Newly swish and businesslike, the Croatian capital still lacks the big-city vibe of Vienna or Budapest, its empire-era mate – but that’s where its charm lies. Set by Mount Medvednica, where the last foothills of the Alps meet the Pannonian plain, the city is closer in character to its central European cousins than Dalmatian resorts Split or Dubrovnik. It’s compact, too – you can walk to most appointments, and nearly all trams go via focal Jelacˇi´c Square.

Everything here has a time and place, an order common to German-speaking Europe, but with a Balkan sense of fun and, after dark, hedonism. Tourist and business travellers have been encouraged by a crop of new hotels – the local authorities have set their sights on hosting conferences and conventions.

Browse the Dolac market
Eighty years old and counting, Dolac, Zagreb’s main market, sits above the main square, a landmark for locals and tourists alike. Farmers from surrounding villages come to sell their home-made foodstuffs. In the covered market downstairs are butchers, fishmongers and old ladies selling ‘sir i vrhinje’, aka cheese and cream, while outside are some of the freshest fruit and veg you’ll taste. Alongside, the Ribarnica fish market sells fresh seafood every day but Monday. Look out also for the bargain lunches offered at little spots around the edge.

Bar-hop along Tkalcˇic´eva
A lounge-bar scene may have sprung up around the Flower Market just south of the main square, but this rustic stretch parallel to Kaptol pointing north is still the main nightlife drag for many a local. Rickety old houses now interweave with remodelled restaurants and galleries, while a dozen or more bars are dotted in between. A stand-out is Melin (www.melin.hr), a tattered old haunt for teenagers and grown-ups who should know better. Here and there are cocktail bars, terrace hangouts, faux pubs and hostelries of most stripes. Unsurprisingly, the handful of fast-food outlets are equally popular.

Take the cable car
Linking the focal shopping street of Ilica with the major sights of the Upper Town, Zagreb’s ‘Old Lady’ is more than 100 years old. Inaugurated in 1890, it’s the oldest public transportation in town, a year ahead of what was a horse-drawn tram. Its other nickname translates as ‘stuck’, locals poking fun at how many times it has stopped halfway up the incline. Although reliability is no longer a problem, the distance remains 66 metres from the base on Tomi´ceva, just in from Ilica. Carrying a maximum of 28 passengers at a time, itruns to the base of the Lotrsˇcˇak Tower every 10 minutes.

Grab some gableci
Cheap and satisfying, gableci are cut-price lunches sold at outlets around town where à la carte dishes may be twice as dear. Usually during the working week, you’ll see boards suggesting the three or four gableci for that day. With the modernisation of daily life, the spread of fast food, the standardisation of working hours and the trend towards healthier, lighter pastas and salads, (often) meat-heavy gableci are getting harder to find. But find them you will, around the Dolac market and Kvarternikov Square, where neighbourhood spots serve bean stew (grah), turkey with Zagorje pasta (purica s mlincima), squared pasta with roasted cabbage (krautflekerli), and so on. One place to try them might be the Gostionica Purger (+385 01 481 0713) between the main square and the station, titled after the local name for someone from Zagreb.

Catch quality live jazz
For its size, Zagreb punches well above its weight as far as live venues and music bars are concerned – but it really specialises in jazz. Along with the long-established, legendary BP Club (www.bpclub.hr), run by renowned vibraphone virtuoso Bosˇko Petrovi´c, the city also provides the discerning jazz aficionado with the Bacchus Jazz Bar (www.bacchusjazzbar.net) near the main station. Look out also for the Zagreb Jazz Festival in November, Jazzarela every spring, and International Jazz Days in October. Along with these major events, you should find a worthwhile live show nearly every night of the year.

Observe Saturday špica
Defined most simply, sˇpica is the Saturday-morning custom of having coffee in Zagreb’s city centre. More specifically, it takes place where Gajeva meets Bogovi´ceva and Preradovi´ceva, by the flower market on Cvjetni Square, between 11am and 2pm after everyone has paid a visit to the Dolac market across the main square. Literally, the word means the point of something sharp. Though nominally about drinking kava and enjoying a morning off from the hassles of the work, this ritual is more about looking sharp, fitting with the local stereotype of being on point with regard to the direction of the latest vogue breeze. It’s an impromptu stage for fashionistas, local paparazzi and hush-toned trendsetters. Though foreigners are considered nowhere near chic enough to participate, this could be your chance to rate your ability to travel under the radar. With the sun out and blue skies above, put your Porsche keys and iPhone on the table and check out the scene from behind D&G sunglasses. If people pretend not to notice you, you’re in.

Scale Sljeme
The ski slopes, hiking trails and traditional mountain-lodge restaurants of Sljeme attract visitors all year round – and they’re only a tram ride or bus hop from the city centre. Zagreb is set in the valley protected by the Medvednica range. The highest peak is 1,033m-high Sljeme, a name used to define these easily accessible slopes, and it can be easily reached on foot, by bike, car, bus or tram. Thanks to this accessibility, sports activities here include hiking, trekking, skiing, caving, orienteering, running, mountain biking, road cycling and many more, depending on the season. They welcome mushroom pickers in autumn, and picnickers in spring and summer. There are numerous climbers’ and skiing lodges, where traditional restaurants offer hearty stews of meat and beans, and Zagorje specialities such as local mlinci pasta strips with goose, duck or turkey.