When I first caught the opening scenes of King’s landing in the renown series, Game of thrones, I knew I had to visit one day and see this amazing medieval fortress of a city for myself. For my trip, I covered as much of Croatia within 8 days so we picked two cities and an island to visit: Split, Hvar and Dubrovnik.

Split located on the eastern site of the Adriatic sea with 180,000 residents is the second largest city after Zagreb in Croatia. Its also one of the most well preserved ancient cities I’ve seen to date. The ancient centre is like nothing one has experienced with an entire district showcasing a Roman palace built for the emperor in AD305 still preserved till today after 1716 years.

We chose a very interesting location to stay at, an Airbnb located within the Dioceletian palace grounds and just across an ancient bell tower with a clock. The apartment stay was not only convenient to get to all the attractions. Just 3 mins walk to Saint Domnius Cathedral and located within the heart of Dioceletian palace, its also safe for a solo traveler to return home at night as the various restaurants operating right below the apartment buildings open till late and streets are lit up.

To find details of where I stayed, you can refer to my list of recommended Airbnb apartments here. Meantime, here are the top 10 attractions you should not miss when in Split:

Dioceletian’s Palace

Diocletian’s Palace stands out in the heart of Split city and you’d be in awe of this UNESCO-listed site with the original Roman streets still existing as of today cutting through the complex. Decumanus and Cardo still having their original paving stones of the Roman era. The palace was intended as a retirement residence for Diocletian and was built for the Emperor’s personal use and storage of military garrison. Be sure to view the golden, bronze, silver and iron, gate which allow visitors to enter the palace grounds from the north, south, east and west directions.

Saint Domnius Cathedral

The Cathedral of Saint Domnius locally known as Sveti Dujam is formed from an Imperial Roman mausoleum and a bell tower. Consecrated at the turn of the 7th century AD, this cathedral is regarded as the oldest Catholic cathedral in the world that still remains in use in its original structure. While you’re visiting the premises of this impressively preserved temple, don’t miss out on climbing the bell tower to get the best view of Split’s shoreline. Take note: The bell tower gets rung every hour so just be cautious to not get shocked by the volume of the bell ringing when making your way up and down the long flight of stairs.

Jupiter’s Temple

The Temple of Jupiter is a temple dedicated to the Ancient Roman god Jupiter. Reliefs depicting gods and various heroes such as Victoria, Triton, Helios, Hercules, Jupiter and Apollo, are placed in front of the Temple, above the entrance with one of twelve sphinxes brought from Egypt by Emperor Diocletian.

Located in the western part of Diocletian’s Palace near the Peristyle, the central square of the imperial complex. It was built between 295 and 305, during the construction of the Palace, and was probably turned into a Baptistery of St. John the Baptist in the 6th century, at the same time when the crypt dedicated to St. Thomas was built.

Sunset at the Riva, Split’s Harbour

The Riva started to look the way it is today around two centuries ago, when the French, in time of Napoleon ruled these parts through Marshal Marmont. Today this promenade is a pedestrian heaven, lined with shops, cafes and restaurants, a perfect place for having your morning coffee, afternoon rose and an evening out with friends over dinner.

Get tanned on Split’s gorgeous beaches

One of the things I missed while being in Split was enjoying their beaches and this is a huge pity! We took a day out to head to Plitvice Lakes national parks and had to head on to Dubrovnik afterwards. So my recommendation is take a day out of your trip to just enjoy some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. You’ll find the majority of Split beaches southeast and northwest of the old town. 

Kasjuni beach, a pebble beach located right beneath Marjan hill is roughly 3km away from the town’s center and has the most stunning shoreline. There are sun shades and deck chairs up for rent and you can reach here by foot, bus no. 12, or by bicycle. Bacvice, a sand beach and Ovcice pebble beach nearer to the old town and have bars, restaurants and activities surrounding them which means lots tourists also tend to visit these popular beach locations so you can expect crowds. If you’re looking for a quieter spot, Kasjuni is your best bet.

Taste the local cuisine

Have coffee and a french toast breakfast along the Rive at Brasserie on 7 or have a romantic dinner with your other half on an open roof terrace at Articok. Interested in trying out local authentic dishes? Then you need to visit DeListes restaurant where they serve their popular squid with beans stew dish favoured by both locals and tourists. If you’re a foodie like myself and keen to try out both local cuisine (like stuffed peppers with meat aka Punjene Paprike) and restaurants with thumbs up service, head over to my restaurant recommendations marked out on google maps below.

