Morning Walk in Split, Croatia

We woke early this morning to wander the streets of Split before it filled with crowds. With over 900 000 tourists visiting a year, we have found that Split is very, very busy. On our walk this morning we discovered there was a huge triathlon on today so that would make it even busier and we were happy with our decision to venture out before breakfast.

The first square that captured our eye as we walked to the Old Town gates was Prokurativa Square. Said to have begun sometime in the mid-19th century, the mayor's intentions were to showcase the fact that the city of Split had a culture deep seeded and rich in Italian tradition and that it supported Italian tradition whole heartedly. This is the reason why the architecture of the square was very similar to Italian buildings from the same era. It is certainly eye-catching with its bright colours compared to many of the stone buildings in town.

The next square we entered was the
People's Square or Narodni Trg, a popular, attractive piazza just outside the Iron Gate. The buildings here are softly coloured and very interesting and is home to many restaurants and bars and dotted by beautiful stone buildings. Since the 14th century the square has been a central meeting area overlooked by an impressive Renaissance clock with a medieval sundial and belfry. It is a very inviting and pretty square.

One of the major attractions in the city of Split, is Diocletian's Palace, an imposing Roman ruin built in 305 AD. The ruins of the palace are among the most valuable buildings on the Adriatic coast from the Roman era. Even though the palace remained vacant for several centuries many residents took refuge at the palace in an attempt to escape a Croat invasion in the 7th century.

Nowadays for the most part, the Palace isn’t really a palace anymore but its complex and winding streets are packed with shops, restaurants, and bars, and it is buzzing with people throughout the day and night. Nevertheless, there are still many buildings that remain that give Split its unique feel.

Peristyle Square is the central square and heart of Diocletian's Palace and is now a meeting place that is overlooked by a 3500 year old sphinx and imposing columns that were shipped from Egypt. It is believed that Emperor Diocletian would appear at the square and have his subjects approach him. It is one of the popular tourist attractions although it is well frequented by the locals as well and we were lucky to finally see it fairly empty. Early morning outings do have their benefits.

There are so many more historic sites through the old town of Split and we managed to admire as many as possible before the crowds hit. Feeling quite bruised and battered still we chose to return to our apartment to rest a bit before heading out again.Læs mere