The wider Zagreb area has been continuously inhabited since the prehistoric period, as witnessed by archaeological findings in the Veternica cave from the Paleolithic and excavation of the remains of the destroyed Roman town of Andautonia near the present village of Ščitarjevo.

The picturesque former villages on the slopes of Medvednica, Šestine, Gračani and Remete, maintain their rich traditions, including folk costumes, Šestine umbrellas, and gingerbread products.
The Medvednica Mountain (Zagrebačka gora), with its highest peak Sljeme (1,033 m), provides a panoramic view of metropolitan Zagreb, the Sava and the Kupa valleys, and the region of Hrvatsko Zagorje. In mid-January 2005, Sljeme held its first World Ski Championship tournament.

From the summit, weather permitting, the vista reaches as far as Velebit Range along Croatia's rocky northern coast, as well as the snow-capped peaks of the towering Julian Alps in neighbouring Slovenia. There are several lodging villages, offering accommodation and restaurants for hikers. Skiers visit Sljeme, which has four ski-runs, three ski-lifts and a chairlift.

Old Medvedgrad, the recently restored medieval burg built in the 13th century, represents a special attraction of Medvednica hill. It overlooks the western part of the city and also has the Shrine of the Homeland, a memorial with an eternal flame, where Croatia pays reverence to all its heroes fallen for homeland in its history, customarily on national holidays. Travel agencies organize guided excursions to the surroundings as well as sightseeing in Zagreb itself.

Zagreb is an important tourist centre, not only in terms of passengers travelling from Western and Central Europe to the Adriatic Sea, but also as a travel destination itself. Since the end of the war, it has attracted around half a million visitors annually, mainly from Austria, Germany and Italy. However, the city has even greater potential as many tourists that visit Croatia skip Zagreb in order to visit the beaches along the Croatian Adriatic coast and old historic Renaissance cities such as Dubrovnik, Split, and Zadar.

Zagreb celebrated its 900th birthday in 1994 not only as a city with numerous cultural and historical monuments, museums and galleries, but also as a vibrant destination with a variety of modern shops, quality restaurants and sports/recreational facilities. It is a major centre of congress tourism, hosting a number of business events and trade fairs that are amongst those of the longest tradition in Europe. Being an important junction point, Zagreb has road, air, railway and bus connections with other European metropolises and all bigger cities and tourist resorts in Croatia.

The historical part of the city to the north of Ban Jelačić Square is comprised of the Upper Town and Kaptol, a medieval urban complex of churches, palaces, museums, galleries and government buildings that are exceptionally popular with tourists on sightseeing tours. The old town's streets and squares can be reached on foot, starting from Jelačić Square, the central part and the heart of Zagreb, or by a funicular on nearby Tomićeva Street. Tkalčićeva ulica is a winding street in the old town that features many very popular cafés and is a popular place for people-watching, particularly among the younger generations.

Zagreb's numerous museums reflect the history, art and culture not only of Zagreb and Croatia, but also of Europe and the world. Around thirty collections in museums and galleries comprise more than 3.6 million various exhibits, excluding church and private collections.

Archeological Museum

The Archaeological Museum (19 Nikola Šubić Zrinski Square) collections, today consisting of nearly 400,000 varied artifacts and monuments, have been gathered over the years from many different sources. These holdings include evidence of Croatian presence in the area as well as rare samples which have made the museum world renowned. The most famous are the Egyptian collection, the Zagreb mummy and bandages with the oldest Etruscan inscription in the world (Liber Linteus Zagrabiensis), as well as the numismatic collection. A part of the museum is set aside for the collection of stone monuments dating back predominantly to the Roman period.

Croatian Natural History Museum

The Croatian Natural History Museum (1 Demetrova Street) holds the world's most extensive collection of Neanderthal remains found at one site. These are the remains, stone weapons and tools of prehistoric Krapina man. The holdings of the Croatian History Museum comprise more than 250,000 specimens distributed among various different collections. Also this museum publishes the scientific journal "Natura Croatica".

Technical Museum

The Technical Museum (18 Savska Street) was founded in 1954 and it maintains the oldest preserved machine in the area, dating from 1830, which still operates. In the museum you can find numerous historic aircraft, cars, machenery and equipment. There are some distinct units: the Planetarium, the Apisarium, the Mine (model of mines for coal, iron and non-ferrous metals, about 300 m long), and the Nikola Tesla study. The Museum organises educational, study, informative and occasional exhibitions, lectures and panel discussions on popular science, as well as playrooms and workshops.

Museum of the City of Zagreb

The Museum of the City of Zagreb (20 Opatička Street) was established in 1907 by the Association of the Braća Hrvatskog Zmaja. It is located in a restored monumental complex (Popov toranj, the Observatory, Zakmardi Granary) of the former Convent of the Poor Clares, of 1650. The Museum deals with topics from the cultural, artistic, economic and political history of the city in a span from Roman finds until the modern period. The holdings comprise 75,000 items arranged systematically into collectinos of artistic and use objects characteristic of the city and its history.

