Vuglec Breg , a little village in Hrvatsko Zagorje now offers unconvenional de-stress program that includes looking after flock of sheep.

The program is aimed to people who wish to escape from the stresses of everyday life and spend few days on rural farm.

The three day program includes two overnight stays with accommodation in one of Zagorje`s traditional houses including breakfast, lunch and dinner. Along with looking after and feeding 25 sheep on a meadow on the southern slopes of Vuglec Breg, the program includes the feeding and grooming of ponies. Those who wish to look after the sheep will have a three legged stool, a shepherd`s stick and a sheep dog Riki , while those interested in additional activities, can join the owners in seasonal work in vineyards or orchards, chopping of wood, and other farm activities.

The de-stress program is available throughout the year.

Vuglec Breg is located about 40 kilometres from Zagreb in the heart of Hrvatsko Zagorje reagion, 4km from the thermal spa Krapinske Toplice.  The restored village is today made up of three original Zagorje houses, a restaurant, a wine cellar, a gazebo with a clay oven and barbeque. There are also some old wells that used to serve as water supplies, and an old Zagorje ‘klet’ , a traditional wooden hut.

There are many trails and paths on offer for lovers of refreshing long strolls or mountain bike rides in the fresh air, all of them surrounded by vineyards, orchards, forests and meadows.

• Pension Vuglec Breg
  Situated 7 km from Krapina and 60 km from Zagreb, Pansion Vuglec Breg offers modern rooms in 4 traditional north-Croatian cottages. The complex features free Wi-Fi and a tennis court. Prices from 53.00 – Number of rooms: 10 – Check Pension Vuglec Breg, Krapina availability

The value of the project is estimated at around 200 million euros and with its realization, the accommodation capacity should go up from the current 1000 to around 1600 beds.

The project predicts the reconstruction of existing accommodation units and the construction of a new medical hotel Jupiter, connected to the existing hotel complex Minerva, which would also be reconstructed, as well as the building of a new specialized hospital wing Junon.

After the reconstruction, the hotel Minerva would get a fourth star, and its pool facilities would be made over into a contemporary spa centre, which would be connected to the future hotel Jupiter. This hotel should be built across
an area of 33000 square metres and would hold 480 beds. A large number of rooms will contain a sauna and medicinal thermal water will be available in the bathrooms.

Varaždinske Toplice holds many advantages over other thermal centres in the surrounding areas - it is the unique thermal water with a rich source, over 300 years of medical tradition, a reputation as a leading specialized hospital for medical rehabilitation in Croatia with top experts, a central location, natural beauty and local organic food.

The town of Varaždinske Toplice is located in Hrvatsko Zagorje, about 45 min drive from Zagreb and a 10 min drive from Varaždin.

More info about Varaždinske Toplice at Tourist Board site  www.toplice-vz.hr + about Spa, Health and Wellness Tourism in Croatia

The baroque town of Varaždin, popular for its rich cultural facilities and a unique atmosphere, has supplemented its tourist assets with another one – the Varaždin Sea, a sport & recreation center including two lakes and the Aquacity Beach, which was awarded within the Croatian National Tourist Board’s campaign for the tidiest continental beach.

The Sport & Recreation Center Aquacity has facilities for divers and yachtsmen on the big lake, while fishermen can enjoy themselves on the small lake. The center also includes six tennis courts and three courts under a balloon for tennis in wintertime. In addition to tennis courts, the center has courts for other sports such as football, handball, beach volley, etc.

The level of development and facilities of the beach are confirmed by the fact that it has flown the International Blue Flag for six consecutive years. The beach is also suitable for disabled people and offers  many facilities.

A separate part of the swimming area is intended for non-swimmers and there are also special playgrounds for children. The catering facilities are also a common reason for visitors to come thanks to a rich gastro offer and the magnificent nature and landscaping, making Aquacity a popular excursion estination for both the residents of Varaždin and visitors alike.

Read more about other Croatian Beaches

The castle Veliki Tabor, located in the Hrvatsko zagorje region, is numbered among the most attractive and best-preserved monuments of medieval fortification architecture in Croatia.

Veliki Tabor is one of Castles of Croatia  – a fortified medieval aristocratic hilltop burg situated in the northwestern part of the Hrvatsko zagorje in the municipality of Desinic.

More than two years of work on its reconstruction and protection has seen the renovation of the portico, gallery and the five-cornered tower.

The oldest sections of this top-category cultural monument date from the 12th century, while its current appearance dates from the 19th century. The castle was owned by many prominent Croatian families, such as the Counts Celjski, and it was after their possession that the unhappy legend of Veronika Desinicka emerged.

The castle covers over 3,000 square metres of floor space and its interior contains, among other things, galleries adorned with circular columns, a court chapel, a wine cellar with a large winepress, a large well and the most attractive part of Veliki Tabor – the grand rustic hall.

The castle houses many collections, such as those featuring old vehicles and pottery, and a well stocked ethnographic collection. A visual arts gallery, a presentation of the first medications factory, presentations of fencing, musketeers and the armour of the “wretched knight” are only a few of the fascinating exhibits in this engrossing museum and excursion grounds in the Hrvatsko zagorje.

More info : Large Photo of Veliki Tabor Castle + Castles of Croatia +  Guide to Hrvatsko Zagorje + Municipality of Desinic web : www.desinic.hr + Krapina-Zagorje County Tourist Board web : www.tz-zagorje.hr & Krapinske Toplice Hotels

Besides the reconstruction of the palace itself, Zaprešic, as of recently the proprietor of the entire estate, plans over the coming five years, in collaboration with the Croatian Ministry of Culture, to renovate the other 17 buildings in the complex and adapt it entirely for tourism.

