Small Friday International Zagreb

Get Ready to Chill, Chat & Connect in Zagreb’s Best Meetup! 🌟 All Welcome! 🎶

🍻🌍✨🌞🌟 Hey everyone! 🌟🌞✨🌍🍻

Guess what? We’ve got the coolest hangout in Zagreb happening, and YOU’RE INVITED! 🙌✨ We’re throwing a super chill meet-up where you can relax, swap language tips, dive into different cultures, and start planning those epic weekend vibes! Whether you're into hitting a party, hiking, or just soaking up the outdoors, we’ve got something for you. 🍻🌍

🎄✨ Thank You for the Evening & Save the Date ✨🎄

💖Ditch the screen, grab a drink, meet the world!🍷🌍

🗓️ January 15 | 🕗 20:00 | 📍 The Beertija, Pavla Hatza 16

A thank you to everyone who joined the Small Friday International Zagreb (SFIZ.FUN) meetup. Your openness, curiosity, and willingness to slow down and connect made it a warm evening, the kind that reminds us why meeting in person still matters, especially as the year draws to a close.

As we move into the winter holidays, SFIZ.FUN will take a short seasonal pause.

🗓️ Save the Date

The next Small Friday International Zagreb meetup will take place on

Thursday, 15 January 2026 at 8:00 PM @ The Beertija

We’ll be skipping the early-January date, as it falls on 1 January, giving everyone space to rest, travel, and ease gently into the new year.

Until then, we wish you a calm, restorative holiday season, whatever shape it takes, festive or quiet, social or slow. 🍷✨

❄️🏛️✨Winter in Zagreb: A City That Comes Into Its Own🏔️☕🏙️

Zagreb is a particularly rewarding city in winter. Its Habsburg-era architecture, walkable centre, and strong café culture make it ideal for cold days, while the surrounding nature, cultural institutions, and festive calendar ensure there’s always something to do.

💬 Here’s a guide to what Zagreb offers during the winter holiday season

🎄 Advent Energy: Lights, Chalets, and Pure Winter Atmosphere

Each winter, Zagreb’s Advent festival transforms the city into a lively Christmas celebration lasting several weeks. Major squares and parks fill with wooden chalets, street food stalls, and glittering canopies of fairy lights. Giant Christmas trees, outdoor ice rinks, nativity scenes, live music, and seasonal performances create a festive atmosphere across the city.

Whether you’re stopping for mulled wine after work or spending a full evening wandering between locations, Advent in Zagreb is designed to be enjoyed slowly and repeatedly.

🏔️ Sljeme & Medvednica: Winter Nature on the City’s Doorstep

A city break that doubles as a mini mountain escape: Medvednica/Sljeme is close, never too crowded, and stunning under snow. Hike up, warm up in a cosy tavern, and treat yourself to the best-earned beer in town.

Zagreb is unusual as you can make a mini ski holiday when there is enough snow. Sljeme offers slopes suitable for beginners and casual skiers, no mega-resorts, no queues, just straightforward winter sport close to home.

🧤 Hrelić Treasure Hunt: Flea Market Chaos, Balkan Curios, Bargain Joy

On Sunday mornings, head across the Sava River to Hrelić, Zagreb’s legendary flea market. Easily reached by tram lines 6, 7, or 8, Hrelić is a lively sprawl of stalls selling everything from cheap clothes and sports shoes to vinyl, tools, curiosities, and unexpected finds from across the Balkans.

It’s chaotic, fascinating, and deeply local, yes, it's on the Zagreb's Balkan side, part market, part social event.

🍻 Tkalča Nights: The Cosy Bar-Crawl Street With Main-Character Energy

Tkalčićeva Street, winding up from Jelačić Square, follows the path of the old Medveščak stream and remains one of Zagreb’s most atmospheric streets. Its side alleys, Splavnica and Krvavi most, hint at a colourful and occasionally turbulent past.

Today, Tkalčićeva is the city’s classic bar crawl, especially lively in winter. Venues change, but good company is guaranteed. Funk Club is a reliable stop, café by day, DJ-led basement by night, with a crowd that tends to linger.

💔 The Break-Up Museum: Therapy, But Make It a Museum Visit

The Museum of Broken Relationships is equal parts funny, sad, and strangely comforting a reminder that everyone has a story, and most of us survive it.

🍲 🥬 Croatian Winter Comfort: Sarma, Sauerkraut, Sausages, and Warm Tables

Winter in Zagreb is the season for serious comfort food. Traditional dishes such as sarma (stuffed sauerkraut leaves), sausages with sauerkraut, and rich stews appear on menus across the city.

