Zagreb Old Town, WWII Tunnels and Funicular Guided Walking Tour

Zrinjevac Park and the Lower Town

The tour begins in Zrinjevac, the first and most elegant of the chain of parks known as the Green Horseshoe, laid out in the 1870s when Zagreb was growing into a modern Central European city. Plane trees, fountains, a cast-iron music pavilion and the meteorological column of 1884, which still shows the temperature, pressure and humidity, make it the natural meeting point; the column is exactly where you meet our guide. Around the park stand the grand buildings of the Lower Town: the Supreme Court, the Archaeological Museum and 19th-century palaces.

From Zrinjevac the walk continues along Bogovićeva, a pedestrian street of cafés and shops, to Ban Jelačić Square, the main square where every tram line in the city meets and where locals arrange to meet under the clock. The guide explains how the Lower Town's grid of streets and squares was planned, and why the square was named after the 19th-century ban, the governor of Croatia, whose equestrian statue stands at its centre.

Zagreb Cathedral and Kaptol

Zagreb Cathedral stands on Kaptol, the hill that was the seat of the bishop from the 11th century and one of the two medieval towns that merged to form Zagreb. The present building is a neo-Gothic reconstruction completed after the earthquake of 1880, with twin spires that are the tallest structures in Croatia and visible from almost everywhere in the city. The cathedral was damaged again by the earthquake of 2020, and the restoration of its spires is an ongoing story that your guide explains on the spot.

The tour stops in front of the cathedral and in the surrounding streets of Kaptol, with its Renaissance walls and towers, rather than inside, so the visit fits the 2.5-hour route; if the interior is open you can return afterwards, as it is a few minutes from the end point. From here it is a short walk down to the market, which is the next stop of the Zagreb old town tour.

Dolac Market

Dolac is Zagreb's central farmers' market, held every morning since 1930 on a raised square just above Ban Jelačić Square. Its red umbrellas are one of the symbols of the city, and under them farmers from the surrounding villages sell fruit, vegetables, cheese, honey and flowers, while the covered hall below holds butchers, bakers and fishmongers. The statue of a market woman with a basket on her head at the top of the steps is a favourite photo.

The walk through Dolac is a short, lively stop of about 10 minutes, long enough to see what is in season and to taste a local cheese or a pastry if you wish; the morning departure catches the market at its busiest, while the late-afternoon departure sees it winding down. From the market the route passes through the old lanes toward the hidden tunnel entrance at the foot of the Upper Town.

The Grič Tunnel – Zagreb's WWII air-raid shelter

The Grič Tunnel was dug in 1943 beneath the Upper Town as an air-raid shelter for the city's population, with a main gallery about 350 metres long and several branches that open onto different streets of the Lower and Upper Town. After the war it was used as a warehouse, then forgotten, and in the 1990s it briefly hosted underground parties. It was restored and reopened as a public passage in 2016 and now also serves as an exhibition space.

Walking through the cool, well-lit tunnel is one of the most unusual parts of a Zagreb walking tour, and it has a practical benefit: it is the shortest way from the market side of the city to the foot of the funicular. The tunnel closes on certain dates for events and maintenance; when it is closed, the guide takes the surface route past the same landmarks.

The funicular and Lotrščak Tower

The Zagreb funicular has linked the Lower Town with Gradec since 1890, and its track of only 66 metres makes it one of the shortest public funiculars in the world; the ride lasts about a minute, yet it has become a city icon. The funicular ticket is included in this tour whenever it is operating; on dates when it is closed for maintenance, the guide walks you up the steps beside the track, which takes only a few minutes.

At the top stands Lotrščak Tower, a 13th-century defensive tower from which a cannon has been fired every day at noon since 1877, and the tree-lined promenade along the old walls with its panoramic views over the Lower Town's roofs, the cathedral spires and the hills beyond. This is the best viewpoint of the walk and the place where the guide points out everything you have seen so far from above.

The Upper Town – St. Mark's Church, the Stone Gate and Tkalčićeva

Gradec, the Upper Town, is the other medieval hill of Zagreb, a quiet quarter of cobbled streets, gas lamps that are still lit by hand every evening and baroque palaces. Its centre is St. Mark's Square, seat of the Croatian Parliament and the government, and to St. Mark's Church, whose roof of coloured tiles shows the coats of arms of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia and of the city of Zagreb. It is the most photographed building in the capital.

The walk descends through the Stone Gate, the only surviving medieval gate of Gradec, which holds a shrine built around a painting that survived the fire of 1731 and is a place of quiet prayer in the middle of the city. The tour ends on Tkalčićeva Street, the lively lane of cafés, restaurants and low pastel houses that follows the former stream between the two hills, a short walk from Ban Jelačić Square.