The 11 essential things to do in Split - Croatia

Diocletian's Palace is the residence the Roman emperor Diocletian had built around 295-305 for his retirement. A fortified enclosure of about 30,000 m², it is laid out around the Peristyle, the colonnaded courtyard, with the emperor's mausoleum, now the Cathedral of Saint Domnius, and the Temple of Jupiter, now a baptistery.

After Salona fell in the 7th century, its inhabitants took refuge in the palace, which became the core of the city. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979 and is still a lived-in neighbourhood you can walk through freely. Beneath the southern half, the vaulted cellars, almost intact, mirror the layout of the vanished imperial apartments above.

In Split, the "old town" is not a district around a monument: it is Diocletian's Palace itself, turned into a lived-in urban core. You enter through four Roman gates (the Golden, Silver, Iron and Bronze Gates) and come out onto the Peristyle, the emperor's former ceremonial courtyard.

Around it, stone lanes link the Cathedral of Saint Domnius, the Temple of Jupiter and squares such as the Pjaca (People's Square, just west of the walls) and Voćni trg, among shops, cafés and flats. Outside the Golden Gate stands Ivan Meštrović's statue of Gregory of Nin, a 10th-century Croatian bishop.

The Riva (officially Obala hrvatskog narodnog preporoda) is the harbour promenade at the foot of the southern façade of Diocletian's Palace. A wide palm-lined esplanade with benches and café terraces, it runs from Republic Square (the Prokurative) in the west to the ferry terminal in the east.

It is the city's living room: people come for the late-afternoon stroll, a coffee facing the Adriatic and the sunset. It also hosts concerts and big celebrations, and excursion boats pick up their passengers here.

Marjan is the wooded hill covering the peninsula west of the historic centre. Covered in pines and crossed by trails, it is the park where Split's residents come to walk, run or cycle.

From the Vidilica viewpoint, above the Varoš district, the view takes in the city, the harbour and the islands of Brač, Šolta and Hvar. Further on, the trails pass small old churches, including Saint Nicholas (Sveti Nikola), and drop down to swimming coves on the south and west shores of the peninsula, such as Kašjuni.

Split is the gateway to the central Dalmatian islands. Hvar, the most popular, is reached by catamaran to Hvar Town or by car ferry to Stari Grad; Brač is famous for Zlatni Rat beach at Bol; Šolta, the closest, stays quiet; Vis, further out, is the base for the Blue Cave on Biševo; Korčula, further south, is better for an overnight stay.

All departures leave from the port, east of the Riva. Timetables change with the season and catamarans sell out quickly in summer.

Bačvice is Split's city beach, in a sheltered bay a quarter of an hour's walk east of the palace. One of the town's rare sandy beaches, it shelves very gently, which makes it a good choice with children.

It is also the birthplace of picigin, the local game in which players keep a small ball in the air with the flat of their hand, standing in shallow water and diving to reach it. In the evening, the bars and clubs above the beach take over.

Salona, in Solin, about 6 km north-east of Split, was the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia. The archaeological park preserves part of the walls, the amphitheatre, baths and several early Christian basilicas with their cemeteries.

It was from Salona, destroyed in the 7th century, that the refugees who settled in Diocletian's Palace came: the visit explains how Split began.

The Meštrović Gallery, in the villa sculptor Ivan Meštrović built at the foot of Marjan, gathers much of his work in its rooms and garden facing the sea. It is Split's standout museum.

Inside the palace, the Split City Museum (Papalić Palace) traces the city's history; the Archaeological Museum, north of the centre, displays finds from Salona; the Gallery of Fine Arts (Galerija umjetnina) shows Croatian painting.

Agencies along the Riva and at the port sell full-day or half-day trips: speedboat tours of the Blue Cave and the islands of Vis and Hvar, the Blue Lagoon near Trogir and Šolta, or a simple cruise along the Marjan coast. Krka National Park and its waterfalls, inland, are visited on a day trip by coach with a short river cruise.

Compare what is included: entry fees for the Blue Cave and Krka park are not always part of the price.

In the evening, Split's life gathers inside the palace and along the Riva. Wine bars and terraces fill the courtyards and lanes within the walls, and the Peristyle comes alive with music on some summer nights. The lanes of Varoš, to the west, keep quieter konobas.

For dancing, the clubs are mostly above Bačvice beach. For a quiet end to the evening, head up Marjan to see the city lit up.

The Split Summer Festival (Splitsko ljeto) stages theatre, opera, music and dance every summer, partly outdoors, in venues such as the Peristyle and the Croatian National Theatre. In July, Ultra Europe, a major electronic music festival, draws tens of thousands of visitors.

In winter, the carnival livens up the city in February. Dates change every year: check the tourist board's calendar before booking.