Zagreb nightlife

Zagreb nightlife

Nightclubs, discos, clubs and bars

Every visitor will be delighted while discovering the endless opportunities and temptations of Zagreb by night. Traditionally Zagreb is a place where Western and Eastern Europe meet and the city offers an intriguing mix of old traditions and newest trends. Many periods of foreign rulers and links to the greatest dynasties of Europe are demonstrated by Zagreb's art, architecture and cuisine in which you will easily recognize Ottoman, Austrian and Hungarian influences. You will notice the typical Balkan hospitality and easy going attitude next to positivism and a firm ambition to become a respected member of the EU-family. The Croatian capital is colourful and has a vibrant café-culture. Best way to feel its soul is or sitting in one of the numerous sidewalk cafés, sip a wine or local beer and watch the scene and make friends for live with some locals. Allow yourself some time for strolling the cobblestone streets where you will be impressed by the parade of the local beauties dressed to kill on Dolac Market and moved by the melancholic tunes of the street musicians on Trg Ban Jelicica. The variety of restaurants, bars and clubs is wide. You will find charming restaurants tucked away in sober Austro-Hungarian buildings, rowdy beer halls packed with staggers from Western-Europe and trendy clubs with internationally-renowned DJs.
                    
During summer, everyone who doesn’t want to do the 3 hours-drive to the Dalmatian coast heads to the nearby Jarun Lake. After a day of swimming, relaxing and sipping cocktails the lakeside discos fill up with Zagreb’s beautiful and trendy crowd. The clubs are also open outside the summer season and during weekend many locals take a taxi to get there and dance the night away in hot clubs like Piranha and Aquarius. The oldest and most popular venue at Lake Jarun is Aquarius on Aleja Matije Ljubeka b.b. The large club features several rooms where Top DJ’s spin their records, usually techno and house. Sundays are reserved for Kontrapunkt, Zagreb's famous acid jazz and breakbeat nights. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday is mostly hip-hop, R&B and mainstream dance on the menu. On Saturdays a more mature audience visits the popular HOME shows in Aquarius. When you are tired of dancing and need some fresh air you can visit Aquarius’ huge terrace on the lake. Very close to Aquarius you will find Žabac (Jarunska bb). Its cheap booze and rowdy atmosphere attract a lot of local wild boys and naughty girls.
 
A good starting point when exploring Zagreb’s nightlife scene is Tkalciceva street in Gornji Grad where you will find the city's highest concentration of bars and cafés. Tkalciceva street it is the street that starts at the north left corner of the Main Square (Trg Bana Jelacica). On the Main Square itself you can also find a decent offer of stylish cafés. The cool crowd in Zagreb heads to Skola (School). This groovy lounge bar with its trendy interior and relaxing tunes is a magnet to the hipsters of Zagreb. Similar lounge bars like Golf, Pif and Apartman can be found on Preradoviceva Street. Boban (indeed named after and owned by the famous ex-footballer) is a favourite hangout of Zagreb’s rich and beautiful. This also goes for Hemingway Bar, an upscale club and restaurant on Maršala Tita Square 1, opposite to the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. Hemingway Bar is a popular hotspot of Zagreb nightlife where the beautiful and trendy crowd comes to mingle and show off. Dress stylish and try to get acquainted with the glamorous and posh sipping cocktails at the long lounge bar. The Movie Pub on Savska street 141 is one of Zagreb’s nightlife legends and always busy. The Movie Pub has merged a Planet Hollywood style with ingredients of an English pub. The mixed and cheerful audience of expats, businessmen, students and other local youngsters, the wide choice of beers and whiskies, live music and not to forget the pretty waitresses and lovely local girls, The Movie Pub guarantees an evening full of unpretentious fun.
 
Much more than most other cities in Eastern-Europe Zagreb features a decent offer of cutting-edge and alternative music venues. Top of the bill in that respect is Močvara (“The Swamp”). Močvara, located on Trnjanski nasip bb in a factory on the banks of the River Sava, is Zagreb’s pulsating centre of non-mainstream culture; arty parties, experimental performances, hardcore gigs and much more. Another favourite with the alternative crowd in Zagreb is club Kset, centrally located on Unska street 3s. Originally a typical venue for cult-lovers, Kset has slowly transformed into one the coolest clubs in town featuring different acts varying from experimental jazz to the grooviest DJs in town. Tvornica Club is another good place for listening and dancing to alternative music and has many live acts and shows on offer. For live jazz, rock and blues you can visit as well BP Club at the corner of Teslina and Gajeva street in the Lower Town of Zagreb. The complex on Teslina street 7 comprises a couple of cafés and music shops and is a good place to mingle with the local alternative crowd and students.
 
Also in downtown Zagreb (Draškovićeva street 51) you will find Branimir Centar. This big shopping and entertainment complex houses several bars with dimmed light lighting, comfy chairs and groovy music. These lounge bars provide an excellent backdrop for intimate meetings with a local date. Another popular place in the very centre of Zagreb is Bulldog Cafe (Bogovićeva street 6). Bulldog Café is a top location for people watching on this busy pedestrian street and the ultimate pickup place at night. Tuškanac 1a, Gradec
 
Rather mainstream but very popular nightclubs are Saloon and Sokol. Saloon on Tuškanac street 1a in the area Gradec is one of Zagreb’s nightlife legends. This famous disco caters for a very varied menu of musical styles. Fridays in Saloon are reserved for retro when you can dance to 80’s and 90’s tunes and the audience is slightly older. On Saturdays the best of Croatian music is one the menu meanwhile electronic dance lovers are neglected either with a wide offer of progressive house, electro, Croatian techno and new rave on the Logics dance floor. Saloon is the place to be for Zagreb’s late night birds since you can party until the early morning hours starting from 4:30 a.m. Brazil, situated on a boat on the Sava River (Veslačka bb) features mostly Latin-American music styles and occasional live music.
 
One of the most popular discos in town, especially amongst students, is The Best, located on Jarunska street 5, close to the river Sava. The huge club can host 1500 guests and features an enormous dance floor that is always packed with a mixed crowd of students, youngsters and other locals shaking their tails to house, pop and rap. The Best had already many internationally-renowned DJs like Eric Prydz, David Guetta and Jeff Mills on the flyer and organizes plenty of events and live concerts.