Let's Go Europe 2019. Harvard Student Agencies

KAMENITA VRATA (STONE GATE)

      Kamenita ul; open daily 24hr

      The Stone Gate is the only surviving gate from Zagreb’s medieval heyday when walls defended the Upper Town against attack. Today, the gate is most notable for the small chapel dedicated to an icon of Mary. Although a street runs through the gate, there are pews on one side and a small shop sells candles to the faithful. At almost any hour of the day, several members can be found praying at the shrine.

       i Free; wheelchair accessible

       ST. MARK’S CHURCH

      Trg Sv. Marka 5

      The colorful tiles on the roof of the thirteenth-century church depicting the coat of arms of Zagreb and Croatia make the perfect photo op to show everyone back home that you are indeed in Croatia. St. Mark’s, located across from the Croatian parliament building is one of the oldest churches in the city. Its south entrance is particularly notable for its impressive Gothic portal, with sculptures.

       i Often closed, but the portal may be open to peek inside; wheelchair accessible

      LANDMARKS

       TUNEL GRIČ

      Tomićeva ul; open daily 9am-11:30pm

      Need to update your Instagram with James Bond-style dramatic photos of yourself? Tunel Grič is Zagreb’s very own air raid shelter turned subterranean pedestrian passageway. Translation: a long tunnel with surprisingly good lighting and dramatic cavernous spaces. If we haven’t convinced you yet, where else in the world can you go and walk in a tunnel for fun? (Put your hand down, Montréal. We’re in Europe.) Enter the tunnel just to the west of the funicular, as there is an art exhibition before the entrance.

       i Free; wheelchair accessible

       ZAGREB CATHEDRAL

      Kaptol ul. 5; 1 481 4727; www.zgnadbisk-upija.hr

      This Cathedral is to Zagreb what St. Stephen’s is to Vienna, albeit a smaller, less impressive version, kind of like the city in general. But don’t worry, your visit to the tallest building in Croatia is rewarded with gothic architecture and cultural insights. Take, for example, the Glagolitic script on the back wall immediately to its right entrance. And, if you didn’t know what that was, Glagolitic script is an alphabet that was used for centuries in Croatian religious texts after being introduced by St. Cyril in the ninth century, before he teamed up with his brother, St. Methodius, to create the more widely used Cyrillic.

       i Free; wheelchair accessible

       ZAKMARDIJEVE STUBE (ZAKMARDI STAIRS)

      Zakmardijeve Stube; open daily 24hr

      Paris has the Pont des Arts and Rome the Ponte Milvio, and Zagreb the Zakmardijeve Stairs to express their affection through a lovelock. Why stairs, you may ask? These boast the most breathtaking and most romantic view of the city. More than just a set of stairs, they connect the lower town to the upper town and lead to the Gradec Plateau, next to St. Catherine’s Church, which is also a highly recommended viewpoint. So, if the Museum of Broken Relationships isn’t working with your significant (or soon-to-be significant) other, maybe this will do the trick.

       i Free; no wheelchair accessibility

      MUSEUMS

       MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART

      Av. Dubrovnik 17; 1 605 2700; www.msu.hr; open Tu-Su 11am-6pm, Sa 11am-8pm

      Maybe it’s the violins hanging from the ceiling or the museum’s Brutalist concrete architecture, but the Museum of Contemporary Art feels like a scene from a dystopian nightmare. The wacky exhibits waiting inside don’t help either. We’re talking naked women laying on trees, optical illusions, and giant piles of coconuts. But the real reason to take the 15-minute tram out to Novi Zagreb is the three-story slide. It does not disappoint. Should you want to see Croatian modern art but don’t want to make the trek out south, check out the Moderna Galerija for similarly mind-bending pieces.

       i Admission 30 kn; students, seniors, disabled, groups 15 kn; wheelchair accessible

       ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM

      19 Nikola Šubića Zrinskog; 1 487 3100; www.amz.hr; open Tu-W 10am-6pm, Th 10am-8pm, F-Sa 10am-6pm, Su 10am-1pm

      The world’s longest text written in Etruscan? Cremated human remains sitting in the open with no glass? An American sports bar in the middle of a courtyard with Roman sculptures? No, this is not just a natural history museum, funeral home, or restaurant—it’s the Zagreb Archaeological Museum. For an entrance fee of a mere 15 kuna, gain access to the best collection of Egyptian and Roman artifacts in Croatia. The renovated first and second floors feature stellar English descriptions, while the Stone and Bronze Age content on the third floor is translated in orange notebooks found throughout the exhibits. And, if reading all these historical facts stresses you out, relax with a beer in the courtyard restaurant while sitting next to a Roman sarcophagus.

       i Admission 30 kn, students 15 kn, families 50 kn; wheelchair accessible

       MUSEUM OF NAÏVE ART

      Sv. Ćirila i Metoda 3; 1 485 1911; www.hmnu.hr; open M-Sa 10am-6pm, Su 10am-1pm

      Ever looked at a piece of art and thought “I could paint that”? That’s the entire idea behind naïvism, the most important movement in twentieth-century Croatian art. Not quite as bizarre as the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Museum of Naïve Art keeps it real with a small, but interesting collection. What is naïvism, you ask? It’s when artists without formal training or experience create works of art. The results may reinforce the value of art school, but they also make for a treasured experience. Expect giant roosters and multicolored cathedrals.

       i Admission 25 kn, students 15 kn

       MUZEJ MIMARA

      Rooseveltov trg 5; 1 482 8100; www.mimara.hr; open Oct 1-June 30 Tu-W 10am-5pm, Th 10am-7pm, F-Sa 10am-5pm, Su 10am-2pm; July 1-Sept 30 Tu-F 10am-7pm, Sa 10am-5pm, Su 10am-2pm

      The Mimara Museum is Zagreb’s response to New York’s Frick Collection, as it is entirely composed of works from the collections of Ante Topic Mimara, Croatia’s most famous art collector. It’s also where we go for the best non-contemporary art in Zagreb. Renoir? Got two of ‘em. Rubens? You betcha. Strong holdings in impressionist painting and medieval sculpture round out the collection. English descriptions are lacking, but there is a free Wi-Fi guide that works in some galleries.

       i Admission 40 kn, reduced 30 kn; wheelchair accessible

       FOOD

       LA ŠTRUK ($$)

      Skalinska 5; 1 483 7701; open daily 11am-10pm

      We’re never okay with missing an opportunity to eat melted cheese. And if you’re like us and didn’t grow up with a Croatian grandma, štrukli will be a game changer. It is a specialty of the Zagreb region and the only item on the menu at La Štruk. Think cheese strudel baked like lasagna with cheese on top. While the most typical