What does this year's Zagreb Advent bring? It's returning to the Upper Town

The tourist, cultural and holiday event Advent Zagreb will last from November 29, 2025 to January 7, 2026, and will offer citizens and tourists a rich entertainment, gastronomic and cultural program in the city center and again in the Upper Town, after a two-year 'break' due to renovation, organizers announced on Thursday.

The City of Zagreb and the Zagreb Tourist Board (TZGZ) announced the Advent program at a press conference on Thursday, with both Mayor Tomislav Tomašević and Director of the TZGZ Martina Bienenfeld emphasizing that many city institutions and services, as well as many partners from the private and public sectors, are participating in Advent.

Advent begins on November 29

Advent begins on November 29 with the usual lighting of the first Advent candle at the Manduševac fountain on Ban Jelačić Square, followed by the opening of the Ice Park on King Tomislav Square with the Nutcracker ballet and the lighting of the lights on Zrinjevac Square.

Speaking about locations, Bienenfeld said that there will be gastro zones with food and drink offerings and so-called decorative rest zones throughout the city, both in the Lower and Upper Towns, as well as on Kvaternik Square, while a humanitarian day, on December 11, will also be held on Kennedy Square, organized by four high schools and two student dormitories. In total, there will be around 140 houses with a variety of offerings at Advent this year, from which the City expects to generate around half a million euros in revenue.

Seven festivals and numerous concerts

The cultural program, Bienenfeld emphasized, will be 'strong' this year as well, with seven music festivals and more than 90 different concerts and performances, mostly in the Upper Town, as well as in the Croatian National Theatre and other theaters, such as the Small Stage, and almost all city and private museums with special exhibitions are included in all of them.

Among them are the Archaeological and Ethnographic Museums, where designer Nenad Sovilj will have special exhibitions of jewelry and sculptures, while the installation First Snow, with a ten-meter-high pine tree and inspired by a Gabi Novak poem, will be installed in the Octagon passage by academic artist Saša Šekoranja.

Bienenfeld and Tomašević also highlighted the return of the program to the Upper Town, to Strossmayer’s Walkway and other locations, as well as a dance program at the Klovićevi Dvori Gallery.

At the same time, Tomašević said that next year it will be an even better location because most of the renovation work will be completed.

However, since the funicular is not working due to renovation, transportation to the Upper Town by electric vehicles will be organized for people who have difficulty walking.

There will also be an attraction in the Grič Park and Tunnel, namely the "Bells Ring" program with eight musical bells organized by designer Zoran Đukić, a long-time partner and creator of all Advent visuals.

Also new this year is the Advent Open House program at ten locations around the city, where guided tours will be held to learn about the city's architecture, as well as the Christmas Balloon installation at the Floral Square (Cvjetni trg), which Bienenfeld believes will be the most photographed this year.

Promotion of Zagreb's Advent in 15 markets

“We are already promoting Advent in 15 markets, including the USA and UK, with special campaigns, for example, in London at 30 subway stations and in Milan on city buses, as well as in foreign media, of which more than 70 from around the world have already published the story of Advent Zagreb,” Bienenfeld pointed out.

She also announced the arrival of more than 50 foreign travel agents and influencers in Zagreb, as well as many tourists, judging by, she added, very good bookings for those days, and they hope that the numbers could be even higher than last year's.

Tomašević expressed expectations that this Advent, like the last, will exceed expectations.

He also announced that this year there will be new decorations around the city, which will be put up by the City services, as well as two, and not one, as before, cheerful ZET Christmas trams, which will, according to expectations, transport around 17 thousand children and adults with them.

“Given the crowds expected in the city during those days, I urge everyone to use public transport more, but also to be careful of taxis, so as not to feel cheated out of big money, as we had this summer with a tourist from New Zealand. We cannot touch taxi prices, and this is not well regulated by law in the country, but we will use an information campaign with posters at stations, hospitals and other places to inform citizens to inquire about prices and taxi companies,” the mayor warned.

For New Year's Eve on Ban Jelačić Square, Bienenfeld said that plans are still being made and that there will be a special press conference about it when it will be known exactly who the performers will be and other details.

When asked by journalists, she also said that the total costs of organizing Advent are around 700 thousand euros, and that this year, as in all previous years, their partners are also Croatian Passenger Railways “HŽ Putnički prijevoz), which offers cheaper tickets for arrival in Zagreb, and the national airline Croatia Airlines.

Source: HRT