October 5, 2025. Already rich in museums, Zagreb’s cultural scene has another rising star to add to the list – the Travel Experience Museum.
I get invited to a lot of events through my job at Total Croatia News, and sadly I rarely have time for most of them, but one invitation I was delighted to accept last month was to speak at the opening ceremony of the newly-opened – and very innovative – Travel Experience Museum, just off the main square at Ban Jelacic.
And what a delightful little museum it is, one that has something for all the senses. A wonderful journey of travel through time, using the very latest – and the very traditional – methods of communication. From exhilarating VR journeys through the Venice Carnival and Plitvice Lakes in winter, to traditional info boards and boxes inside of which you are immersed in 3D nature, complete with sounds and smells, I have not come across a museum in this country which so successfully blends IT of the future with traditional methods of the past.
By mixing up the methods of information delivery, it kept me on my toes, as I journeyed like a VIP time traveller through the ages, and the continents. There are plenty of educational exhibits about Croatia, its nature and UNESCO heritage, but what I really liked is that there is a lot more available about travel globally, in addition to Croatia. This is a museum which will motivate and inspire Croatian schoolkids about travel in the wider world. And I can see it being a popular stop for those with Zagreb winter blues this winter.
A really excellent addition to the Zagreb cultural scene, and with new exhibits being added all the time, one to come back to more than once. Of all the things I experienced at the museum, my favourite was those VR tours. Imagine coming into the museum on a grey Zagreb day, then transporting yourself into the heart of the Venice carnival, or escaping the crowds and being alone in the solitude of Plitvice Lakes in winter.
And with a detailed overview of the museum, here is a translation of this excellent overview of the opening night from our colleagues at Journal.hr.
After a little over a month since it opened its doors and began operating for visitors, on Tuesday, September 9, at a ceremony in Prolaz Neboder, Ilica 1, in the presence of numerous guests, the Travel Experience Museum – Museum of Travel, an educational, entertaining and technologically completely innovative cultural and tourist attraction in the city of Zagreb, was officially opened in a good atmosphere of guests.
With a series of attractive multimedia models, the Museum of Travel presents different stages of human history and population movements, which we today call travel. The visitor starts from prehistoric Ȯtzi, through ancient Roman and trade routes, which connected European trading meccas with the rest of the world, especially the Far East, pilgrimages and great world religions, the search for knowledge and the Grand Tour, the development of travel and transoceanic migrations to the complete revolution of travel for fun and getting to know new destinations and modern “backpackers”. A special section is dedicated to experiencing Croatia, its natural and cultural landmarks under UNESCO protection, as well as gastronomy and sports, through an interactive map and sensory boxes with a real experience of the smells and beauties of Croatia
The Travel Museum was opened by the director of the Zagreb City Tourist Board, Martina Bienenfeld, and highlighted the fact that, according to research, cultural tourism is the driver of 40 percent of all global tourist trips, while cultural tourists spend between 20 and 40 percent more money than other tourists. She reminded that last year they launched the “Museums, maybe” platform, which brings together collections that do not have museum status, but work is underway to change that. At that time, there were 16 museums on the platform, and today there are 19, including the new Travel Experience Museum – Muzej putovanja.
The project leader of the Museum of Travel is Kompas Grupa, which has a long tradition of tourism for more than 70 years and this investment in the amount of more than 800,000 euros, which included major interventions in infrastructure, installations, the acquisition of the most modern technology in presenting the theme of travel and the implementation of the museum’s exhibition itself, emphasized Željko Čuljak, Director of Corporate Development of KOMPAS GROUP and the company Travel Experience d.o.o. The new museum content confirms the importance of investing in new cultural and tourist products, which enrich the main destination.
The project leader of the Museum of Travel is Igor Bulatović, who emphasized the demanding path to the realization of this project, which lasted two years. The intention and desire of Kompas Grupa and the Project Team was to enable visitors to experience the emotion that we all have when we go on trips in the museum, through an educational and historical overview and presentation of travel as a phenomenon, which through different technology that allows us to experience various destinations.
A special guest at the ceremony was the well-known promoter of Croatian culture and tourism, founder of the Total Croatia News portal, blogger Paul Bradbury, who pointed out that … Zagreb is neither too small nor too big, and I like that it is the only tourist destination in Croatia that has seamlessly integrated tourism into everyday life. It is also one of the most exciting and diverse cities in terms of museums, he emphasized. He likes and pointed out that the Museum of Travel does not deal with the past but looks to the future, and that it offers something for tourists, but also something different for locals, one moment you are in Plitvice in the winter, and the next you are at the Venetian Carnival.
On behalf of the Mayor of the City of Zagreb, Mr. Tomislav Tomašević, the envoy was Ms. Nera Pavić, Assistant Head of the Sector for Economy, Entrepreneurship, Tourism and Investments.
Representatives of the Kompas Group from several European countries arrived at the opening ceremony of the Museum of Travel, led by the President of the Board Lovorka Mamić and members of the Board Željka Čuljak and Bojana Aljinović. The project was realized by members of the interdisciplinary Project Team of experts – authors of the Conceptual Design, Vesna Jurić Bulatović and Igor Bulatović, authors of the multimedia display Sandro Đukić, multimedia artist and Diana Špirić, architect, and numerous collaborators on the project.
Special attention is paid to the natural phenomena that make our planet so special and interesting. The museum will educate children and young people about the importance of sustainable development and climate change through its activities, lectures, workshops, and guest appearances by world travelers and activists for the preservation of planet Earth.
Numerous world travelers, researchers, bloggers and travel writers will find their partner and a place to publish their travelogues, travel presentations, interesting lectures and workshops in the Travel Experience Museum. The museum wants to position itself as a starting point and place of inspiration and planning new trips. One part of the museum’s activities is related to collecting travel memories.
Donated memories or memorabilia can be various photographs, various audio and video recordings, souvenirs, useful and decorative items, travel plans, postcards, etc., which have an interesting story. Donors to the museum whose items are selected by expert selection can receive special benefits and will be specially presented.
A special selfie system allows every visitor to receive a personalized souvenir in the Travel Shop, a photo of themselves from the desired virtual destination. The Travel Experience Museum is becoming a new cultural and tourist product in the city of Zagreb, intended for everyone who is motivated and inspired, in whole or in part, by an interest in new knowledge, experiences and discoveries of new destinations and attractions.
You can learn a lot more about the Travel Experience Museum on the official website. See you there!
