Introduction to Zagreb

There is a new spirit in Zagreb, a city that travelers once regarded as a stopover rather than a destination as far back as the days of the Orient Express. No more. Zagreb's attractions aren't as famous as Paris's, or as numerous as Rome's, but it's impossible to experience all the city's delights on an overnight stay.

Zagreb always has played a pivotal role in the life of Croatia, mostly because of its location at the crossroads where western and eastern Europe meet.

This is not a glitzy city, but rather one of history, culture, and purpose informed by war and natural disasters. Zagreb still is finding itself after nearly a millennium of foreign domination, but it is changing, growing, and emerging as a destination in its own right.

In the summer of 2009, there was scarcely a square block in central Zagreb that didn't have scaffolding or construction shrouds covering a renovation in progress. The squares were filled with people speaking a variety of languages. New restaurants, attractions, and entrepreneurial ventures were sprouting everywhere. In some ways, contemporary Zagreb's personality is in transition from dour socialist to carefree socialite, and it is subject to being misunderstood. On any rainy Sunday, central Zagreb is deserted: Stores are closed and restaurants and museums are empty. If a visitor has just a day and is forced to see the city from under an umbrella, Zagreb seems a sad, gray place. But if that same visitor is lucky enough to be in the city center on a sunny Saturday, Zagreb is a city pulsating with color and buzzing with energy. On such a day Zagreb hums with chatter as fashionistas haggle with wizened old "babushkas" at the colorful Dolac market, and the city becomes a backdrop for friends sipping wine at sidewalk cafes, for curious tourists, and for anyone listening to street musicians who fill Trg Ban Jelicic with beautiful noise.

Weekdays, Zagreb is alive with serious hustle and bustle and what seems like endless hordes carrying briefcases or bags of bread and flowers past a perpetual gallery and sipping coffee at sidewalk cafes. Evenings, Zagreb is all softness and laughter as diners linger over dessert at the newly restored Gradska Kavana, head for jazz clubs, or just stroll the cobblestone streets.

How visitors see Zagreb depends largely on the color of the sky and the day of the week, but the city's blend of old and new, of country and cosmopolitan, is somehow a yin-yang combo that works. This is not a city that instantly takes your breath away, but -- given enough time -- Zagreb will wiggle its way into your heart and tempt you to stay a while.