Split

Split, Croatia

Archaeologists searching for a lost tower at Diocletian’s Palace found something better in 2025: a hidden tunnel sealed for 500 years, connecting the palace cellars to a staircase leading directly to the emperor’s private quarters. The discovery was made during routine excavation and remains the most significant find at the site in decades. Split is still giving up secrets from a palace that has been continuously inhabited for 1,700 years.

Split is unusual in ways most coastal cities are not. The old town isn’t adjacent to a Roman monument – it is one. Diocletian’s Palace, built as a retirement residence for the emperor in the late 3rd century AD, was later occupied by refugees and eventually became the living core of the city. Around 3,000 people still live inside the palace walls. Apartments and bars occupy what were once imperial corridors, and the octagonal mausoleum that held Diocletian’s remains became a Christian cathedral – arguably the only case in history of a persecutor’s tomb being repurposed to worship people he had executed.

The Palace

Walking the palace isn’t a museum visit. There’s no set route, no entrance fee for most of it, and people’s laundry hangs above you. The Peristyle, the central colonnaded courtyard, is where most people congregate, especially in the evenings. The Cathedral of Saint Domnius (Sveti Duje) is inside the mausoleum – admission around EUR 6 for the treasury and campanile combined. Climbing the bell tower gives views over the red rooflines and across the harbour. The basement halls (cellar substructures) require a separate ticket around EUR 5.50 and are worth it for scale and for understanding how large and intentional the original palace was.

The biggest mistake visitors make is spending all day inside the palace. The Riva waterfront promenade runs along the south facade and is where Split actually functions as a city. Early morning it’s quiet; by evening it’s loud and very good.

Beaches

Bacvice is a 15-minute walk east from the palace along the waterfront. A sandy beach by Croatian standards (the country is mostly pebble), it’s the local spot for picigin – a traditional ball game played in knee-deep water, invented here in Split, and on the UNESCO intangible heritage list since 2009. The beach bars are busy from late afternoon. Kastelat and Znjan beaches further east are less crowded.

Eating

Konoba Matoni on Ul. od Milaca is a reliable choice for grilled fish and lamb – straightforward Dalmatian cooking, prices fair, no theatre. Villa Spiza near the palace walls does small plates and whatever came in that day, no printed menu, always a queue by 19:00. Both are better than anything at the Riva tourist strip.

Trznica (the Green Market) on the east side of the palace is worth a walk through in the morning for local produce, cheese, and dried figs.

Getting to the Islands

The ferry terminal is five minutes from the palace. Hvar takes about an hour by catamaran. Brac is 50 minutes by car ferry. Both can be done as day trips, though Hvar town in July and August requires either very early arrival or patience with crowds that make Split itself look empty.

Where to Stay

Hotels inside or immediately beside the palace charge the wall-view premium, which is real. Budget options are a 10-minute walk east toward Bacvice – quieter and more local, which has its own advantages. July and August bookings should be made months ahead.

Getting There

Split Airport is 25km from the city. The airport bus runs to the bus station for a few euros. Ferry connections from Ancona and other Italian ports are frequent in summer and worth considering if you’re coming from Italy – arriving by sea and seeing the palace walls rising from the waterfront is a better introduction than any road approach.