Advent in Zagreb 2026 runs from Saturday 28 November 2026 to Thursday 7 January 2027, according to the official Advent Zagreb site and the Zagreb Tourist Board. Every location may open a few days early, in a warm-up from Wednesday 25 to Friday 27 November, while the full programme starts with the official opening.
The 2026 opening hours have not been published. Last season the central sites closed early on Christmas Eve, some opened only in the evening on Christmas Day and New Year's Day, and New Year's Eve ran until 02:00; those 2025 hours, from a Croatian press guide, are below. Every 2026 date in this guide was checked on the official Advent Zagreb and Zagreb Tourist Board websites on 1 October 2026.
| Day | Date | What to expect | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warm-up | 25–27 November 2026 | Sites may open early | Confirmed |
| Official opening | Saturday 28 November 2026 | Full programme begins | Confirmed |
| Christmas Eve | Thursday 24 December | Early close, 17:00–20:00 in 2025 | 2026 hours not published |
| Christmas Day | Friday 25 December | Main square from 10:00, some sites from 17:00 in 2025 | 2026 hours not published |
| St Stephen's Day | Saturday 26 December | No holiday hours listed in 2025 | 2026 hours not published |
| New Year's Eve | Thursday 31 December | Open until 02:00 in 2025 | 2026 hours not published |
| New Year's Day | Friday 1 January 2027 | Most sites from 17:00 in 2025 | 2026 hours not published |
| Last day | Thursday 7 January 2027 | Season ends | Confirmed |
What is Advent in Zagreb?
Advent Zagreb is the city's Christmas season, spread over squares, parks, the Upper Town promenade and pedestrian streets rather than a single market square. It was voted Europe's best Christmas market in the European Best Destinations poll in 2016, 2017 and 2018, and the official site displays all three awards. The site's list of seasonal food includes sarma (cabbage rolls) with mashed potatoes, stuffed turkey with mlinci, makovnjača (a poppy-seed roll), vanilin kiflice (vanilla crescents) and paprenjaci, peppery gingerbread biscuits.
Where is Advent in Zagreb 2026?
Advent in Zagreb 2026 is planned for eight city-centre sites and 12 neighbourhood sites: the places the City of Zagreb and its parks institution, Priroda Grada Zagreba, put out to tender, as listed by the tourist board. What each site will offer, under which name and at what hours, had not been announced by 1 October 2026. The three Upper Town sites and 11 of the neighbourhood sites went to a second tender round, which closed on 26 August 2026.
City centre
- Ban Jelačić Square (Trg bana Josipa Jelačića): the main square, which the tourist board calls the central location with the most visitors. The 2025 official opening, with the traditional lighting of the first Advent candle, was scheduled here. The city has also tendered stall pitches on the square and on nearby Gajeva and Bogovićeva streets.
- Europski trg (European Square): a smaller site with fewer stalls, which sell traditional souvenirs, according to the tourist board.
- The Upper Town (Gornji grad): Plato Gradec, the largest and busiest of the Upper Town sites according to the tourist board, plus the east and west halves of the Strossmayer promenade (Strossmayerovo šetalište). The western half is listed as a new location after the post-earthquake renovation.
- Zrinjevac, Strossmayerov trg and King Tomislav Square (Trg kralja Tomislava): three park squares in a row between the centre and the main railway station. The ice rink is on King Tomislav Square.
The 2026 lists name places, not programmes. Whether Fuliranje, held on Strossmayerov trg in 2025, returns had not been announced by 1 October 2026.
Neighbourhood sites
Away from the centre, the list covers Kvaternikov trg in Maksimir; Selska cesta and Palinovečka ulica in Trešnjevka; Trg Ivana Kukuljevića in Stenjevec; Park 101. brigade Hrvatske vojske in Podsused–Vrapče; Park dubravskih branitelja in Gornja Dubrava; two sites in Sesvete, Trg Dragutina Domjanića/Ninska ulica and SRC Luka; Trg Ivana Meštrovića and Trg Ane Rukavine in Novi Zagreb; the cable car in Podsljeme; and Brezovica.
What are the opening hours of Advent in Zagreb?
