In spring, I have one goal when it comes to budding sunshine: I want as much of it as possible, with no trees filtering it and no streets slicing it into ribbons. That’s why I frequent a curated set of places where the light is uninhibited and the horizon opens as its stage.

If mornings are free, I walk up to Gradec plateau, when the sun still owns the paving stones and the old town briefly loosens its squeeze. The gaze runs freely toward the Lower Town. I am usually smart enough to pack a blanket and take Dubravkin put to Cmrok meadow. This is where I linger and soak up warmth like a lizard. In spring, my friends know I prefer to meet them around two o’clock, in that sun-drenched pause between lunch and commute. We claim a terrace at Kavkaz on Trg Republike Hrvatske and watch the square open wide and the theater glow.

Evenings belong to the Sava near Most Slobode. The west opens fully there and the sunset has room to perform. If I keep to my sun-catching rituals, by season’s end my face is tanned, my vitamin D generous and my mood buoyant. And on weekends, I share the protocol with friends at Bundek’s southern lawns, where water reflects even more light back at us.

Tip. Still craving more? Climb Grmoščica hill on the western side of Zagreb. Elevation sharpens the light and the horizon stretches. The city widens.