainy days.
Visit early or on a weekday, as the rooms get crowded at weekends and the illusions work best with space for photos.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
Nature · Medvednica
6.Medvednica and Sljeme cable car
The forested mountain on the city's northern edge rises to Sljeme at about 1,030 metres, with hiking trails, mountain huts serving bean stew and the restored medieval fortress of Medvedgrad. A modern cable car, opened in 2022, climbs from Gornji Stenjevec to the summit.
Ride the cable car up and hike down past Medvedgrad for views across Zagreb.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Low cost
- Outdoors
- Views
- Active
- Nature
- Kids
Park · Donji Grad (Lower Town)
7.Green Horseshoe (Lenuci Horseshoe)
Planned by Milan Lenuci in the late 19th century, a U-shaped chain of seven squares and parks links Zrinjevac, Strossmayer Square, the Art Pavilion, the Croatian National Theatre and the Botanical Garden. Zrinjevac's music pavilion and plane trees make it the classic Lower Town stroll.
Walk from Zrinjevac past the yellow Art Pavilion to the Botanical Garden, then cut across to the National Theatre.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Outdoors
- Architecture
- Kids
Rainy-day ideas
- Technical Museum Nikola Tesla — Time your visit to catch one of the guided tours of the mine or the Tesla demonstrations.
- Museum of Contemporary Art — Combine it with a walk around Bundek Lake park nearby; trams cross the Sava in about 15 minutes from the centre.
- Museum of Illusions — Visit early or on a weekday, as the rooms get crowded at weekends and the illusions work best with space for photos.
Where families should stay
$$$ · Best for first-timers, families, shopping and culture
Donji Grad (Lower Town)
The Lower Town is a 19th-century grid of boulevards and squares between Ban Jelačić Square and the main railway station, including the U-shaped chain of parks known as the Green Horseshoe, the Croatian National Theatre and many museums. It has the widest choice of hotels and easy tram links across the city.
- Good
- Central with excellent trams; Wide choice of hotels; Parks and museums close by
- Watch out
- Some streets busy with traffic; Older buildings can lack lifts
- Nearby
- Ban Jelačić Square, Zrinjevac Park, Croatian National Theatre, Main railway station
Family travel tips
- Ride the funicular up and walk down to the market for an easy Upper Town outing.
- Lake Jarun and Bundek have shallow swimming areas and playgrounds in summer.
- Children under 7 generally travel free on trams; check the current fares at ZET.
- The Upper Town's cobbles are tough with strollers; the funicular helps.
- The ice rink at King Tomislav Square during Advent is a December highlight.
Day trips for families
- Plitvice Lakes National Park (About 2–2.5 hours by bus or car) — Croatia's best-known national park has 16 terraced lakes linked by waterfalls and wooden boardwalks, listed by UNESCO since 1979.
- Samobor (About 30–40 minutes by bus) — A small town of pastel houses beside a stream, famous for kremšnita custard cake, a hilltop castle ruin and the wooded Samobor hills for walking.
- Trakošćan Castle (About 1.5 hours by car) — A romantic hilltop castle above a lake in the Zagorje hills, with furnished rooms and a lakeside walking path.
- Krapina Neanderthal Museum (About 1 hour by car) — A modern museum beside the Hušnjakovo site, where remains of Neanderthals were found in 1899, tells the story of human evolution with life-size reconstructions.
When to go with children
The best months overall are May–June, September–October and December. Weather by month.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Zagreb good for kids?
Zagreb is relaxed and easy with children: green parks with playgrounds, a zoo, the funicular, a hands-on technical museum and Lake Jarun in summer. Advent brings ice skating and festive lights in December.
+What can kids do in Zagreb?
Maksimir Park and Zagreb Zoo, Technical Museum Nikola Tesla, Zagreb Funicular and Lotrščak Tower, Lake Jarun and Museum of Illusions.
+Where should families stay in Zagreb?
Donji Grad (Lower Town): Grand Habsburg squares, the Green Horseshoe parks and the main station.