Zagreb has not published its Advent hours for 2026. In 2025 the four central sites in the table below opened between 10:00 and 12:00 and closed at 23:00 from Sunday to Thursday and at midnight on Saturdays, according to a guide published by the Croatian site After5 on 13 November 2025. The sites were tendered again for 2026, so operators and hours may change.
Hours from the 2025 season (2026 hours not yet published)
| 2025 | Ban Jelačić Square | Europski trg | Zrinjevac | Ice rink |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon–Thu | 11:30–23:00 | 12:00–23:00 | 12:00–23:00 | 10:00–23:00 |
| Fri | 11:30–00:00 | 12:00–00:00 | 12:00–23:00 | 10:00–23:00 |
| Sat | 10:00–00:00 | 10:00–00:00 | 10:00–00:00 | 10:00–00:00 |
| Sun | 10:00–23:00 | 10:00–23:00 | 10:00–23:00 | 10:00–23:00 |
| 24 December | 10:00–18:00 | 10:00–20:00 | 10:00–17:00 | 10:00–17:00 |
| 25 December | 10:00–23:00 | 17:00–23:00 | 17:00–23:00 | 11:00–23:00 |
| 31 December | 10:00–02:00 | 10:00–02:00 | 12:00–02:00 | 10:00–02:00 |
| 1 January | 17:00–23:00 | 17:00–23:00 | 17:00–23:00 | 11:00–23:00 |
Last year the press listed the hours about two weeks before the opening, so check adventzagreb.hr in the week you travel.
Is Advent in Zagreb open on 24, 25 and 26 December?
The 2026 hours are unpublished, but going by 2025, expect the central sites to open on 24 and 25 December, some for shorter hours. Last year the four central sites in the table closed between 17:00 and 20:00 on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day, Ban Jelačić Square opened at 10:00 and the ice rink at 11:00, but Zrinjevac and Europski trg not until 17:00. For 26 December, St Stephen's Day, the 2025 guide listed no holiday hours for these sites. In 2026, Christmas Eve is a Thursday and 26 December a Saturday.
Which Advent sites stay open after Christmas?
The official season runs until Thursday 7 January 2027. Last season's guide listed the programmes on Ban Jelačić Square, Europski trg and the eastern Strossmayer promenade until the final day, 7 January 2026, and gave New Year hours for Zrinjevac and the ice rink.
New Year's Eve 2026/27 in Zagreb
No New Year's Eve programme for 2026/27 had been announced by 1 October 2026. In 2025, Ban Jelačić Square, Europski trg, Zrinjevac and the ice rink all stayed open until 02:00 on New Year's Eve. On New Year's Day the rink reopened at 11:00 and the other three sites at 17:00. For the ride home, ZET sells a night ticket for €1.99.
Getting there and around: airport, trams and the funicular
From the airport
Zagreb Airport's transfer page lists two buses into the city:
- Pleso Prijevoz shuttle: to the main bus station in 35–40 minutes, every 30 minutes according to the operator, which also sells tickets online. Third-party sites quote different fares, so check the price on its site.
- ZET bus 290: runs between Velika Gorica and Kvaternikov trg, east of the centre, via the airport. ZET's timetable allows about 30 minutes from the airport to Kvaternikov trg, with a bus about every 35 minutes. The airport is outside the City of Zagreb, so check ZET's fares for areas outside the city before you buy.
From the bus station, tram 6 runs to the main railway station, Zrinjevac and Ban Jelačić Square. From Kvaternikov trg, tram 13 serves the same three stops, and trams 11 and 12 also run to Ban Jelačić Square.
Trams and tickets
ZET, the city's transport company, charges €0.53 for a 30-minute ticket, €0.93 for 60 minutes and €1.33 for 90 minutes bought in advance, or €0.80, €1.33 and €1.99 from the driver. A day ticket costs €3.98 (ZET fares). ZET's timetable data for the rest of 2026 lists these trams at the Advent stops:
- Trg bana J. Jelačića (Ban Jelačić Square): 6, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 17, plus 1 on working days.
- Zrinjevac: 6 and 13.
- Glavni kolodvor (the main railway station, facing King Tomislav Square): 2, 4, 6, 9 and 13.
