The Diocletian Palace
It was a rainy night so I got a really great night of sleep. My day in Split, Croatia started off about as good as it could get - as the other guests were checking out very early in the morning I was brought breakfast to my room! I had a very tasty omelette and fruit plate that I was able to eat in my incredible room at Hotel Vestibul Palace. After getting ready I made my way out to explore the city, which I was quite literally (as in my room shared a wall with Diocletian's Palace) right in the middle of.
My first stop was the area of right outside of the hotel. The heart of Diocletian's Palace, it had attractions including the Cattedrale di San Domino, the bell tower, and the mausoleum. The bell tower was my favorite part as it offered some great views of the city and the coastline. From there I made my way to the basement area of Diocletian's Palace that runs basically right under my hotel. There was a small admission fee and then I was able to walk around all of the underground tunnels. It was very cool to see something so old still in such great shape. While it was just the basement it was interesting to imagine the palace above, as the layout of the basement directly mimicked that of the now mostly lost main floor.
After walking around for a bit I then walked up Dioklecijanova ulica street and rubbed the toe of the famous Grgur Ninski statue. It was getting cold out so I decided to make my next stop the Split Gallery of Fine Arts. It was such a great museum! It was not huge but had art ranging from all periods that was distinctly Croatian. I spent a good bit of time enjoying the exhibitions before heading to visit Froggyland, a bizarre tourist trip with great reviews. However, I ran into my only seasonal closure of the day as Froggyland was closed for the winter! Next time, I guess!
After the failed Froggyland adventure I made a few quick stops, including Konoba Pjaca (the city clock) in Narodni trg (square). I then walked along the water, in an area called Riva, and also stopped by a really unique square called Terasa Prokurative. I then walked a little farther along the water to eat a tasty pizza at a really cool restaurant called Pizzeria Bokamorra. The interior was amazing and made the great pizza experience even better!
After finishing up dinner I headed back to Hotel Vestibul Palace to get a good night’s sleep before an early morning bus ride. I had a really perfect day in Split. The city is amazingly historic and just so unique, and I had it almost entirely to myself thanks to it being January. I definitely recommend a visit to this super unique spot. Tomorrow I’ll be heading to Bosnia and starting my adventure through the Baltic countries!
84 countries down, 112 to go.
Read about my first day in Croatia here.
To learn more about Hotel Vestibul Palace click here.
