Split is probably the Adriatic’s most dynamic city, the hub around which everything in the Southern Dalmatia region revolves. Wonderfully chaotic, the place is full of busy markets, narrow streets, imposing squares, museums and statues, and, occupying the eastern half of the old town, is the town’s raison-d’être, the spectacular Diocletian’s Palace, built in 295 AD.
The palace area is at the heart of Split urban life and a magnet for tourists and shoppers. The Riva, the city’s wide and vibrant waterfront, runs along the southern side of the palace, friends congregate day and night at the cafés and bars. It was here the crowds flocked in their thousands on July 10 2001 to welcome Split’s most famous champion, Goran Ivaniševic after his Wimbledon win.
Split is culturally rich. In addition to its monuments, there’s a good mix of galleries and museums and top-class drama, classical music, opera and ballet staged at the prestigious Croatian National Theatre. But it’s the people themselves, known as Splicanis, who set the town alive. Famed for their gregarious nature, their love of good food and drink, singing and sport, they make Split the friendliest town on the Adriatic coast.
With 200,000 inhabitants, it is Croatia’s second city and Splicanis are enormously proud of their heritage. Despite huge economic hardship after the collapse of communism and the ravages of war, they’re inexplicably cheerful and famous for their self-deprecating humour. Locals here are immensely sociable and life seems to be lived permanently outdoors, unless it’s very wet, the smart bars and swish cafés on the Riva waterfront are always packed, day or night.
Visit the city in carnival season and you’re in for an authentic treat. On Shrove Tuesday and the weekend before, the streets and squares are overrun with masked revellers, while on May 7, the Feast of Domnius, the town comes alive with brilliantly coloured processions, masses, classical concerts and festivals. It’s worth contacting the tourist office for a festival programme.
Although the city is the largest town in Dalmatia, it’s a sight-seeing dream; all the major draws are concentrated in the compact old town. It can be walked across in about 10 minutes, but to discover its hidden secrets would take more than a lifetime.
Low-rise suburbs lie on each side of the old town; Veli Varoš to the west and Manuš to the east are the best to wander around, delightfully unspoiled, they’re a maize of old stone houses tightly wound around narrow lanes.
To the west of the city is Split’s green lungs, the wooded Marjan peninsula; it offers the best views across Split, the offshore islands and the mountain ranges to the south and east. It’s perfect at 6pm in summer, when the entire scene glows orange in the evening sunlight.
And when you want to escape the bustle of the city and crash on a beach, the coastline south of Split has some of the best on the Adriatic. A 40-minute ferry ride will take you to the island of Bra? easily explored on foot, with some superb beaches at Supetar. In addition, plenty of buses run up and down the coastline between Dubrovnik and Split, so a day spent swimming in the Adriatic is within easy reach. Although most are shingle or pebble, the beaches at Nemira and Brela are stunning.
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Make no mistake, Split is a vast city packed with shipyards, factories and a busy port, vital for the town’s economic development after World War II. But wander about the old town and you’ll be in one of the best preserved Roman treasures of the world.
Far from being a stuffy archaeological site, it’s now the centre of urban life, jostling with tourists and shoppers. It took 10 years to build, so spend the day here, stopping for rests at the nearby cafés.
The best place to start exploring Diocletian’s Palace is from the Riva, running along the south of the palace and buzzing with shops and cafés. You’ll enter through the Bronze Gate which originally gave access to the sea, it once lapped right up the palace. Inside is a huge, vaulted space, pick up a memento at one of the numerous arts and craft stalls. Venture on to the basement, at the north end imposing steps lead up to The Peristyle. This was once the central courtyard of the palace and is still the palace’s dominant open space. Enjoy a coffee at once of the many tables crammed into the square, feasting your eyes on the surrounding ancient, garland-draped columns.
After a break, visit the Cathedral, originally Diocletian’s mausoleum. Pause to see the impressive black Egyptian sphinx dating from about 15 BC sitting at the foot of the bell tower. Inside, the cathedral’s awash in Corinthian columns, Romanesque art, Biblical friezes, altars and a medieval crypt.
