Zagreb cannot be approached by water: the Croatian capital has to be earned by road, at the end of a drive of about an hour from the river stop at Sisak, on the Sava. Cruise lines generally devote the entire day to it, meals included. The coach crosses a countryside of corn and bell towers, then the metropolis appears, backed by the wooded slopes of Medvednica. Two twin hills, Gradec and Kaptol, have shared the historic heart since the Middle Ages; below stretch the Austro-Hungarian squares and 19th-century parks. One day is enough to grasp the essentials, provided you choose your steps well.

Kaptol and Dolac Market

The day ideally begins on Ban Jelačić Square, the great crossroads where blue trams and hurried passersby meet beneath the equestrian statue of the governor. A staircase leads in two minutes to Dolac Market, where dozens of red umbrellas shelter fruit, fresh cheeses and cut flowers; vendors from the surrounding villages have kept their stalls here since 1930, while the covered hall below houses fishmongers and butchers. Right behind rises the cathedral, the largest Gothic building in the country, whose spires have been undergoing lengthy restoration since the 2020 earthquake. The scaffolding itself tells a story: this city repairs, reinforces and carries on.

Gradec, the hill of palaces

From Dolac, Tkalčićeva Street follows the old bed of a stream, lined with low houses converted into cafés and artisan shops. You then reach Gradec through the Stone Gate, a 13th-century vaulted passage turned into a chapel, where candles burn before an icon that survived a fire. At the top, St. Mark's Church crowns the main square with its glazed tile roof bearing brilliant coats of arms — the most reproduced image in the country. All around are cobbled lanes, discreet palaces and pocket-sized museums, including the astonishing Museum of Broken Relationships, devoted to mementos of romantic breakups sent from around the world.

The noon cannon and the funicular

Every day at precisely noon, a cannon booms from the Lotrščak Tower, carrying on a tradition more than a century old; residents set their watches by it, visitors jump. The tower can be climbed for a complete panorama over the red roofs and the Sava plain. Heading back down to the lower town can be done by funicular: a 66-metre ride, one of the shortest in the world, but a welcome shortcut since 1890.

The lower town and coffee time

At the foot of the hill, everything has an Austrian air: the bright yellow National Theatre, the Secession façades of Ilica Street, and above all the green horseshoe laid out in the 19th century — a series of squares where Zrinjevac Park, with its century-old plane trees, its bandstand and its fountains, invites you to slow your pace between two museums. Art lovers will continue to the Strossmayer Gallery and its old masters, or to the Art Pavilion and its temporary exhibitions. The terraces overflow from mid-morning, as Zagreb cultivates the ritual of the long coffee as a way of life. Be sure to try štrukli as well, fresh cheese pastries served baked, a specialty local restaurants offer in both savoury and sweet versions.

Back on the road to the river

The return to the boat crosses the same countryside in reverse, but your perspective has changed. Zagreb leaves the memory of a capital on a human scale, serious and cheerful at once, where ten minutes on foot separate the farmers' market from the Baroque palace, and where residents always find time for a terrace conversation. Many passengers jot down its name for a future longer stay; successful ports of call are often those that sow the seeds of the next trip.