Erasmus Experience in Zagreb, Croatia by Mathilde

Why did you choose to go to Zagreb, Croatia?

Croatia is not a very expensive country but it is so beautiful! And the big advantage of Zagreb is that it's close to a lot of other big and famous cities like Budapest, Ljubljana, Bratislava, Vienna, Venice...

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How long is the scholarship? How much money do you receive to help you with living costs?

I'm staying here one year and soon I will receive approximatly 150€ per month (erasmus bourse).

What is the student lifestyle like in Zagreb?

Really cheap restaurants, a lot of bars, a lot of places to go out (Manchen, Gallery, Lemon, Pepermint,... ), really nice city center, Arena Center (big mall),...

It's a pretty small city, so you can do everything by walking.

Would you recommend the city and the University of Zagreb to other students?

Yes, I would recommend Zagreb, it's a really nice city to live which offers a lot of possibilities to travel, and the coast is not so far.

I'm not at the university, I'm in a private school, but all my friends who went there told me that it's really nice and that they enjoyed their time in that faculty.

What is the food like?

The food is not really good, especially compared to France.

Croatia is famous for its delicatessen, but I didn't really like their meat. I became almost vegetarian!

Most of the times it's cheaper to go to a restaurant than to cook at home. And the website "pauza.hr" is really good if you want delivery at home. You have every kind of food and it's not expensive (especialy if you live in the city center).

Did it cost you to find your accommodation in Zagreb?

It was pretty easy for me to find an accomodation here. But I think that I'm lucky. I have a nice looking appartment, spacious, well located and with really nice/helpful landlords. This last point is pretty rare. A lot of my friends told me that their landlord never came when they have problems.

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How much does it cost to live in Zagreb?

With my flatemate, we pay 250€ per month all included (each person), the food costs approximately 200€/month; transport, 10€/month; beverages when you go out, 15€/20€ per night.

Is the language easy to get to grips with? Are there language courses available at the University?

Croatian language is really hard to learn! They have a strong accent, sometimes they put consecutive consonants (ex: Gdje = where).

You can find courses at University, and at each beginning of semester you have a week of integration (3/4 days to learn Croatian) proposed by ESN Zagreb, which is an organization that helps you to see and do the most beautiful and nice things in and around Croatia.

What's the easiest or most economical way to travel to Zagreb from your city?

I came here by car but plane is not so expensive if you take your ticket long time before (around 200€ for Paris-Zagreb for a round-trip ticket). However, when you are on Zagreb the car is the esiest and cheapest way to move around the city.

Where would you recommend to go on a night out in Zagreb?

The Jarun lake is probably the most famous place to go out with its 2 night clubs (Manchen & Gallery), that are really good. But you have also some nice places in the city center: History club, Lemon, one which dominates the main square but I forgot the name...

And for eating? Can you recommend some good restaurants in Zagreb?

As I said previously, "pauza.hr" is a really good website to order food at home. But you have a lot of nice restaurants in the city center.

I don't remember any names, but my favorite is in front of the cathedral; it's an Italian one, really cheap and where the food is really good!

What good cultural sites are there to visit?

Just go and walk in Zagreb, you have nice architecture everywhere, with small streets, a lot of artisanal shops, etc. And if you are in Zagreb around Christmas, go to the Christmas market! It's very nice and you can find a lot of different things.

Is there any other advice that you could give to students going to Zagreb in the future?