To my mind, Varaždin makes a good day trip from Zagreb if you’ve already seen Plitvice. My picks are the castle with its watchtower and the old town with its town hall and famous café. The trip is worth combining with the thermal spa at Krapinske Toplice, and for that a car is best.
- From Zagreb
- A little over an hour by car on the motorway; I hired a car for the day
- Parking
- In the large, cheap car park next to Banus Grill; when I visited, the pay machine didn’t take cards
- Coffee and cake
- The Art Nouveau Kavana Grofica Marica on the main square; try the Grofica Marica cake
- Lunch
- Bedem restaurant just behind the castle, where I had a good meal
- Krapinske Toplice
- Aquae Vivae water park with water at 33–35°C; the sauna area disappointed me and the steam room wasn’t working
Contents4 chaptersHideShow
- 01Flights to Zagreb and a short history of Varaždin
- 02A day trip to Varaždin: getting there, parking and food
- How to get from Zagreb to Varaždin
- Where to eat in Varaždin: cafés and restaurants
- 03What to see in Varaždin on a day trip from Zagreb
- Varaždin Castle and the watchtower
- Varaždin’s old town, the town hall and a famous café
- 04Thermal spas near Zagreb: Krapinske Toplice
- Aquae Vivae in Krapinske Toplice: my review
What’s worth seeing in Varaždin, and where should you go on a day trip from Zagreb? There’s always the classic, the Plitvice Lakes, of course. Varaždin, though, struck me as ‘less discovered’. So I decided to go there and combine the trip with a visit to a thermal spa. In this article I’ll tell you what to see in Varaždin and where to stop on the way for a soak in thermal water. If all you’re after is a thermal spa tip, scroll down to the end of the article.
Flights to Zagreb and a short history of Varaždin
There’s no direct flight from Bratislava to Zagreb any more. You can still get there cheaply, though, with a change or from a neighbouring airport.
First, a little history, so no one can say I skipped it. Varaždin, historically known as Garestin, first appears in writing on 20 August 1181. In a legal document of that date, King Béla III mentioned the nearby thermal springs of Varaždinske Toplice. In 1209 King Andrew II of Hungary made Varaždin a free royal town. The town grew into an economic and military centre of northern Croatia.
Because of the Ottoman raids, the town was built for defence around the old fortress. It took the form of a typical medieval moated castle, or Wasserburg. In the early 13th century the Knights Hospitaller (Ivanovci in Croatian) came to Varaždin and built a church and a monastery.
A day trip to Varaždin: getting there, parking and food
Sadly the weather wasn’t on my side when I visited Varaždin. Even so, I think I captured its atmosphere pretty faithfully. Back then I took my photos with a Huawei P50 Pro and its Leica camera. I walked round the historic centre, had cake at a famous café and lunch at a good restaurant. I also did the rounds of the best-known sights.
How to get from Zagreb to Varaždin
By car. I’ll admit I didn’t even check whether trains or buses run here from Zagreb, though I’m sure they do. I had only just found out that you can hire a car right in the Booking app. So I chose one of the cars on offer near my accommodation in the city and hired it for the day. The drive from Zagreb to Varaždin takes a little over an hour on an excellent motorway. I have to hand it to the Croatians: their roads are a treat. You don’t need a motorway vignette; instead you pay a toll for each section. From 1 March 2027 Croatia is due to switch to Crolibertas, an electronic toll system with no stopping. It recognises your car by its number plate or an ENC device. After that you won’t be able to pay cash at the motorway exit, only at points of sale. Check the current rules before you travel.
There are several car parks in central Varaždin, and they’re all really cheap. I’d recommend parking in the large car park next to Banus Grill, on Trg bana Josipa Jelačića. When I visited, the card terminal on the pay machine wasn’t working.
Where to eat in Varaždin: cafés and restaurants
- For coffee and cake: Kavana Grofica Marica
- For lunch: Bedem restaurant
What to see in Varaždin on a day trip from Zagreb
- Varaždin Castle (Stari grad)
- The watchtower (Kula stražarnica)
- The old town
- The town hall
- The cemetery
- Kavana Grofica Marica
Varaždin Castle and the watchtower
The white castle is Varaždin’s best-known landmark, and for centuries this medieval fortress was the heart of town life. There was once a small town inside its walls. The 14th-century castle was remodelled time and again to suit the taste of its ever-changing owner. Was that me, by any chance? Since 1925 it has been home to the Varaždin City Museum. In 2025 and 2026 the castle was closed for an energy-efficiency renovation, and its exhibition was moved out. Before you go, check the museum’s website to see whether it has reopened.
