Voted the best Christmas market in Europe three years running, and still genuinely good — with caveats.
Zagreb was voted Best Christmas Market in Europe by European Best Destinations in 2016, 2017 and 2018 — three years in a row — and the city has not stopped mentioning it since.
The award is a public online vote and should be taken for what it is. The market is, nonetheless, genuinely one of the better ones, and it is better than several with far bigger reputations.
Why it works
It is not one market. It is a dozen sites spread across the centre, each with a different character, connected by a walk of a few minutes.
Zrinjevac — the best. Wooden chalets under lit plane trees, the music pavilion with live bands, and a fairground organ. This is the postcard.
Ban Jelačić Square — the main stage and the biggest crowds.
Tomićeva, beside the funicular, done as Fooling Around with food stalls and a distinctly younger crowd.
The Ice Park at King Tomislav Square, an outdoor rink in front of the railway station.
Advent in the Grič Tunnel — an illuminated walk-through under the hill, aimed at children.
European Square, Strossmayer promenade in the Upper Town, the Botanical Garden, and a scattering of smaller sites.
What to eat and drink
Fritule — small doughnuts with rum and citrus zest, dusted with sugar, sold hot by the paper cone. The best thing on any stall.
Kuhano vino — mulled wine, in a deposit mug.
Štrukli, the Zagorje cheese pastry, baked or boiled.
Sausages, kobasice, off a grill, with mustard and bread.
Medenjaci and licitar hearts — the red iced honey-dough decorations that are on UNESCO’s intangible heritage list and are meant to be hung up rather than eaten. They taste of very little, which is the point.
The honest bit
It has got much busier and noticeably more expensive. The award worked, tour operators arrived, and prices in the centre in December are not what they are in June.
Weekends are very crowded, particularly the main square and Tomićeva. Prams and wheelchairs have a hard time.
Some sites are thin. Not every one of the dozen locations justifies the walk, and a couple exist mainly to extend the map.
Hotels double. December is Zagreb’s peak and the rates reflect it — see where to stay.
When
Roughly from the last weekend of November to early January, with the main run through December. The exact dates shift each year.
Weekday evenings are the answer. The lights are on from mid-afternoon because it is dark by four, and between five and seven on a Tuesday the whole thing works as intended.
