Yugoslav modernism
Concrete and marble in severe 1973 lines.
Suradnik13 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Branko Radovanović — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Flammard — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hijerovit — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Vatroslav Lisinski hall is Croatia's principal concert venue, opened in 1973 and named after the composer who wrote the first Croatian opera in the nineteenth century. The building is a good example of Yugoslav modernism at its height: concrete masses, marble and glass in severe horizontal lines, with a wide interior in warm timber. The main hall seats around eighteen hundred, and its acoustics were carefully designed and are still counted among the better ones in the region. The programme is broad: the Zagreb Philharmonic, chamber music, jazz, visiting international concerts and festivals. For a visitor this is an entirely different kind of evening from the cafes and bars — a classical ticket here costs far less than its equivalent in Vienna or Munich, and the standard is good. Check the programme before travelling and book early for major events.
Concrete and marble in severe 1973 lines.
The city's principal orchestra plays here.
Trg Stjepana Radica 4, 10000 Zagreb
King Tomislav SquareThe first thing you see arriving in Zagreb by train is this square: it stretches8 minutes walk4.7
The Typhlological MuseumZagreb's Typhlological Museum is one of very few in the world devoted to the sub8 minutes walk4.8
The Botanical GardenZagreb's botanical garden dates from 1889 and is one link in the Green Horseshoe10 minutes walk4.7
The Basilica of the Sacred HeartThe Basilica of the Sacred Heart is a Jesuit church on Palmotićeva street in Zag11 minutes walk4.8
Zrinjevac & the Green HorseshoeZrinjevac is Zagreb's green salon: first garden of the Lenuci Horseshoe — seven 12 minutes walk4.9Book through the hall's website or box office; prices start very low for the upper seats. Dress is effectively smart casual — a suit is not required, though the local audience dresses with care. Arrive twenty minutes early, since entry closes once the music starts and you wait for the interval. Children are usually admitted only to concerts programmed for them.