Nip outside for a waterside lunch on the palm-lined Riva and then go back to the Peristyle and along Krešimirova, which used to be the town’s main thoroughfare and is now lined with shops. It takes you out through the Iron Gate to Narodni trg, the 15th century ‘people’s square’ dominated by the town hall with a ground floor loggia of three pointed arches, it’s home to the Ehnographic Museum, which displays a collection of traditional Dalmatian costumes. Then spend some time meandering around alleyways and shops, you’ll probably get lost, but that’s half the charm.
It’s worth stepping outside the Golden Gate to get a glimpse of Gregory of Nin, an enormous statue of Grgur Ninski, a religious leader from the 10th century carved by Croatian’s most famous sculptor, Ivan Mestrovic.
End the day at Bacvice, a short walk from the bus station. Take your pick from the sea-facing restaurants, bars and nightclubs and mingle with some of the most cheerful locals on the planet.
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Considering the size of the city, there aren’t as many hotels in Split as you’d expect, so book ahead, especially if you’re visiting in July or August.
Flybe Hotels offers a good choice and makes booking easy. The three-star, well-equipped Jadran Hotel overlooks the sea and offers a host of sports facilities including two excellent outdoor pools. The restaurant features a wide range of local and international dishes. Or check-in to the Marjan Hotel, perfectly situated opposite the yacht marina and near all the sights in the old town.
If you’re on a budget, opt for the two-star Dujam Hotel. A modern, clean hotel, it’s close to the waterfront, beach and key old town sights. For more comfort, try the four-star Globo, offering light, airy rooms, gym, sauna and pampering beauty suite, in an ideal city-centre location.
www.flybehotels.com
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By road: Split Airport (+385 (0) 21 203 555) is 25km north-west of town. Take the coast road from Trogir south to the city centre.
Contact Flybe’s car rental partner Avis for best available car hire rates.
By bus: Pleso-Prijevos (+385 (0) 21 203 119) operates a regular bus service to Split harbour. One way costs K30 (£2.75). A local bus also runs every 20 minutes into town.
By taxi: Plenty of taxis outside the terminal. Expect to pay around K200 (£18.30).
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South of Split the scenery is dramatic and the coast features some of the Adriatic’s best beaches, sheltered by the Karst Mountains, easily reached by bus.
The historical town of Omiš is well worth a visit, a patchwork of narrow alleys, old city walls and fortresses. It marks the entrance to the rugged Cetina Gorge, which starts as a narrow winding valley and widens into a stretch of swamps and forests, with a number of handy riverside restaurants. Rafting down the River Cetina has become a major attraction and, unless there’s been a heavy downpour, is an easy, gentle drift rather than a white-knuckle fright.
South of Omiš are the popular beaches of the Makarska Riviera, stretching from Brela to Gradac to Gradac with the towering Biokovo mountains as a backdrop.
Inland is Imotski, a provincial town on the Hercegovinian border, which boasts two huge, dramatic lakes, an area of outstanding rocky crags, sheer cliffs and stunning views.
Between Split and Trogir is a series of seven castles built for defence against the Turks, at Kaštela. Built between the 15th and 16th centuries, five of the original castles have been preserved and make a fascinating visit.
Twenty km south of Split is Trogir, reached by the number 37 bus. This Unesco World Heritage site is one of the loveliest towns on the Adriatic coast. Founded by the Greeks in the third century, its history is just as fascinating as that of Split and features one of the finest cathedrals in Croatia.
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With its rich cultural history, sunny weather and hidden bays and beaches, Split has become a great property investment opportunity. What’s more, in the first six months of 2006, foreign investment grew by a whopping 76 per cent and the economy by six per cent, way above the national average.
Split is a major transportation, commercial and administrative centre, its economy relies heavily on trade and tourism but recently some of the old industry has been undergoing a revival – fishing, olive and wine production.
Now is the ideal time for snapping up a bargain but prices are rising rapidly. For €36,000 (£23,851) you can have a large stone farmhouse, minutes walk from a sandy beach in need of refurbishment. Just €39,000 (£25,839) will get a well-equipped modern studio apartment overlooking the marina, 40 minutes from the airport. Visit www.sunshineestates.net for more. The city has plenty of English-speaking estate agents to make purchasing a property trouble-free.