Arts and Crafts Museum

The Arts and Crafts Museum (10 Marshal Tito Square) was founded in 1880 with the intention of protecting the works of art and craft against the new predominance of industrial products. With its 160,000 exhibits, the Arts and Crafts Museum is a national-level museum for arthistic production and the history of material culture in Croatia.[27] The holdings are classified into 19 diverse museum collections: furnishing, metal, painting, sculpture, clocks, photography and photographic equipment, musical instruments, graphic design, ivory, printing and bookbinding, printed and painted leather, devotional items, smoking accessories and toys.

Ethnographic Museum

The Ethnographic Museum (14 Ivan Mažuranić Square) was founded in 1919. It lies in the fine Secession building of the one-time Trades Hall of 1903. The ample holdings of about 80,000 items cover the ethnographic heritage of Croatia, classified in the three cultural zones: the Pannonian, Dinaric and Adriatic. In the non-European section there are items from the traditional cultures of Africa, Latin America, Asia, Australia and Oceania.

Mimara Museum

The museum called the "Art Collection of Ante and Wiltrud Topic Mimara" or, for short, the Mimara Museum (5 Roosevelt Square), was founded with a donation from Ante "Mimara" Topic and opened to the public in 1987. It is located in a neo-Renaissance palace from the end of the 19th century. The holdings comprise 3,750 works od art of various techniques and materials, and different cultures and civilisations.

Croatian Naive Art Museum

The Croatian Naive Art Museum (3 ĆiriloMetodska Street) is considered to be the first museum of naive art in the world. The museum keeps works of Croatian naive expression of the 20th century. It is located in the 18th century Raffay Palace in the Upper City (Gornji Grad). The museum holdings consist of 1500 works of art - paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints, mainly by Croatians but also by other well-known world artists. From time to time, the museum organises topics and retrospective exhibitions by naive artists, expert meetings and educational workshops and playrooms.

Museum of Contemporary Art

The Museum of Contemporary Art was founded in 1954 and a rich collection of Croatian and foreign contemporary visual art has been collected throughout the decades. The Museum (2 Catherine's Square) is located in a space within the Kulmer Palace in the Upper City (Gornji Grad). A new Museum building in Novi Zagreb has been under construction since 2003. The Museum's permanent art collection will be presented to the public when it moves into its new building planned for 2007.

Other museums and galleries

Valuable historical collections are also found in the Croatian School Museum, the Croatian Hunting Museum, the Croatian Sports Museum, the Croatian Post and Telecommunications Museum, the HAZU (Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts) Glyptotheque (collection of monuments), and the HAZU Graphics Cabinet.

The Strossmayer's Old Masters Gallery (11 Zrinski Square) offers permanent holdings presenting European paintings from the 14th to 19th centuries, and the Ivan Meštrović Studio, (8 Mletačka Street) with sculptures, drawings, lithography portfolios and other items, was a donation of this great artist to his homeland The Museum and Gallery Centre (4 Jesuit Square) introduces on various occasions the Croatian and foreign cultural and artistic heritage. The Art Pavilion (22 King Tomislav Square) by Viennese architects Hellmer and Fellmer who were the most famous designers of theatres in Central Europe is a neo-classical exhibition complex and one of the landmarks of the city centre. The exhibitions are also held in the impressive Meštrović building on Hrvatskih Velikana Square — the Home of Croatian Fine Artists. The World Centre "Wonder of Croatian Naïve Art" (12 Ban Jelačić Square) exhibits masterpieces of Croatian naive art as well as the works of a new generation of artists. The Modern Gallery (1 Hebrangova Street) comprises all relevant fine artists of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Historically, the borders of Slavonia fluctuated. In the early medieval period of the Kingdom of Hungary, Slavonia was a vassal province of the Kingdom, and included only the western part of present-day Slavonia, but also parts of present-day central Croatia (including Zagreb) and the western and northern parts of present-day Bosnia (The eastern parts of present-day Slavonia belonged to Hungary proper). In the late Medieval period Slavonia occupied territories between the rivers Sava, Drava, Sutla and Danube. In the 18th and 19th century, the Kingdom of Slavonia was a province of the Habsburg Monarchy, and included northern parts of present day regions of Slavonia and Syrmia, while the southern parts of these regions were part of the Habsburg Military Frontier (Slavonian Krajina).

