The Croatian capital is fairly spread out and often requires travel other than on foot. Interesting tourist sites can be several kilometres away, and some parts of the city are not particularly attractive. The city of Zagreb therefore offers visitors (and locals) a range of means of transport with which those accustomed to big cities will feel at ease. The only public transport missing from the list is the metro, which is not part of the Zagreb landscape.
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Zagreb on foot
The centre of Zagreb is easily accessible on foot, and is a pleasant place to stroll around. The old quarters, the upper town and Ban-Jelačić square are mainly pedestrianised. The city is safe and, even at night, the risk of muggings is minimal.
Public transport
In Zagreb, ZET manages the fleet of public transport vehicles. All the vehicles in the network are easily recognisable and are blue in colour.
More information : https://www.zet.hr
Ticket prices and formalities
Tickets can be bought at tobacconists, tourist offices, newsagents or from a mobile phone, even if it is difficult for visitors to get the hang of. The buses and trams are new, but you can’t buy your ticket on board directly from the driver. Tickets are quite expensive when purchased individually. One ticket costs €1.5.
Daily (from €5) and monthly passes are available from various distributors. The dedicated Zgreb Card is a three-day pass available to tourists. It gives access to transport throughout your stay, as well as various discounts at the city’s main attractions.
Bus
As the main means of public transport between the centre and the greater Zagreb area (towns and suburbs), buses are popular with the capital’s residents. They operate continuously throughout the day and well into the night and early hours of the morning. The bus network is very dense, with several transfer points around the capital’s main thoroughfares.
Zagreb’s trams are the most pleasant form of public transport. They serve the whole city and operate every day from 4am to midnight, and from midnight to 5am for the night lines. No fewer than 15 different tram lines criss-cross the city on more than 110 km of track, with regular service every 5 to 10 minutes.
Taxis
There are many taxis in Zagreb. They are safe and equipped with meters (taximeters). On the street, taxi ranks are easy to spot by their yellow signs and black “taxi” lettering. Rides are fairly expensive, and prices can rise depending on the day and time of day, the number of items of luggage, waiting times, etc.
Train
The train is a very practical way of getting to Zagreb. However, it doesn’t allow you to visit the various places of interest once you’re there. So it’s best to leave it behind.
By car
Whether you use your own car or a hire car, a car is not the ideal way to get around Zagreb, particularly between tourist sites.
Cable car and funicular
Anecdotal for locals, but always enjoyable for tourists, the funicular provides access to the upper town on the fortified hill. The Zagreb funicular (uspinjaca) is a bit like the Montmartre funicular in Paris. It takes just one minute to climb the sixty metres or so separating the modern city from the protected medieval quarters. There are departures all the time from 6am to 9pm for 0.5 euros (half the price of the bus).
The Žičara Sljeme cable car links Zagreb to the Medvednica mountain. The journey takes around twenty minutes.