HEART OF ZAGREB – 8KM

This is an ideal tour for runners who want to see the narrowest part of the city center with its main sights and parks while also feeling of metropolitan vibe of Zagreb.

On this tour runners will see the Croatian National Theater – a masterpiece built by the Hungarian government back in 1895, as well as the old building of the University library that is surrounded by lots of residential buildings and various university buildings. As the running tour continues, runners experience the Mimara Museum which was founded in 1987 and represents the second largest donation of artworks in Croatian history. From arts to sports – it is time to run a round or two on the first athletic track in Zagreb.

Also, on this running tour we will visit the Upper Town, known as Gornji Grad, with some incredible sights such as the Government building Banski dvori, attacked by the Yugoslav army air force during the Homeland war in the early 1990’s. The Croatian Parliament is located here on the opposite side of the square, while the beautiful church of St. Mark, built in the 14th century and recognizable by the colorful roof, stands in the middle of the square and between the two most important political buildings.

Running back in time, this running tour will take the Strossmayerovo setaliste – the city’s most romantic promenade, then go towards Kamenita vrata or Stone Gate – one of the best preserved monuments of old Zagreb, and rather thereafter will head all the way to Tkalciceva Street – a popular gathering place, called Tkalca by locals, and one of the most visited streets in the town today.

Nearby is also the Zagreb cathedral – one of the most famous city sights, whose construction began in 1094 and lasted until 1902 when it was completed by Austrian architect Herman Bolle, who “built half of the city”. A few meters away is located Dolac market – a place with charming red umbrellas that are an unforgettable sight of Zagreb city. The atmosphere here is filled with voices and life in a true local market fashion. As the running tour continues, we had towards the main town square Ban Josip Jelačić Square which is dominated by a sculpture of a man on a horse holding a saber. Ban Jelačić was very significant in Croatian history of the nineteenth century, quite controversial in fact to the point that his sculpture had to be removed from the square on the order of the Communist Party in Yugoslavia, but you will hear more details on the tour.

As the running tour comes to an end, runners will cross through some of the most beautiful parks in the city that are part of the co called Green Horseshoe, a sequence of seven squares created in the second half of the nineteenth century, during the most significant urban planning in the history of Croatian architecture. The parks host Advent or Zagreb Christmas Market in December, voted the “Best Christmas Market” in Europe by European Best Destinations’ online poll.

Finally, on this route there are many popular restaurants and bars, as well as a few gastronomic hidden gems, i.e. highly recommended places to eat and drink, so you will have plenty of recommendations on how and where to reload with energy.