The British Embassy in the Split Conuslar District provides an extensive list of English-speaking lawyers specialising in property acquisition.
www.britishembassy.gov.uk/servlet
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Diocletian’s Palace. It occupies the eastern half of the old town and includes the Cathedral of St Domnius, tel: +385 (0) 21 342 589, open Mon-Sat 7am-noon and 5-7pm. Parts date back to 15 BC, climb the six-storey campanile (entry 5Kn) for panoramic city views. The dome is ringed by 1st century Corinthian columns and there are copious works of Romanesque art, don’t miss the pulpit, Altar of St Domnius or the finest feature, the Altar of Anastasius, the latticed wooden choir stalls or the early medieval crypt.
The Baptistry of St John. tel: +385 (0) 21 342 589, is opposite the cathedral, a Diocletian temple housing statues of Hercules and Apollo and many other artworks.
The Peristyle was once the central courtyard of the palace, now a lively square packed with cafés, framed by the remains of stately arches.
The Riva. Running along the palace’s southern façade, it’s lined with shops, cafés and flats, and is the main meeting point day or night. It’s where the crowds flocked to see Wimbledon champion Goran Ivaniševi?.
The Bronze Gate, main entrance to the palace from the Riva. Inside is the basement of Diocletian’s central hall, now featuring a number of arts and crafts stalls.
The basement, open summer 8am-8pm, winter 8am-noon and 4-7pm, entry 10kn. A cavernous subterranean space giving an impression of how the palace looked like originally.
The vestibule is at the southern end of the Peristyle, where visitors originally waited when summoned to see the ex-emperor.
At the far end is the Ethnographic Museum, tel: + 385 (0) 21 344 164, open Mon-Fri 9am-2pm and 6-9pm, Sat 10am-1pm, entry 10Kn. Features a suite of superbly restored medieval rooms.
North of the Peristyle is Papali? Palace, an impressive 15th century Gothic townhouse.
City Museum, open Tues-Fri 9am-8pm, Sat and Sun 10am-1pm. Entry 10Kn. Features medieval weaponry, figures from the 18th century and fragments of sculpture.
The Golden Gate, the grandest palace entrance and the beginning of the road to Salona.
Gigantic statue of Grgur Ninski, carved in 1929 of Grgur, Bishop of Nin, to mark the 1000th anniversary of the Synod of Split.
Archeological Museum, tel: +385 (0) 21 318 720. Open 9am-1pm Tues-Sat, 10am-noon Sundays in winter, 9am-1pm, 4-7pm Tues-Sat, 10am-noon in summer. Masses of early Roman finds including jewellery, coins, sculptures, ceramics.
Fish market, Marmont Street. Just about every fish the Adriatic has to offer can be found at the bustling daily market, from sardines to lobster. A great way to mix with the locals.
Fruit Square. One of the most beautiful squares in the city, often featured in films.
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The best way to find out what’s on is to scan the back pages of Slobodna Dalmacija, the local paper, particularly good for cinema listings and classical events. The Croatian National Theatre (www.hnk-split.hr) stages drama, opera, ballet and classical concerts. And the Split Summer Festival from mid-July to mid-August always features a huge cultural programme.
In summer there are also plenty of open-air pop concerts. For a lively evening out visit the palace area which is lined with bars, but the trendy crowds flock to Duje or Duje 1, nightclubs on Buliceva street or Puls 2 on Buvinina. The city’s chic and beautiful youth hang out at the Tropic Club Equador, (+385 (0) 21 505 772) which also has the best city views. Metropolis, northeast of the old town in the Koteks shopping centre, is one of the city’s best discos on Friday and Saturday nights, sometimes hosted by international DJs.
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Unlikely though it may seem, much of the elegant Georgian style in Bath, Bristol and London derives from Split. The 18th century Scottish architect Robert Adam believed both he and his contemporaries had much to learn from the Romans and so, despite opposition from the city’s dignitaries who almost had him arrested, he spent five weeks in the city studying Diocletian’s palace.
“The people are vastly polite, everything vastly cheap; a most wholesome air and a glorious situation” he wrote of the city. On his return to England he published a book on the palace which caused a widespread sensation and inspired Neoclassical architects across Europe. Adam’s visit to Split influenced all his future work and, as a result, the development of vast chunks of Georgian architecture in England.
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