4 Best Sights in Zagreb and Environs, Croatia

Croatia's most visited castle took on its present neo-Gothic appearance during the mid-19th century, compliments of Juraj VI Drašković, whose family had already owned the castle for some 300 years and would go on to live there until 1944. There has been a building here since the 14th century. The inside is as spectacular as the outside, with the wood-paneled rooms—a Baroque room, a rococo room, a neoclassical room, and so on—filled with period furnishings and family portraits, giving you some idea of how the wealthy local aristocracy once lived. A restaurant, café, and souvenir shop occupy the less extravagant Ministry of Culture–owned building at the foot of the hill.

When you arrive here, the view from outside—with stretching vistas of the lush surrounding hills—is sure to stun you, but don't miss wandering around the interior of this impressive castle and learning about its past. Built in the late 15th or early 16th century, the castle had a turbulent history, including being home to nobles (such as the Ratkaj family), being abandoned, and being the site of the chilling legend of Veronika Desnička. The story goes that Veronika, a commoner, and Fridrik II, a count, fell in love, for which they were punished by his noble family. Fridrik is thought to have been locked in a tower in the castle, and Veronika immured in the walls (legend says you can still hear her voice calling out on windy nights). Today the castle hosts many musical, theater, and art events, including the annual Tabor Film Festival, which usually takes place over a week in July.

On the southwest flank of Mt. Medvednica's summit proudly sits Medvedgrad Castle, Zagreb's guardian fortress and the inspiration for many legends. The original was built in the 13th century by Bishop Filip of Zagreb, but it was destroyed in an earthquake in 1590. Today, the renovated building houses an interactive family-friendly museum with exhibits on the castle's past as well as the surrounding nature; it's worth an hour or two of your time. You can also wander around the outside for free and take in great views of Zagreb. It's a one-hour trek to the fortress from the cable car, or you can reach it more directly by taking Bus 102 from Britanski Trg in central Zagreb (just off Ilica, a 20-minute walk west of Trg Bana Jelačića) to the Blue Church in Šestine and then hiking some 40 minutes uphill from there. Take trail No. 12, which is off the paved road past the church cemetery.

Set in the middle of a large shaded park right beside the main square is Čakovec's key landmark, the massive four-story Stari Grad Zrinskih. Built in an Italian-Renaissance style over the course of a century, beginning around 1550 by Nikola Šubic Zrinski, it was the Zrinski family nest until the late 17th century. The fortress's foremost present-day attraction, the Muzej Međimurja (Museum of Međimurje), can be reached through the courtyard. If you overlook the inconsistent availability of English-language text, you will be treated on this floor to an intriguing life-size look at a year in the life of a peasant family, from season to season, as you proceed through the rooms. Move up a floor for a chronological display of the region's history from the Stone Age to the recent past. Also on this floor are individual rooms dedicated to the Zrinski family, period furniture, displays of printing machinery, an old pharmacy, a fascinating collection of 19th- and 20th-century bric-a-brac, and, last but not least, a three-room gallery of impressive modern art by various painters.