Split

The shape of the place

Split is a working city that happens to contain a monument, which is why it feels different from a preserved old town. There is a ferry port, a market, traffic, and people going to the office through a Roman peristyle. Stay inside or just outside the walls and you can leave the car parked for days.

Eating

Look for konoba — small family taverns, usually a short walk off the main squares. Peka (meat or octopus baked slowly under a bell-shaped lid) usually needs ordering hours ahead, so ask at lunch for dinner. The green market and fish market near the palace walls are open early and are the cheapest lunch in town.

What to see

• Diocletian's Palace

  Not a ruin behind a rope. The 4th-century palace became the town itself: shops, flats and bars occupy the Roman structure, and the substructures underneath are open to walk through. Go early, before the cruise groups.

• Marjan Hill

  The pine-covered headland west of the centre, laced with paths and small chapels. Twenty minutes uphill gets you the view of the old town, the harbour and the islands that every postcard uses.

• Riva at dusk

  The waterfront promenade is where the whole city walks between about seven and nine. It is the most reliable free thing to do in Dalmatia.

• Klis Fortress

  Fifteen minutes inland, a fortress strung along a ridge with the whole coastal plain below it. Worth the short drive for the approach alone.

Getting around

Split is the hinge of a Dalmatian trip. The centre is walkable and a car is a liability inside the walls — but it is the natural base for a day at sea and the start of the coast road south. Most travellers here end up wanting three separate things: somewhere central to sleep, a boat for a day among the islands, and a car for a few days of driving. Book the stay first and add the other two around your dates.