Despite being the capital of Croatia, Zagreb has never really found its niche as a holiday destination. Ok, it's clearly popular with those seeking weekend city breaks, and is a fantastic base of operations if you're no longer interested in seeing the same old, same old, on the Adriatic coast. And still the city doesn't necessarily have a distinct identity.

There are spectacular features remaining from its days as an Imperial city (the Cathedral in Kaptol, along with the plethora of museums and palaces dotted around the city), but Vienna and Prague might be considered more classically beautiful. The food offering is diverse (and amazingly so) – with recipes available throughout the city from a dozen different cultures - but even then Zagreb is hardly a name which trips off the tongue when talking about fine food or wine.

So then, what does Zagreb have to offer potential tourists that other major European cities don’t have? Health tourism is a growing sector around the world, and as living costs spiral across the Western world in the wake of recent economic crises, belts have been tightened and luxuries have by necessity been curtailed. Zagreb, however, can offer a ready-made solution. Budget airlines can take you from any number of European cities to the Croatian capital for bargain basement prices, and there you can avail of a number of established wellness centres, dental clinics, cosmetic dermatology, laser surgery, and not to mention a range of more exotic treatments more commonly associated with Asia and the Far East.

On top of that, more companies operating within this field are announcing their intention to relocate to this region, and it has nothing to do with the comparatively favourable cost of doing business here – it’s because Zagreb is proving that much more popular than destinations such as Budapest or Vilnius when it comes to the need for complicated root canal surgery, or even if it’s only for a long weekend of rest, relaxation, and pampering. The majority of staff in this sector speak fluent English and/or German, which makes Zagreb a more welcoming destination for the traditional mono-linguist who occupies the English speaking nations of the west. And while here, you can always try some of that food, and go see some of those museums and palaces; you’ll not be disappointed.

It's fair to say that Croatia offers as high a quality of service as anywhere in Europe, if not better, and certainly at a cheaper cost than such treatments in Western Europe would set you back.