Esplanade Zagreb Hotel

The Esplanade was built in 1925 beside Zagreb's main railway station expressly to serve passengers of the Orient Express, and everything about it — the marble Art Deco lobby, the Emerald Ballroom's glass ceiling, the sheer confidence of its proportions — speaks of that golden age of European rail travel. It has been the city's establishment address ever since, with a guest book running from Josephine Baker to visiting heads of state.

Careful restorations have kept the period interiors intact while bringing rooms to modern five-star standard: generously sized, marble-bathed and quiet, in a palette that nods to the twenties without pastiche. The location on the green horseshoe of Lenuci parks puts the lower town's museums, cafés and the funicular to the medieval upper town within an easy walk.

Food is central to the Esplanade's identity. Zinfandel's dining room ranks among Croatia's most polished tables, while Le Bistro is famous locally for štrukli, the Zagorje cheese-pastry dish it has elevated to an institution. The terrace fills on summer evenings with the city's own society, always the sign of a grand hotel that still matters. For value among Europe's historic palaces, the Esplanade is hard to beat.