Money
Euro, since 1 January 2023. The kuna is gone. Anything quoting it is out of date.
Cards work everywhere and contactless is universal. Cash is still useful at Dolac and at the Sunday antiques market.
Decline dynamic currency conversion — if a terminal or ATM offers to charge you in your home currency, say no and pay in euro.
Use a bank’s own ATM. The free-standing independent machines in tourist areas charge high fees.
VAT is 25 per cent, included in every price shown.
Tipping: round up. Ten per cent in a restaurant for good service; in a café, leave the coins.
Borders
Croatia joined Schengen on 1 January 2023. No checks arriving from Slovenia, Hungary, Austria or Italy. Full external-frontier checks arriving from Serbia, Bosnia and Montenegro, which can be slow in summer.
Safety
Zagreb is genuinely one of the safer capitals in Europe. Violent crime against visitors is rare and walking anywhere in the centre late at night is unremarkable.
Ordinary pickpocket awareness on tram 6, on the main square during Advent, and around the bus and railway stations late at night.
Emergency: 112 for everything. Police 192, ambulance 194, fire 193.
Landmines. Not in Zagreb, and worth knowing anyway: parts of rural Croatia along the former front lines still have marked minefields. Marked areas are fenced and signed in red. Do not walk into a field with a red skull sign on it, and stay on marked paths in the former conflict zones. This does not affect any trip in this guide.
Hours
Shops roughly 8 or 9 to 8 on weekdays, shorter on Saturday, and most are closed on Sunday outside the shopping centres.
Cafés open early and close late; terraces are heated and used year-round.
Restaurants serve lunch from around noon and dinner from seven, and kitchens close earlier than in southern Europe.
Museums are usually closed one day a week and it is not always Monday. Several remain affected by earthquake repairs — check individually.
Smoking
Permitted on terraces and widely practised. Banned in enclosed public spaces, though enforcement in small bars is inconsistent. If terrace smoke bothers you, ask to sit indoors.
Water and plugs
Tap water is safe and good, and a free glass arrives with every coffee.
Plugs are European two-pin, 230V.
Accessibility
The lower town is flat and manageable. The Upper Town is cobbled and stepped; the Grič Tunnel is the only level route between the levels.
Trams are a mix of low-floor and older high-floor stock and you may have to wait for an accessible one.
Many apartment buildings have no lift. Check before booking.
Earthquake repairs mean scaffolding, temporary ramps and closed entrances across the centre, and the situation changes.
Two small things that matter
Validate your tram ticket in the yellow machine. Every time.
A coffee is not a quick errand. Sitting down for an hour with one drink is the norm, table service is standard, and nobody will bring the bill until you ask.