The busy street is home to many shops and cultural sites and spans through most of the northwestern part of the city, from the Ban Jelačić Square in the city centre westward to the Vrapče district.

[1] The name was first recorded in 1431,[2] while the street itself retained its present shape at the end of the 18th century.

In the 14th century, the street was known under the name Lončarska ves (archaic Croatian for "Potters' village", also Vicus lutifigulorum in Latin).

[3] Today, Ilica is 5,653 meters long, making it the fourth longest in Zagreb, after Radnička cesta and Zagrebačka and Slavonska avenues.

It also boasts the title of the first paved street in Zagreb, because it was laid out during the renovation of the city's roads due to the introduction of the electric tram.