Split travel guide
Split is a Roman palace that never stopped being a neighbourhood, so you do not visit it, you wander through it. Come with a rough order, leave gaps, and accept that the best hour of the day is usually the one you did not plan.
How the city fits together
Everything a visitor wants sits on one small stretch of coast. The palace faces the sea, the Riva runs along its southern wall, and the bus, train and ferry stations lie a few minutes east, so you can arrive and be in the lanes before your coffee cools.
The only real climb is Marjan, the forested hill on the western side that gives Split its green back. The newer districts behind the old town have little to offer a short stay, so spend your time between the Riva, the palace, Marjan and a swim.
How long to stay
- One day is enough for the palace, the Riva and an evening walk, if you skip the museums and keep lunch short.
- Two days let you add Marjan, a museum and a long dinner without checking the clock.
- Three days or more are worth it when one of them goes to the islands or to Krka, which is what most people really come to Dalmatia for.
Three days, in order
Day 1: inside the walls
Enter through the Silver Gate before the cruise groups arrive, take the Peristyle while the stone is still cool and climb the bell tower if your legs are willing. Walk the Riva at dusk, when the palms and the harbour lights come on together.
Day 2: the hill and the sculptor
Start early on Marjan, walking up from the old town through the steps of the district below it, and come down for lunch. In the afternoon visit the Meštrović Gallery, then rub the toe of Gregory of Nin on the way back, like everyone else.
Day 3: out on the water
Spend the day away from town: Krka for waterfalls and a boardwalk, Trogir for a stone town on a small island, or Supetar for a beach lunch on Brač. Be back for a last dinner on the Riva.
Rainy-day plan
Rain in Split usually comes in short, heavy bursts, mostly in the cooler months, and the palace lanes dry out quickly. The old town is built so that you can duck under an arch or into a doorway every thirty metres.
- Morning: the Substructures, the vaulted halls under the emperor's apartments, open daily from 9 am. They stay dry and cool whatever falls from the sky.
- Afternoon: the Meštrović Gallery, open Tuesday to Sunday from 8 am to 6 pm. Adults pay €12.
- Evening: the cathedral interior, then a wine bar in the lanes with a table indoors.
- Any time: a long lunch. Fish places around the palace do not mind if you stay while the shower passes.
Where to sleep
- Inside the palace walls
- The atmosphere is unbeatable and so is the noise. Lanes echo until late on summer nights, so ask for a room on an upper floor facing a courtyard, or accept earplugs as part of the deal.
- Veli Varoš, below Marjan
- A calmer old quarter of steep lanes and stone houses, five minutes on foot from the palace. Good for anyone who wants a morning run up the hill and a quiet evening.
- Around the bus and ferry stations
- Plain, practical and cheaper. You are next to the airport shuttle and the island boats, and the Riva is a flat walk away.
- Bačvice and the eastern shore
- The city beach and its evening crowd are here. A better pick in July and August, when you want to swim before breakfast and do not mind the walk back to the palace.