Situated in the Maksimir, the capital’s sprawling city park, Zagreb Zoo is large enough to contain more than 7,000 animals from across the globe. Founded in 1925, with renovations as recently as 2016, this heritage attraction feels spacious as soon as you enter, walkways bending around sprawling enclosures.
Though there is a recommended direction of travel, illustrated on this English-friendly map, the paths are well signposted to allow you to find all of your favourites first. In the various monkey enclosures, apes negotiate trees and neatly constructed climbing gyms, while reinforced glass means you can see right into the lion’s den.
Terrariums and vivariums contain slithering snakes, creepy crawlies and other curious creatures both native and foreign to Croatia. Two walk-in enclosures house lemurs and African birds, and a popular petting zoo sits at the very far end of the site.
The zoo is currently setting up a new enclosure for grey wolves with a cabin-like observation point, one of a number of research and preservation programmes – the recent welcome the arrival of a king cobra and Komodo dragon links in with a project involving the European Association of Zoos & Aquaria. Zagreb also participates in a protection initiative for Komodo dragons on Komodo island itself, in Indonesia.
Where: Maksimir, Fakultetsko dobro 1
When: Daily 9am-5pm
Admission: €4 (€3 non-holiday Mondays); under-14s €3; under-6s €2. Free under-2s. Full list here