The funicular to the Upper Town
ZET's funicular (uspinjača) links the Lower Town with the Upper Town every 10 minutes, daily from 06:30 to 21:50, so it stops before most Advent sites close. A ride costs €0.66, and day tickets are valid on it (ZET). It reopened on 19 May 2026 after more than a year of renovation, and ZET says its 66-metre track makes it the shortest public-transport funicular in the world.
Do you pay in euros or kuna in Zagreb?
In euros. Croatia joined the euro area on 1 January 2023 at a fixed rate of 7.53450 kuna to the euro (ECB), so prices in kuna (kn) in older Advent guides are out of date.
Can you combine Zagreb with Vienna or Budapest?
Yes, by direct train, but each journey takes most of a day. HŽPP, Croatia's passenger railway, lists one direct train in each direction between Zagreb and Vienna, taking about six and a half to seven hours, and one between Zagreb and Budapest, taking about six to six and a half hours. Those times come from HŽPP's current timetable, which runs until 12 December 2026, so check later dates with HŽPP, ÖBB or MÁV.
- Vienna from Christmas to New Year covers the markets that stay open after 26 December.
- Budapest Christmas markets 2026 covers the Hungarian capital.
- Christmas markets 2026 in Germany, Austria and Prague puts the big markets' dates in one place.
- Continuing to Sarajevo or Belgrade? Visa-free Christmas markets in Tbilisi, Belgrade and Sarajevo has their dates and entry rules.
Do you need a data plan in Croatia?
It depends on where your SIM was issued. Croatia is in the EU. A SIM from another EU country, from Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway, or, since 1 January 2026, from Ukraine or Moldova, works in Zagreb at home prices under the EU's roam like at home rules, within your operator's fair-use terms (Your Europe). A Croatian SIM is at home, and the same rules cover it in Vienna and Budapest. On those SIMs you may not need anything else; when EU roaming is enough covers the exceptions.
Any other SIM is outside the scheme, including those from the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, the Gulf states and the Western Balkan countries outside the EU: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. On those, data in Zagreb roams on terms your operator sets. That group is who a travel eSIM is for: a separate data line beside your usual number, which goes on handling calls and bank codes.
- For Zagreb alone: the Croatia eSIM page.
- Continuing to Sarajevo or Belgrade: the Balkans eSIM lists Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Slovenia and Montenegro among its countries; it does not include Kosovo, which needs its own plan. Roam like at home ends at the Bosnian and Serbian borders, for EU SIMs too.
- With Vienna or Budapest: the Europe eSIM lists Austria, Hungary and Croatia.
Install it at home before you leave: its validity does not start until the eSIM first connects to a supported network at your destination. The Balkans plan also covers Turkey, Albania and North Macedonia, among others: if you install it at home in one of them, keep its line switched off until you reach Zagreb, or it can connect there and use up days of its validity before you leave. The installation guide walks through the steps, and the best eSIM for Croatia goes deeper on the networks and how much data to buy. Personal hotspot is free on every Horizon plan. Horizon plans have no throttling.
Short answers
When is Advent in Zagreb 2026? From Saturday 28 November 2026 to Thursday 7 January 2027, according to the official site and the Zagreb Tourist Board. Sites may open from Wednesday 25 November in a warm-up.
What are the Advent in Zagreb opening hours for 2026? They had not been published by 1 October 2026. In 2025 the central sites opened between 10:00 and 12:00 and closed at 23:00 from Sunday to Thursday and at midnight on Saturdays.
Is Advent in Zagreb open on Christmas Day? It was in 2025: Ban Jelačić Square from 10:00, the ice rink from 11:00, and Zrinjevac and Europski trg from 17:00. The 2026 hours have not been published yet.
Where is Advent in Zagreb 2026? On Ban Jelačić Square, Europski trg, Plato Gradec and the Strossmayer promenade in the Upper Town, Zrinjevac, Strossmayerov trg and the King Tomislav Square ice rink, plus 12 neighbourhood sites.
Is Fuliranje on in 2026? Not announced as of 1 October 2026. The city's 2026 lists name places, not programmes, and Strossmayerov trg, where Fuliranje ran in 2025, is on them.
Do I need a data plan for Zagreb? Not with a SIM from the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Ukraine or Moldova, within fair use. With any other SIM, including UK, US and non-EU Balkan ones, Croatia is roaming on your operator's own terms.
