A weekend in Split: palace, sea and old town

I came to Split expecting a pretty harbour and a quick stopover before the islands. Instead I spent my first evening getting happily lost inside a Roman emperor’s retirement home, with laundry hanging above a cocktail bar and a bakery tucked into an ancient wall. This is my list of the best things to do in Split, plus the day trips that made me stay longer than planned.

Is Split worth visiting?

Yes, and not just as a ferry stop. Plenty of travellers treat Split as the place where you sleep before catching a boat to Hvar. I think that sells it short. It is a working Croatian town with fishermen, football fans and grandmothers on balconies, built around one of the best-preserved Roman monuments anywhere.

It is really two things in one: a city with its own sights and food, and the easiest base on the Dalmatian coast for islands, waterfalls and old stone towns. If you are still asking whether Split is worth visiting, give it two full days before you start heading out on day trips. That is when it clicked for me.

Diocletian’s Palace: the old town you can live in

This is what makes Split different. Diocletian’s Palace is not a ruin behind a fence. The Roman emperor Diocletian built it around 300 AD as his retirement residence, and over the centuries people simply never left. Today the palace is the Split old town. Families live in the walls, restaurants sit in former imperial halls, and you buy your morning coffee where Roman guards once stood.

The palace has four gates, and I like entering through a different one each time. The Golden Gate on the north side is the grandest. The Bronze Gate on the south side opens straight onto the waterfront. Inside, head for the Peristyle, the central courtyard, where the whole place makes sense. In the evening locals sit on the steps with a drink.

Right off the Peristyle is the Cathedral of St Domnius, which started life as the emperor’s mausoleum. I climbed the bell tower for the view over the red roofs and the sea. Also look for the underground halls beneath the palace. They are remarkably intact, and walking through them shows you how big the original building was.

Go early in the morning or late in the evening. In the middle of a summer day the lanes fill up, and the palace feels very different when it is quiet.

Walk the Riva and the rest of the waterfront

The Riva is the palm-lined promenade right outside the palace walls, and it is the living room of the city. Everyone ends up here for a coffee, a stroll or an hour of people-watching. I like it best around sunset, when the light turns the stone gold and the ferries glide in and out of the harbour.

A short walk away, just outside the Golden Gate, is the statue of Gregory of Nin. The bronze toe is shiny from all the hands that have touched it for luck. I rubbed it too, obviously.

Climb Marjan hill and wander Veli Varos

After a few hours in the busy old town, Marjan hill felt like a different place. It is a forested hill on the edge of Split, with paths, viewpoints and quiet corners. Go for the view over the harbour and the islands, and bring water in warm weather.

On the slope below it sits Veli Varos, an old neighbourhood with narrow stone streets and a calmer pace than the palace. I walk through it on the way up or down, and it always feels like the part of Split that belongs to the people who live there.

Where I stay and what I eat

I like sleeping inside or right next to the palace walls. It is noisy at night in high season, so pack earplugs, but waking up and walking out into the old town is hard to beat.

For food, I look for small konobas away from the main squares. Dalmatian cooking is simple and good: grilled fish, black risotto, slow-cooked beef and plenty of olive oil. Croatia uses the euro, and cards work almost everywhere, but I still keep a little cash for bakeries and small family places.

Day trips from Split

This is where Split earns its place on a Croatia itinerary. These are the day trips from Split I would plan around.

The islands: ferries leave from the main port, right beside the old town. Hvar, Brac and Vis are the big three. Hvar is the lively one, with a pretty harbour town. Brac is bigger and has the famous pebble beach at Bol. Vis is further out and calmer. If you only have one day, Hvar or Brac are the easier picks. For Vis I would stay overnight rather than rush it. Timetables change with the season and the busy months fill up, so check current schedules and book ahead in summer.

Krka National Park: this is the waterfall trip. It sits roughly an hour inland, and it is a lush green contrast to the dry coastal rock. Boardwalks wind past cascades and pools. Rules about swimming have changed over the years, so check what is allowed before you pack your swimwear.

Trogir: a small historic town on a little island, a short ride from Split. It makes an easy half day, especially if you want to see another old town without the crowds of a big city.

For a first visit I would pick one island day and one Krka day. That gives you the sea and the waterfalls, with the palace for your evenings.

When to go and how long to stay

I think the shoulder seasons are best: late spring and early autumn, when the sea is still warm enough for a swim and the lanes are less packed. July and August are hot, busy and louder. Three to four nights lets you do the old town properly, climb Marjan and fit in two day trips without rushing.

Split also works as a stepping stone. If you want to keep going south after Croatia, my Montenegro guides pick up the coast, and if you want to head inland, I have written about Bosnia too. For more islands, towns and routes to build into the same trip, browse my Croatia guides.