A weekend in Zagreb: two cities in one, where you can soak up the spirit of Croatia

Zagreb cannot be fully appreciated from a single square: to experience it to the full, you need to follow its ups and downs, explore the two distinct sides that make it up, and then let the traditional blue trams carry you along its boulevards. Gornji Grad, the Upper Town, with its gates, towers and narrow streets that bear traces of the Middle Ages; Donji Grad, at its feet, which instead reflects the 19th-century era of Croatia’s capital, with its monumental façades, tree-lined squares and gardens. Zagreb’s charm lies in the influences of the cultures (Austrian, Ottoman and Venetian) that have shaped its history, in its role as a crossroads and meeting point between Central Europe and the Mediterranean, in its national identity and in its urban architecture, which bears a strong Habsburg influence. An autumn weekend offers the perfect opportunity to move from one ‘city’ to another and discover their charms, legends and curiosities, alternating between specific visits and aimless strolls.