Visit Plitvice Lakes National Park

Why visit this national park? If you haven’t heard of Plitvice Lakes National Park, consider including national park in your bucket list with its picturesque series of blue lakes, caves and countless waterfalls. Making it into the UNESCO World Heritage list 1979, this national park is famous for it cascading lakes that are all intertwined.

There are 16 lakes altogether in this park and at different altitudes. Its renown blue azure to turquoise waters are a result of the quantity of minerals or organisms in the water and so clear you can see the bottom of the lake easily. The tallest waterfall in this park, Veliki slap stands at 78m tall and is quite a remarkable sight when you finally gaze upon it. The entire trip to Plitvice Lakes National Park took 12 hours with the get your guide tour taking us by coach from Split city to the park so make sure you buffer in a day for this trip.

Hidden history in Krka National Park

Another similar attraction ranking high on the tourist attractions list is Krka National Park. I had to give this park a miss as we had chosen Plitvice Lakes National Park. Consisting of a network of waterfalls, islands and lakes, the national park also preserves a very old Roman Catholic monastery founded by Franciscians in 1445 on the Visovac island and a hidden Roman military base. You can still visit and admire the only military amphitheatre in Croatia which was built in the rule of Emperor Claudius dating back to thousands of years ago.

Canoe into the sunset

There are plenty of water sports for visitors to enjoy on the beaches of Split. From kayaking out sea to stand up paddling along the coastline to private sun set sailing if you have the moolah to spend. For my personal pick, I’d opt for the 4 hour half-day Split Sea Kayak adventure by Red Adventures Croatia tour agency to practice your kayaking skills before heading out, and have a local guide telling you bout Croatian history and culture. Theres also cliff jumping from low, medium and high spots to feed your need for adrenaline. Is 4 hours too short? Not to worry, there’s also the option of the Southern cliffs sea kayak adventure that lasts around 6 hour and brings you off the beaten track to tourist-less routes.

Marjan Peak

Need some exercise after all that good food? Why not venture up to this viewing point and enjoy a stunning view of Split city. Personally I did not have enough time to climb up to this viewing point and would love to hike up to this summit if given another chance.

On the west end of the Riva in Split Old Town, head past the Church and Monastery of St. Francis until you reach the Marjan Hill Stairs. Head up to the top of the stairs and you’d come across a restaurant, Vidilica looking out to the city while further up there’s an old Jewish Cemetery. This is the first lookout point where you can see the bell tower of rising above the city center. Head up the hiking path further and you’d reach the summit of the hill where a large crucifix can be seen, Vrh Telegrin. From here, you’d be able to see the city and the surrounding islands on the Adriatic Sea. Continue further west on the hill to viewing point, Vidikovac and you can see Kasjuni beach below.

Tip for Game of thrones fans: Located on the foot of Marjan Hill on the south side is Villa Dalmacija where a Game of Thrones scene was shot when Jamie and his daughter leave Dorne. The beautiful villa is built at tranquil quiet location and has a secluded little beach. These days its mostly used as a wedding venue.

Klis Fortress

The medieval fortress the perfect set for Meereen city to be filmed in the Game of Thrones series has a long ancient history. This medieval fortress started off as a small stronghold built by the ancient Illyrian tribe Dalmatae and became a royal castle for many Croatian kings, to its final development as a large fortress during the Ottoman wars in Europe. Klis Fortress has guarded the frontier for almost 2000 years due to its location on a pass that separates the mountains Mosor and Kozjak, its also served as a major source of defense against the Ottoman advancement.

To get to this fortress, there are three ways:

1. You either rent a car to drive up to this mountain location. It takes around 30 mins and is 12km away from Split city center.
2. Take a full day guided tour here and visit three of the most important historic sites around Split; Roman ruins of Salona, the Klis Fortress and Trogir, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For GOTR fans, you can sign up for a Game of Thrones tour and get to see the filming spots off where Daenerys Targaryen launch an attack on the mountain top of Meereen city.
3. Last but not least if you’re into sightseeing at your pace, sign up for the hop on and off bus where you can take in the beauty of the coast and hop off at Klis Fortress to explore at your own time.

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Thank you for reading my post! I’ve had a wonderful experience while visiting Croatia in 2017 and recapping the memories has been a blast for me that I’m contemplating on making a return trip back this year.