Zagreb City Guide

Public transport

Operator. Everything that runs within the city belongs to ZET, the Zagrebački električni tramvaj. The tram network comprises almost 120 kilometers of track, plus 134 daytime bus lines, which also serve Velika Gorica and Zaprešić as well as the municipalities of Bistra and Stupnik. The funicular up to the Upper Town and the cable car up to Sljeme also belong to ZET, though a separate fare applies to the cable car. The fare has two zones, the entire city area of Zagreb has been zone one since 2006. Velika Gorica and Zaprešić lie in zone two. The suburban trains in the Zagreb area are run separately by the railway operator HŽPP, and for both together there's only a combined coupon, ZET plus HŽ, on the monthly and annual pass. For a short visit that means tram, bus, and funicular are covered by a single ticket, the train isn't included.

Network. A dense tram network, buses and a short funicular to the upper town.

Modes of transport. Tram · Bus · Funicular (Uspinjača) · Cable car to Sljeme (Žičara) · Suburban train (HŽPP)

Operating hours. Daytime service runs roughly from 4 am until just after midnight. Tram 6 between Črnomerec and Sopot serves as an example, it starts on weekdays at 4.03 am and ends at 0.12 am, with departures during the day a few minutes apart. After that the night lines take over. On public holidays and days off, the Sunday timetable applies on all lines. The funicular up to the Upper Town runs every day from 6.30 am to 9.50 pm every ten minutes, a ride takes 64 seconds. The Sljeme cable car starts on weekdays at 10 am and on weekends and public holidays at 9 am, the last ascent from the valley station departs at 6.30 pm, the last descent from the top at 7 pm. In strong wind or thunderstorms the cable car stops running.

Night service. After midnight, four night trams take over, running every night of the week. The 31 runs Črnomerec to Savski most, the 32 Prečko to Borongaj, the 33 Mihaljevac to Savišće, and the 34 Ljubljanica to Dubec. The frequency is wide, on the 31 the departures listed from Črnomerec are 12.11 am, 1.04 am, 1.54 am, 2.48 am, 3.44 am, and 4.37 am, on Saturdays a service at 5.27 am is added. Night buses connect at the endpoints, on the 31 for example line NL172 to Zaprešić. The night fare is a separate price, a ride costs 1.99 €, whether bought in advance or from the driver. Anyone with a day or multi-day ticket travels at night with no surcharge.

Buying tickets. Single paper tickets can be bought at ZET's own sales points and at the kiosks of partners Tisak and iNovine, as well as directly from the driver, though at a higher fare there. Important for a short visit is the exception, multi-day tickets for 3, 7, 15, or 30 days and the combined ticket with the railway are only available at ZET's own sales points, not at a kiosk. The most convenient address for that is Petrićeva 4, a few steps from Trg bana Jelačića, open weekdays from 7 am to 7.50 pm and Saturdays from 8 am to 2.50 pm. The other locations such as Črnomerec, Dubrava, Mihaljevac, Zapruđe, or Pothodnik are only open half days, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 7 am to 1.50 pm, Tuesday and Thursday from noon to 6.50 pm, closed Saturdays. Paper tickets must be validated when boarding, the validators are located by the first door, and in newer trams also by the rear doors. Anyone traveling more often can use the rechargeable Vrijednosna karta, which costs 1.33 € and is tapped on the reader when boarding.

App and payment. With Moj ZET, ZET has its own app for Android and iPhone. It's free and sells single tickets as well as monthly and annual passes. Payment isn't made directly at purchase, but through a credit balance topped up beforehand in the app's customer account. To activate, you hold your phone up to one of the QR stickers found in every ZET vehicle, or tap it via NFC at the same sticker. Only then does validity start running. The app warns when only about 20 percent of the time is left. Anyone wanting to link the account to their ZET data gets a confirmation code for that through the web portal.

Which ticket. Bought in advance, a single ride costs 0.53 € for 30 minutes, 0.93 € for 60 minutes, and 1.33 € for 90 minutes. From the driver it's 0.80 €, 1.33 €, and 1.99 € for the same time windows. On the night service, every ride costs 1.99 €. The day ticket is 3.98 €, exactly three rides at 1.33 €. The multi-day tickets cost 9.29 € for 3 days, 19.91 € for 7 days, 26.54 € for 15 days, and 53.09 € for 30 days. The three-day ticket equals seven single rides at 1.33 €, the weekly ticket fifteen. Day and multi-day tickets are valid on both daytime and night service and include the funicular, whose single ride otherwise costs 0.66 €. All these prices apply in zone one. For the Sljeme cable car a separate fare applies, 6 € one-way and 10 € round trip.