For a classic experience, try Ficlek, Vinodol, Točkica, or Šestinski Lagvič, where winter dishes are served generously and without fuss.

⛸️ Ice Rink Era: Glide Like a Pro or Wobble With Pride

Outdoor skating at Tomislavov trg or Šalata is a December highlight, surrounded by festive lights and music. For indoor skating, head to Velesajam. Skill level doesn’t matter, it’s as much about atmosphere as technique.

🧺 Britanski trg Sundays: Antiques, Bric-a-Brac, and Coffee Gossip

On Sundays, Britanski trg transforms from a weekday produce market into a charming antique and bric-a-brac fair. Around 100 stallholders offer paintings, jewellery, old currency, glass bottles, crockery, tools, and religious icons. Central European style flea market versus the Balkan one at Hrelić.

Locals treat it as a social occasion, gathering afterwards at nearby cafés like Sedmica, Kava Tava and Eli’s Caffè to chat and compare finds.

♨️ Outdoor Thermal Spa Day: Hot Water, Cold Air, Peak Happiness

Winter is the perfect season for outdoor thermal bathing. Just under 50 km from Zagreb, the rolling hills of Zagorje offer alpine-style spa experiences, with warm pools surrounded by snowy forests.

Large spa centres such as Terme Tuhelj provide a range of treatments and packages, ideal for a full reset. You can check Terme Čatež as well.

🧖 Spa Breaks in the City

For something closer to home, the spa at Hotel Sheraton offers indoor pools, saunas, and massage treatments, a straightforward way to the full 'I’ve re-entered my body' experience.

🎸 Winter Gig Season: Zagreb at Full Volume

Zagreb’s live music scene peaks in winter. Check listings at Pri Nami, Tvornica, Vintage Industrial Bar, and Močvara for concerts ranging from indie to alternative and beyond. Black jacket optional, enthusiasm required.

🌿 Mirogoj Walk: Quiet Beauty, Golden Ivy and Reflection

With its ivy-covered arcades and surrounding walls, Mirogoj Cemetery offers a stately, contemplative walk. In winter, its stillness and golden ivy make it one of Zagreb’s most atmospheric places.

🎭 Dress Up Night: Opera, Theatre, and a Proper Evening Out

Winter is prime season for major performances. Dress up and head to the Croatian National Theatre or Lisinski Hall for opera, theatre, and orchestral concerts, a classic Zagreb evening out.

🏭 Medika: Art, Music, and Nightlife With an Edge

For something less formal, Medika a former pharmaceutical factory run by artists and musicians hosts films, gigs, exhibitions, and late-night events. It’s raw, creative, and very much part of Zagreb’s alternative scene.

🎬 Cinema Nights: From Arthouse to Blockbusters

Film lovers can choose between Kinoteka, Tuškanac u gostima, or mainstream cinemas like Cinestar and Cineplexx, perfect for cold evenings.

⛪ Zagreb Cathedral: Heritage and Continuity

Zagreb Cathedral remains the city’s most recognisable landmark. With Midnight Mass returning following earthquake restoration, major liturgical celebrations will be once again held here, reconnecting the city with an important part of its history.

🥟 Štrukli: A Zagreb Essential

No winter in Zagreb is complete without štrukli baked or boiled, sweet or savoury. Try classic versions at the Esplanade Hotel Bistro, or modern variations at La Štruk.

🚗 Day Trips: Castles, Countryside & Winter Landscapes

Zagreb’s surroundings offer excellent winter day trips: Varaždin, Trakošćan, Veliki Tabor, Lonjsko Polje, or Plitvice Lakes in winter, when crowds thin and landscapes become crystalline.

🖼️ MSU: Modern Art South of the Sava

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MSU) in Novi Zagreb offers extensive exhibition space, a library, and multimedia installations. Combine it with a walk through nearby Bundek Park for a full afternoon out.

What to say more? You can see what the neighbouring Samobor offers.

Until January

We look forward to welcoming you back on 15 January 2026 refreshed, recharged, and ready to reconnect.

Until then, enjoy winter in Zagreb, take care of one another, and remember:

✨ Ditch the screen, grab a drink, meet the world. ✨

See you soon,

The SFIZ.FUN Crew

💖#ZagrebGlobalMingle💖

🌟👯‍♀️Spread the word, invite your friends and acquaintances to join the fun! 👯‍♀️🌟

👉 https://sites.google.com/view/smallfridayinternationalzagreb