The first phase of the renovation is the complete reconstruction of the palace itself – the facade, roofs and the building’s foundations will be renovated. The eastern wing of the palace will feature a memorial room dedicated to Ban Josip Jelacic, while the palace’s basement will feature a luxuriously appointed wine cellar and multimedia facilities.

The central and largest hall in the palace has been conceived as an area in which formal occasions and receptions would be organised.

Besides the diverse culinary offer and sports facilities that will make up a part of the future Novi dvori, a part of the rooms in the complex will be set aside for suite-type accommodations.

More about Novi Dvori at Zaprešic Tourist Board web site: http://www.tzzz.hr/engleski/zapresic/zapresiczanimljivosti.htm

Croatian musicians have been for the first time been joined by artists from six European countries, which has also been the partner country to this year‘s Varaždin Baroque Evenings, staging concerts in their countries too.

In this fashion the Varaždin Baroque Evenings, which have been held for almost four decades and have long ago been recognised outside of Croatia as a significant cultural event, have united several European nations in a single cultural undertaking.

Varaždin has always been a centre of the urban cultural scene.

Music has always been at the heart of this baroque town, once the Croatian capital, and its citizens delighted to the sounds of musical virtuosos, dances and walks on the stunning town streets.

In the colour of the town‘s streets, where hundreds of thousands of tourists from around the world delight in the Špancirfest, held in August and September, or during the Baroque Evenings, the tradition and way of life in old Varaždin is reflected.

Through its Baroque evening Varaždin did not only attract the world‘s greatest names in music, it also promoted its own tourism through culture.

So it is that in the dominant edifice of the Old Town and in the Baroque churches and palaces, open to many cultural happenings, it again wrote new pages of its rich history, preserving its traditional way of life that tourists also recognise through the realisation of quality cultural projects.

For more info on Varazdin check our Varazdin Travel Directory.

It was as a result of the great similarity in customs, lifestyle and image in general that a joint tourism zone called along River Sutla and Žumberak was created that combines these areas and their tourism offer.

The area is predominantly rural, with villages scattered between green hills, plains and rivers dotted with numerous vineyards.

Each village has a special feature of its own but the tourism offer is quite similar overall through the region as it is predominantly linked to rural tourist guest houses, tours of the area and attractive content.

Heading out from Zagreb northbound, there are several various itineraries – one of these is the area of the town of Zaprešic – an area that stands out by its rich history. Zaprešic’s palace route, as one of the tourist attractions, brings six palaces together, and there are many sacral monuments, churches and chapels, natural beauties and an ornithological reserve.

If you head out towards Samobor, the tourist story is equally interesting considering that it is a town whose architecture and overall offer has for years now drawn the attention of many tourists.  Anyone entering deep into the Hrvatsko Zagorje region will discover what it means to enjoy attractive natural surroundings.

Add to this the many cultural, historical and sacral points of interest to this, along with contemporary attractions and accommodation facilities in typical rural settings.

Describing the complete offer is difficult as it is not an area that can be toured in a single day and it offers many various attractions. Regardless of your affinity there are numerous points of interest and attractive destinations here.

Kumrovec , the village in which former political leader Josip Broz Tito was born and which now houses a museum dedicated to his memory .

Klanjec – a place known for the many famous persons it nurtured. One of these is Antun Mihanovic, the man who wrote the Croatian national anthem.

This is also the area the great painter Oton Ivekovic was born, as was Antun Augustincic, a world-renowned sculptor whose artistic legacy is housed in a gallery dedicated to his work situated in the very heart of the settlement of Klanjec.

More info at Hrvatsko Zagorje Travel Guide , Zagreb County Tourist Board http://www.tzzz.hr/ and  Krapina-Zagorje County Tourist Board http://www.tz-zagorje.h/

The first is the Hotel Antunovic Zagreb, a luxury nine-floor hotel that also houses a commercial-business centre with a guarded parking lot and filling station.

The Hotel Antunovic Zagreb spreads over about 30 thousand square metres. The hotel offers some 200 classic accommodation units, 10 luxury suites and a 200 square metre presidential suite. Along with the accommodation capacities and restaurants the hotel has well-equipped wellness and congress centres.

Especially attractive is the cafe & bar located in a rotating cupola on the hotel’s top floor that offers an excellent view of Zagreb and Zagreb’s Sljeme peak.

The Antunovic Centre is located in the Špansko district, in the southwestern part of Zagreb, and is near the Zagreb bypass from where it is a twenty minute drive to the city centre which makes the hotel an excellent place for the business traveller to whom this hotel is primarily targeted.

Also opening, on Zagreb’s well-known Sljeme excursion area, is the renovated apartment house Snježna kraljica (Snow Queen). A total of 17 suites are available to guests that will, with a crackling fire burning in the open hearths, be  sure to create a romantic atmosphere. Also on the bill is a restaurant adapted to the alpine ambient offering traditional local cuisine.

The Snježna kraljica is located on the very peak of Sljeme in the direct vicinity of the ski trails, and considering that it offers saunas and whirlpools, this is an excellent opportunity for skiers to relax in nature and snow after the day’s work is done.

More on Hotels in Croatia + Antunovic Centre Zagreb web: http://www.antunovic.hr/ + Snježna kraljica web: http://www.snjezna-kraljica.com/