Visiting Split, Croatia: Top Sights on Foot

Split, a major city in Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia, blends ancient Roman heritage with vibrant Mediterranean life along the Adriatic coast. Built around Diocletian’s Palace, the city offers historic streets, lively waterfronts, green hills and a rich cultural scene that makes it a rewarding destination for every traveller. Neywo offers a free walking tour Split experience with its free audio guide, featuring 66 narrated places in 11 languages.

What to see in Split

Diocletian’s Palace

The palace, built at the end of the third century AD as Emperor Diocletian’s retirement residence, forms about half of the old town and still houses homes, shops and cafés. Its rectangular layout stretches roughly 215 m east‑west and 175‑181 m north‑south, covering about 30 000 m², with the Latin name Palatium Diocletiani reminding visitors of its imperial origins.

Peristil

Just beyond the palace walls lies Peristil, the colonnaded courtyard dating to the turn of the third and fourth centuries. Today the square is framed by impressive ancient columns and serves as a lively gathering point in the heart of Split.

Cathedral of Saint Domnius

Originally erected as Diocletian’s mausoleum in 305, the building was later consecrated as a church and is regarded as the oldest Catholic cathedral still standing in its original form. Its bell tower, likely raised in the thirteenth century, bears an inscription from 1257 naming Kolafisa, widow of Prince Ivan Krški, as a donor.

Fortress Gripe

Overlooking the city from the eastern hill, Fortress Gripe was erected during Venetian rule in the 1600s to guard against Ottoman incursions. Inside its walls sit the Croatian Maritime Museum and the State Archives, preserving Split’s seafaring heritage and historic records.

Grand Papalić Palace

A short walk from the Golden Gate brings you to the Grand Papalić Palace, a late Gothic‑Renaissance residence that has belonged to the Papalić family since the fourteenth century and now houses the Split City Museum. Its core is Romanesque from the thirteenth century, while a mid‑fifteenth‑century commission brought the architect Juraj Dalmatinac to work on the façade, and parts of the original Roman wall survive in the northern façade.

Archaeological Museum Split

Founded in 1820, the Archaeological Museum is Croatia’s oldest museum and holds roughly 150 000 artefacts from prehistory through the early Middle Ages, including items from the ancient cities of Salona and Narona. The purpose‑built building, completed between 1912 and 1914, stands on Zrinsko‑Frankopanska 25 in the Spinut district and features exhibition halls, a library and an arcaded lapidarium.

Ivan Meštrović Gallery

Southwest of the palace, the Ivan Meštrović Gallery occupies the sculptor’s own villa and grounds. Opened in 1952, it displays over 190 sculptures, nearly six hundred drawings and a collection of architectural sketches, all set in a building designed by Meštrović himself.

Museum of Fine Arts Split

Located just north of Diocletian’s Palace, the Museum of Fine Arts moved in 2009 to the renovated Old Hospital building inside the bastion Cornara. It houses an extensive collection of icons from the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries and regularly hosts temporary exhibitions of contemporary Croatian and international art.

Museum of Illusions Split

Opened in 2020, the Museum of Illusions offers interactive exhibits that play with perception, inviting visitors to experience visual tricks and mind‑bending installations just west of Strossmayer’s Park.

Stadion Poljud

Home to Hajduk Split, Stadion Poljud (nicknamed Poljudska Ljepotica) was designed by Greek architect Boris Magaš for the 8th Mediterranean Games and opened in September 1979. Its innovative shape influenced stadium design abroad, and while its original capacity exceeded 55 000 spectators, today it seats about 34 000.

Explore Split with Neywo

Neywo offers a free walking tour Split experience with its free audio guide, featuring 66 narrated places in 11 languages. The guide includes four self‑guided walking tours and one bus route, each telling the story of a location as you reach it, so you can explore at your own pace with no group and no schedule.

• Diocletian’s Palace: A Roman Emperor’s Retirement Home – 0.67 km, 78 minutes, 11 stops
• Venetian Split: Palaces, Squares and the Riva – 0.9 km, 68 minutes, 11 stops
• Marjan Hill: Pines, Hermit Caves and the Meštrović Villa – 3.54 km, 81 minutes, 6 stops
• Market, Archbishops and the Gripe Fortress – 1.82 km, 59 minutes, 6 stops
• Line 21: Riva, Convent and the Pojišan Shrine (bus) – 9.8 km, 42 minutes, 4 stops

Each tour plays automatically when you arrive at a stop, letting you discover Split’s history, culture and sights whenever it suits you.

Nearby destinations

If you have extra time, consider a short trip to the historic town of Trogir, also located in Split-Dalmatia County.