If I were to choose my favorite city in Croatia, it would be Split. I adore it for its historical architecture blended into modern buildings, creating a unique mix of history and contemporary times. It’s one of the cities where even being there and walking through the narrow streets feels magical and enchants you with its atmosphere.
During my last visit to Croatia I’ve been to Split for only one day but these several hours were enough to amaze me one more time and make me want to come back there, drink coffee at a seaside boardwalk, look at the sun setting behind the city and the mountains, and go for a night wander among beautifully and mysteriously lit white city walls.
If you haven’t been to Split yet, today I’d like to take you for a walk through its streets. I hope that photographs will carry you for a little while to this city vibrant with life and mesmerizing with its Mediterranean atmosphere.
Let’s go then!
It’s an early morning and the city is coming to life. Before the summer white heat comes from the sky and walking in the sunlight isn’t that arduous, I decide to go for a walk to Marjan hill. It’s one of the vital recreation spots for the city residents. It has it all when it comes to an active rest: walking paths, running paths, even tennis courts. There are stone steps leading to the hill and they start at a port so you can climb them and admire white boats floating on the water and dancing to the wind. At 8:00 the place is empty so I climb the steps in the silence interrupted by singing birds and rustling trees.
After about 20 minutes I’m on the top. Next to a restaurant serving coffee with a city view there is a scenic overlook. Beautiful panoramic view on the city below, palm tree promenade and mountains looking like they’re falling into the sea awakens me completely.
The sun beams softly touch the skin on my face, slight wind plays with my hair and I recall why do I love European cities’ climate so much. Extraordinary blend of history, nature and little joys of everyday life cannot be copied in any other part of the world.
When I descend to the port connected to the promenade, the city is already full of energy. And that’s its nature because the seaside promenade – Riva – is the heart of the city and the place where social life of Split residents thrives. To the right, I enjoy the view of endless azure, to the left, there is an array of wonderful soaring palm trees giving the city an exotic taste.
There’s a plentitude of cafes, restaurants and ice-cream parlors, so it’s the perfect moment for the first coffee at a sidewalk café.
Croatians love to sip their espressos here and observe other people. No wonder, it’s the little joy of everyday life which we often miss in a daily rush.
During the summer walks I like to wear light dresses and comfortable sandals:
dress – SHEIN
sandals – DEEZEE
glasses – ZARA
necklace – MINTY DOT
It’s high time I move on and delve into architecture blend of historical and contemporary times, so Diocletian’s Palace – the symbol of Split and its main attraction (it was included into UNESCO World Cultural Heritage register in 1979).
Diocletian wanted to build a summer residence that would include, apart from residential rooms, also rooms and baileys suitable for large army units. That’s how such a large building of 39 000 sq. meters was created. With the passage of time it blended into modern architecture and became an integral part of the old town. Previous corridors and rooms are now streets and squares of the Split center.
Inside the palace there were two perpendicular streets ending with four gates: Gold, Silver, Iron and Bronze, they were named by the materials they were made of.
The whole palace was surrounded by the fortified walls, here and there reaching up to 26 meters. Another fascinating thing is the fact that the water was delivered to the palace all the way from Salona inside a 9-kilometre aqueduct! Some of its remains can still be seen.
At present, inside the palace walls there are 220 buildings inhabited by 3 000 people. I raise my head up and here they are. Above the tourists crowds I can see the clothesline dryers, after looking more closely I also notice staircases entries and TV noise coming from the windows here and there.
One of the best preserved palace parts is its bailey – peristyle. It’s hard to overlook because it’s located below the streets surrounding it.
It’s eastern part is an entry to Saint Dujam’s Cathedral. It’s the most characteristic remain of the old town due to the shape of squat rotunda with high and slender bell tower.
Nowadays, the Cathedral in Split is the oldest cathedral in the world – it dates back to 4th century. There is a paradoxical story related to it. Before it became a cathedral, it was Diocletian’s mausoleum – he was one of the toughest early Christians’ persecutor. It was only in 8th century when it became a Christian cathedral named after the saint who was killed by the Diocletian. The fate can be unusually twisted.
A mandatory thing to do is climbing a historic Gothic-Romanesque bell tower which has been being built for three centuries (13th-16th). An entry is challenging because it’s 61 meters high. Stairs are narrow and you need to watch out while passing people going down.
I can admit it to you, despite I don’t have the fear of altitude, I felt out of my element climbing up there. However, the view was worth it. It was a breathtaking panoramic view of the old town, Marjan hill, harbor and ferries sailing way off in the distance.
Although the landscape was stunning, I’m glad to be down here now :)
Next to the palace I take one of the side streets and go in the direction of famous Split fresh air market. I adore places like that. It entices you with colors and flavors, it’s a feast for eyes to look at meticulously arranged fruits and vegetables (tasting figs and grapes is a must!). Prices here are way lower because locals buy here. It’s a good place to buy local cheese or conserves (e.g. delicious chestnut honey).
After all of my looking at these goodies I’m starting to be hungry so it’s perfect time for grabbing a bite and resting for a while from the summer heat. I choose a tiny restaurant in one of the side streets. It has three tables inside and two more in the middle of the sidewalk. Riant faces of local people and dishes on their plates encourage me to stay. My intuition didn’t let me down because the food is exquisite and cheap. I’m not alone there so I taste quite a lot ;)
We order fresh seafood – calamari and mussels boiled in wine accompanied by mozzarella with ripe tomatoes and bruschetta with anchovy. Everything is exceptional and disappears from our plates in a blink of an eye.
It’s late afternoon and today I need to drive to Plitvice Lakes National Park so tomorrow I have all day for this remarkable national park (read more HERE). When I came back to Riva I met a Santa Caluse going for a tropical holidays :) Only in Split :)
The time spent in Split passes by so quickly, it’s impossible to be bored here. The city involves you into extraordinary atmosphere and vibrant energy. It’s one of the places you can visit again and again and you never get bored.
Have you ever been to Split? What impression did it make on you?
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