The region was originally part of the Roman province of Pannonia. In the 7th century a Slavic state owing allegiance to the Avars was established, soon replaced by the Croats. Slavonia was defended by King Tomislav of the House of Trpimirović from Hungarian invaders and annexed to his newly-created Kingdom of Croatia in 925. In 1027 a Hungarian Army under Stjepan Svetoslavić of the side branch of the Trpimirović dynasty took Slavonia and made it a Slavonian Banate of the Kingdom of Hungary, ruled by its own dynasty of Svetoslavić. Slavonia was reunified with Croatia in the 1070s under King Dmitar Zvonimir Svetoslavić. In 1091 it separated again and accepted the suzerainty of the Hungarian crown. 11 years later, the rest of Croatia also accepted the suzerainty of the Hungarian crown. In the 12th century there was a practice that successor of the throne first became Duke of "whole Slavonia" (like the oldest British prince is prince of Wales), and there were some power grabs since in many cases son waged war against father, trying to establish and confirm its power base. Though Slavonia was originally considered to be part of the Kingdom of Hungary by Hungarian public law, it became more and more separated from the Kingdom of Hungary and had more and more tied to the Kingdom of Croatia.

In the 13th century, Croatia was divided into 2 banovinas, one of which was named Slavonia (other keeping the name Croatia). Nobility in Slavonia was more connected to Hungary (because of its proximity) than the nobility of Croatia. In the late 13th century Stefan Vladislav II of the House of Nemanjić became the Ban of Slavonia. The eastern parts of the region were turned into the semi-independent state of the powerful local ruler Csák Ugrin, although the Hungarian King took the area in 1311 after the death of Ugrin.

Ever since the fall of the Serbian Despotate migrations of Serbs under Ottoman yoke were present, including their nobility which made an important political factor in Slavonia. Both Slavonia and Croatia were ruled by separate bans, until 1476, when these two ruling positions were merged into one.

When Ottoman Turks invaded the Kingdom of Hungary and destroyed the Hungarian army at Mohács in 1526, the Croatian Parliament invited the Habsburgs to assume control over Croatia. After many fierce battles Ottomans conquered all of today's Slavonia, but not the whole of the Medieval Croatia (its borders stretching west to Sutla river).

Habsburgs took the region from the Ottomans by the Treaty of Karlowitz (1699). During the Habsburg rule, the Kingdom of Slavonia was a Habsburg province, and it was part of both, the Kingdom of Croatia, and the Kingdom of Hungary. Southern parts of the present-day Slavonia were not included into this province, but into Habsburg Military Frontier (Slavonian Krajina), which Slavonian nobles numerous times tried to integrate into Slavonia, but with no success. Post-1699 Slavonia was a different geographical entity from the medieval Slavonia. Whereas medieval Slavonia incorporated the territories between the Drava and Kupa Rivers, Habsburg Slavonia was extended eastwards to refer to the sparsely populated territories between the Sava and Drava Rivers.

The 1790 Austrian population census for the Kingdom of Slavonia recorded 131,000 (46.8%) Serbs 128,000 (45.7%) Croats, 19,000 (6.8%) Hungarians, and 2,000 (0.7%) Germans. The Kingdom of Slavonia in this time also included northern parts of eastern Syrmia mainly inhabited by Serbs, hence the number of Serbs in the Kingdom was larger than the number of Croats.

During the Revolutions of 1848 Slavonia was temporarily united with Croatia under the Ban Josip Jelačić. After 1849, both, Slavonia and Croatia were affirmed as a completely separate Habsburg crown lands. Following the 1868 Settlement (hrvatsko-ugarska nagodba) with the Kingdom of Hungary, Slavonia was joined with Croatia in the single Croatia-Slavonia kingdom, which although it was under the suzerainty of the Crown of Saint Stephen kept a certain level of self-rule. The year 1881 also saw the final dissolution of the Slavonian Krajina and its incorporation into the existing Slavonian Counties.

As a rest of the Croatia-Slavonia, the region became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in December 1918. Between 1922 and 1929, it was a province known as the Osijek Oblast (province), administered from Osijek, and since the 1929 creation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, it was part of the Sava Banovina, administered from Zagreb. In August 1939, it became part of the Banovina of Croatia.

During World War II, it was part of the Independent State of Croatia (its northern section controlled by the Nazi Germany). When the Yugoslav federation was formed after the war, Slavonia became part of the Socialist Republic of Croatia.

When Croatia declared its independence in 1991, Serbs of Krajina proclaimed their own state over portions of eastern and western Slavonia. The eastern portion was referred to as the Serbian Autonomous Region of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia, and it encompassed roughly everything east of Osijek and Vinkovci and northeast of Županja, including the cities of Vukovar and Ilok, as well as all of Baranja. This part of Krajina was ethnically mixed with a Croatian relative majority and had seen bitter fighting during the war (See: War in Croatia). The 1991 Battle of Vukovar was the most important war event in the area. The western portion of Slavonia controlled by RSK included the area around Okučani and most of the Psunj mountain. In May 1995, the western region was restored to Croatian control in the military Operation Flash. In 1996 the east was turned over to the UNTAES, and reintegrated into Croatia by January 1998.