Zagreb 2026: No Emission Zone, Only a 12-Tonne Centre Rule
Zagreb, Croatia · LEZ
Zagreb has no low emission zone and no Euro-class rule. The city's order for the centre bars supply vehicles over 12 tonnes without a permit and closes pedestrian zones to cars.
Nothing in Zagreb checks a car’s emission class. What governs the centre is a mayoral order from August 2024 that works by weight and permit: supply and construction vehicles over 12 tonnes stay out of the central area without authorisation, and the pedestrian zones are shut to motor traffic. For a visitor in a hire car that simply means parking in the Lower Town and letting the 66-metre funicular lift you to the Upper Town and the tiled roof of St Mark’s Church.
This page covers driving around Zagreb. For the zone specifics, see the Zagreb LEZ details.
Is There a Low Emission Zone in Zagreb?
No. No low emission zone has been adopted, and the city’s traffic order for the centre names no Euro class. No sticker, no registration, no emission fine.
Park below, ride the tiny funicular up
The Upper Town is largely pedestrian. Park in a Lower Town garage and ride the funicular, 66 metres of track, or walk the stairs beside it. Trams cover the wider city.
Croatia’s rules: 50 km/h in built-up areas, a 0.05% alcohol limit, dipped or daytime running lights on cars from 1 November to 31 March, and tolled motorways.
When the car helps
Keep it for inland Croatia: the Plitvice Lakes, the Zagorje castles, the road to the coast, driven from a Lower Town garage.
Sources
- City of Zagreb, order on vehicle traffic in the central area and pedestrian zones (20 August 2024): zagreb.hr
- Zagreb Tourist Board, the funicular: visitzagreb.hr
- Croatian Ministry of the Interior, driving in Croatia for foreigners: mup.gov.hr
Speed limits, fines, equipment & license requirements
Full requirements, sticker info & exemptions
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Winter tyres in Croatia — 2026–27 season
Winter tyres are compulsory on fixed dates in Croatia: 15 November - 15 April.
- Tread minimum: 1.6 mm — Croatia sets no separate winter figure.
- Accepted marking: M+S / M.S. / M&S or 3PMSF
- Studded tyres: banned
- Penalty: EUR 130 (driver)
In Croatian the rule is zimske gume, and snow chains are lanci za snijeg — that is the wording on signs, in hire-car paperwork and on any penalty notice.
Checked against national legislation, 30 Sep 2026 · Full Croatia tyre law · Compare all countries
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The rules for central Zagreb are in the mayor's order of 20 August 2024 on traffic in the central area and pedestrian zones. It works by weight and permit: supply, construction and similar vehicles over 12 tonnes need a permit for the central area, and the pedestrian zones are closed to motor traffic without one. No emission class appears anywhere in it, so an ordinary car needs no sticker and pays no charge.
A short, steep railway linking the Lower Town to the Upper Town (Gornji Grad). Its track is 66 metres long, which the city's tourist board bills as the shortest public funicular in the world. It is a quick way up to the medieval quarter and St Mark's Church with its tiled roof; the stairs beside it are the alternative.
Largely no. The Upper Town, the medieval hilltop quarter with St Mark's Church and the cobbled lanes, is mostly pedestrian and access-restricted. Park in a garage in the Lower Town and ride the funicular or walk up.
Use a garage in the Lower Town (Donji Grad), the grid of 19th-century streets, parks and museums below the hill, then walk or take the funicular up. Street parking in the centre is paid and zoned, and the trams cover the wider city.
Not for the city; the trams, the funicular and a walkable centre cover it. A car helps for inland Croatia, the Plitvice Lakes, the Zagorje hills and castles and the road toward the coast. From 1 November to 31 March Croatian law requires dipped or daytime running lights on cars, and the motorways are tolled.
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