Fare zones. The entire city area is zone I, every ticket is valid there. The airport lies in Velika Gorica and is therefore in zone II. The day ticket is only valid in zone I. For bus 290 to the airport you need the two-zone ticket for 180 minutes at 2.65 €.

Tip. The funicular is one of the shortest in the world and takes a minute.

Links

• ZET, fares in the city area of Zagreb
• ZET, daytime lines with network map and timetables
• ZET, night lines 31 to 34
• ZET, sales points and opening hours
• ZET, Moj ZET app
• ZET, zones and fare areas
• ZET, fares outside the City of Zagreb
• ZET, Uspinjača funicular
• ZET, Žičara Sljeme cable car
• ZET, timetable for airport line 290
• Zagreb Airport, getting there by bus
• Pleso prijevoz, airport shuttle
• HŽPP, timetables and GTFS data
• HŽPP, international service
• Network map

Getting there

Main station

Location. South of the centre, with the green squares of the Lenuci Horseshoe leading straight to the main square.

Long-distance trains. Zagreb Glavni kolodvor is the hub of the Croatian network. Within Croatia, direct trains run to Split, Rijeka, Osijek, Vinkovci, Vukovar, Varaždin, Čakovec, Koprivnica, Bjelovar, Slavonski Brod, Virovitica, Karlovac, and Ogulin. Internationally, EC 78 and 79, named Croatia, run via Maribor and Graz to Wien Hbf, EC 214 and 115, named Mimara, run via Villach to München Hbf, departing Zagreb at 8.16 am and returning at 7.20 pm. To Ljubljana there are three train pairs a day, departures from Zagreb include 10.34 am and 1.07 pm. A dedicated train runs at 5.11 am to Villach Hbf. At night, through carriages on trains EN 414 and 415 leave from 7.39 pm to Zürich HB and to Stuttgart Hbf, arriving in the morning. There's a daytime connection to Sarajevo. In summer, additional seasonal trains run via Ljubljana to Pula. Suburban service in the Zagreb area runs frequently, for example on the Harmica and Savski Marof axis to Dugo Selo, and can be used with the combined ZET-HŽ pass.

Opening hours. On weekdays the first train departs at 4.38 am to Koprivnica, the last at 11.18 pm. The last arrival is at 0.10 am. A normal weekday counts around 160 departures.

Airports

Local quirks

• The noon cannon. A shot is fired from the Lotrščak Tower every day at noon. Anyone standing next to it should be prepared.
• Fulir, the free electric shuttle in the pedestrian zone. In the pedestrian zone of the center, two small electric vehicles with five seats each drive around for free. The service is named Fulir after a film character and is called up by phoning the driver, with destination and route agreed directly. It runs every day from 8 am to 8 pm and is aimed mainly at older and mobility-impaired people, visitors to the city may also use it when a seat happens to be free. In rain or wind the service pauses, it's offered until the end of October.
• The Sljeme cable car counts as local transport. From the edge of the city in Gračansko dolje, a cable car runs via the intermediate station Brestovac up to the local mountain Sljeme. The route is a good five kilometers long, climbs 754 meters in altitude, and takes just over 16 minutes. The operator is the same as for tram and bus, but the normal local transport ticket isn't valid here. Visitors pay 6 € one-way and 10 € round trip, under 15 pay 2 € and 3 €. The first ride is at 10 am on weekdays, 9 am on weekends, the last ascent departs at 6.30 pm.

Good to know

Currency

EUR €

Emergency number

112

Plug type

C · F

Time zone

Europe/Zagreb

Driving

right

Speed limits. built-up areas 50 km/h, outside towns 90 km/h (expressway 110 km/h), motorway 130 km/h

The town sign alone isn't decisive. Within built-up areas, traffic signs can permit up to 80 km/h. From November 1 to March 31, dipped headlights or daytime running lights must be on even during the day. With an unbraked trailer, the limit is 80 km/h, and 90 km/h on the motorway.

Tipping. Ten percent in restaurants, rounding up in cafés.

Tolls. Motorways are tolled. Take a ticket and pay on exit. The Pelješac bridge is free.