Zagreb station: See location map
Zagreb has one main central station which handles all mainline trains to & from Zagreb, Zagreb Glavni kolodvor, which simply means Zagreb main station. It's in the city centre next to the historic Esplanade Hotel, a mere 11 minutes walk from Ban Josip Jelačić Square, the main square adjacent to Zagreb's old town. It's a through station, not a terminus.
Zagreb Glavni Kolodvor's beautiful facade and main entrance. The station opened in 1892.
The main hall, looking towards the platforms, showing the main departures board. Courtesy of @RandomRailways.
Platform 1, track 1, adjacent to the station building. The sleeper from Zurich & Munich has just arrived! Courtesy of K.
Which platform for your train?
Walk into the main hall and look at the main departures board. Confusingly, two different numbers are shown against each train. The left-hand number is the platform number (peron) the right-hand number is the track number. On station signs, the numbers refer to the platform.
Platform 1 is the main platform adjacent to the station building, track 1 runs the length of it.
Platform 2 is an island platform with track 2 on one side and track 3 on the other.
Platform 3 is an island platform with track 4 on one side and track 5 on the other.
To reach platforms 2 & 3, walk onto platform 1 and go down the steps into the pedestrian subway under all the lines. There are only steps, no escalators or lifts.
Platforms 4 & 5 are dead-end platforms at the west end of platform 1, so walk onto platform 1 from the main hall, turn right and walk along platform 1.
Platform 6 is a dead-end platform at the east end of platform 1, so walk onto platform 1 from the main hall, turn left and walk along platform 1.
The suffixes a & b are used to mean east & west ends of the same platform, for example track 2a & 2b.
The sleeper train to/from Zurich & Munich uses platform 1, 2 or 3. The EuroCity train to Vienna may use any platform including terminus platforms 4 & 5.
The photo above is taken on platform 2, with track 3 on the left, track 2 on the right. Over on platform 1, you can see the silver railings around the two flights of steps down into the pedestrian subway to the other platforms, and the doors from platform 1 into the main hall. Photo courtesy of www.paliparan.com.
Ticket office
Walk into the main station hall from the street and turn left into a corridor, there you'll find the main ticket office, pictured below courtesy of @RandomRailways. The photo shows the door opening onto platform 1.
Luggage lockers & ATMs
There are luggage lockers at the station, they went out of use for a while in early 2023 when Croatia switched to the euro, but are now working again. You buy tokens from a machine on the wall and use the tokens to operate the lockers. See the left luggage lockers page for prices. There are several ATMs in the main hall.
Food & drink
There are various food outlets in the station, including the large Garden Cafe (gardenbarzagreb.business.site) at the front of the station to the right of the main entrance, open daily 07:00-23:00. You can see the cafe's awnings in the photo at the top of this page.
Consider the Cafe-bar Palma, across the road and along to the right, see walking map. Or the Lari & Penati restaurant 4 minutes walk north of the station, see walking map. Feedback appreciated! There's also a MacDonald's south of the station, see walking map.
There's a Konzum minimarket at the station, at the right-hand end of the station building as you look at the facade, closed Sunday. Alternatively, there's a Spar supermarket 4 minutes walk from the station, good for stocking up for a journey, see walking map.
There's a free drinking water fountain on the left side of the main building (as you look at the entrance) near the old steam locomotive on its plinth.
Local transport
Walking. It's an easy 900m 11-minute walk from the station to Zagreb's main square, Ban Josip Jelačić, at the start of the old town.
Bus & tram: Zagreb has no metro, but there are buses & trams run by ZET, www.zet.hr. Tram 6 or 13 will get you from Zagreb station to Ban Josip Jelačić Square in 7 minutes, every few minutes.
Taxis: For a taxi fare calculator see www.taxifarefinder.com.
Zagreb long-distance bus station is 17 minutes walk from the station, see walking map.
Recommended hotels
The venerable, historic art deco Esplanade Hotel is the top choice here, see this review with photos. Built in 1925 for Orient Express passengers stopping at Zagreb, it's just across the road from the station. Alfred Hitchcock, Mick Jagger, Vivien Leigh, Ella Fitzgerald, Nikita Khrushchev, Richard Nixon and even Queen Elizabeth II have all stayed here, and it's not even that expensive by western standards. Check prices & book.
For something slightly cheaper but still close to the station with good or great reviews, try the Palace Hotel, also a historic building with art nouveau features. I can also recommend the more modern Central Hotel.
Things to see in Zagreb
Zagreb is a much under-rated city, don't rush through in haste to reach the Adriatic resorts. It's small enough to walk around, but with more of a big-city feel than Ljubljana in neighbouring Slovenia. The station is an impressive landmark in its own right, a palatial building which opens onto a succession of grand park squares, with the main town square (Ban Josip Jelačić) 12 minutes walk from the station, see walking route. The old town is immediately beyond that square. You'll find tourist information online at www.zagreb-touristinfo.hr or there's a tourist office on the near right-hand corner of the main city square. Map of Zagreb.