As well as the inner courtyard, the museum shows you the castle chapel and a few exhibits on local history. They range from clothes and furniture of various periods to guild documents and weapons, though sadly with limited information in English.
A large green park surrounds the castle on the site of the old ramparts. A little path loops around the castle. From it you can properly appreciate the modest architectural details and the watchtower, which houses a small gallery. Best of all, though, is the view from the gate towards Miljenko Stančić Square (Trg Miljenka Stančića) in the old town. Just behind the castle is Bedem restaurant, where I had a good meal.
Two acclaimed chefs cook here, Anđelko Levanić and Zlatko Novak, who built their culinary reputations in Croatia. Both hold the national title of master chef and have won medals at the Culinary Olympics and the Culinary World Cup. Together they are the most decorated kitchen team in Varaždin and in Croatia. Their dishes are based on traditional local recipes and local produce such as cabbage, pumpkin seed oil, fresh vegetables and Zagorje turkey.
Varaždin’s old town, the town hall and a famous café
What I liked about Varaždin’s old town was the architecture and the fairly relaxed atmosphere. The main square is entirely pedestrianised and lined with several churches and Baroque buildings. Its Baroque and Rococo architecture makes Varaždin a one-off among Croatian towns. It’s a good place to stop off, or to stay, away from the bustle of Zagreb. Varaždin gives you a real insight into Croatian history and architecture.
On the main square, don’t miss the excellent Kavana Grofica Marica, named after Emmerich Kálmán’s operetta Countess Maritza (Grofica Marica in Croatian). In it, Kálmán made the town famous with a duet that went round the world: ‘Come with me to Varasdin’. The café’s elegant Art Nouveau interior makes it easy to see why Varaždin is often called ‘Little Vienna’. Time seems to have stood still here, and you feel as if you’ve been transported back to the Viennese coffee-house culture of around 1910.
Kavana Grofica Marica wins you over with first-class, authentic local cakes. The sweet star isn’t just the Grofica Marica cake (a well-known Varaždin speciality): the cake cabinets are full of other desserts too.
Thermal spas near Zagreb: Krapinske Toplice
Good news: there are plenty of thermal spas around Zagreb. In my article on what to see in Zagreb, I complained that the city doesn’t have a single proper spa. Perhaps it doesn’t need one, because the area around Zagreb and Varaždin is full of thermal spas. Varaždinske Toplice, near Varaždin, is the well-known one, but I headed for the thermal spa at Krapinske Toplice.
Aquae Vivae in Krapinske Toplice: my review
The Aquae Vivae water park in Krapinske Toplice is about an hour’s drive from both Zagreb and Varaždin. What drew me there was the thermal water and the saunas. To be honest, the sauna area disappointed me: only the infrared sauna and the herbal sauna were open, and the steam room was out of order.
But leaving aside the saunas, which cost extra, I thought the water park was pretty good. The Aquae Vivae thermal park is in the centre of Krapinske Toplice, and the water here is between 33 and 35°C. The natural healing thermal water is what people come here for. There’s also a children’s pool at 35°C, with cascades and little geysers for the youngest. Then there are leisure pools with massage jets, massage loungers, a big slide and rafts.
The outdoor pool has about 60 underwater features, from underwater massage and water cannons to cascades and massage jets along the sides. A terrace around it looks out over the valley. I liked the wave pool, where the waves are properly strong, and the deep diving pool.
The Aquae Vivae water park grew out of the tradition of thermal, health and spa tourism at the Krapinske Toplice spa. Apparently it’s a five-star water park, though I’m not so sure about that. If you have a car and some time, head out of town to the dam on the Drava as well.
I genuinely enjoyed Varaždin and Krapinske Toplice, and I’m glad I also got to see a part of Croatia that isn’t the typical seaside.
A Slovak travel blogger who has been getting Slovaks out of their office chairs since 2013. Author of the book Influencer and founder of the Bez Mapy blog.
