Varazdin, a charming city in Croatia (and a perfect one day trip)!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be perfectly honest, we would probably never visit this town, if our dentist (see the post) wouldn't live in Varazdin (Croatia). That would definitely be a terrible mistake! A small Baroque town with an imposing old fortification, the central part of the town, numerous museums and galleries as well as a renowned Varazdin cemetery took us by surprise.

Varazdin is located on the right bank of river Drava in the northwestern Croatia. From Maribor, it takes about 1 hour to get there and probably the same from Croatia's capital city Zagreb. Though, you need a car if you start in Maribor. Bus and train connections between Maribor on one hand and Varazdin and other Croatian cities are either non-existent or apalling. What a shame!

Varazdin has a long and rich town history. The first written documents about Varazdin are from 1181 (If you want to read more about history of this beautiful town go to Wikitravel.)

We were totally impressed with the town centre which has been beautifully restored. Because we visited Varazdin on the hottest day of that summer, cafes and restaurants at every corner of the town helped us to enjoy the town even more. Trust me, it can get really hot in this part of the world and refreshments around every corner come in very handy.

Unfortunately, the "Stari grad" (or the Old city) was closed when we were there, but it is definitely 'a must see' for our next visit.

My favourite building in the whole town is a rococo-style Sermage Palace (built in 1759) It actually hosts a Gallery of Old and Contemporary Masters which holds more then 3000 art pieces from the 15th and all the way to the end of the 19th century.

Like always when I travel somewhere, it is food that seals the opinion. We were lucky and discovered a lovely traditional Italian trattoria called Angelus right in the Varazdin town centre.Verdict? Fabulous food, fabulous service and something we ought to repeat!

Oh yes, one more thing. You will need your passport. As I write this, Croatia is not a member of the EU so regular customs and border controls apply. Croatian currency is called "Kuna" and I recommend buying Kunas with Euros in Maribor.

Piramida hill in Maribor

The views from Piramida, an unassuming hill to the north of Maribor, equate to having a 300m high TV tower and represent one of my favourite summer moments. I've been doing this since I was a child and it is still as mesmerising as ever. My kids, visitors, my friends - I get them all up the hill and seeing the Austrian Alps to the west, Maribor sitting in front of you and Pannonian plains to the back is unforgettable.

Piramida is a 386 metre high hill and the location of an ancient Maribor castle (between 12th and 18th century). The history says that the castle was demolished in 1784 and the stone pyramid was built at the same place as the reminder (hence the name Piramida). But as if this wasn't enough, in 1821 and after a terrible lightning storm, the stone pyramid was destroyed. The chapel dedicated to Virgin Mary was constructed on the same spot instead and it has been there ever since.

What really fascinates me every time when we are in Maribor is that you can see grapes in meticulous vineyards on Piramida literally from almost any cafe in the city centre. I don't know about you but such a close proximity to nature and vineyards is something you don't see very often.

Today, Piramida hill is a very popular walking destination and a trekking spot. You can reach the top of the hill by using the well maintained path from the city park. The path is even lit during the night (no need to mentioned night views then!).

Every summer we take our kids to Piramida at least once. My daughter can be quite lazy when it comes to walking but never for Piramida though. The path leads through the vineyards full of unexpected animals like snakes, lizards, songbirds, snails, butterflies and even foxes and deer. In the summer you can pick flowers, blackberries and forest strawberries. So, plenty of fun for a little girl.