Region in Croatia
Central Croatia
- Best time to go
- Apr, May, June, Sept, Oct
- Part of
- Croatia
Central Croatia is the green, rolling heart of the country, full of castles, spas and vineyards.
It takes in Hrvatsko Zagorje with Krapina and Marija Bistrica, baroque Varaždin, Međimurje's wine hills, the old towns of Koprivnica and Križevci, the Bjelovar-Bilogora countryside, and Sisak and the floodplains of Lonjsko polje. Few foreign visitors come here, so prices are gentle and the welcome is personal. It pairs well with a city break in Zagreb.
Things to do
Don't miss in Central Croatia
- Walk the baroque streets of Varaždin and visit its Old Town fortress, now the town museum.
- Tour Trakošćan Castle and walk the path around the lake below it.
- Learn about the Neanderthals found in Krapina at the museum built beside the original site.
- Soak in one of the Zagorje spas, such as Tuheljske, Krapinske or Stubičke Toplice.
- See the white storks nesting on the old wooden houses of Čigoč in Lonjsko polje Nature Park.
- Taste pušipel and other whites in the hillside wine cellars of Međimurje, around Štrigova.
- Visit Kumrovec's open-air village museum, which includes the house where Josip Broz Tito was born.
Getting there
How to get to Central Croatia
Zagreb Airport (ZAG) is the main gateway to the whole region. The A2 motorway runs north from Zagreb to Krapina and the Slovenian border in about 45 minutes, and the A4 reaches Varaždin in about an hour and continues through Međimurje to Hungary. For Sisak and Lonjsko polje, take the A3 east or the road south-east from Zagreb; the nature park is about an hour and a half away. Trains and buses link the main towns, but castles, spas and wine hills are much easier to reach by car.