You can see why the emperor built his retirement home here.

View of the Islands from the bus between Dubrovnik and Split
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I arrived in Split after dark so didn't get to see much on my first night. My first priority was to find the youth hostel and get rid of my bag. I had read on the web that the hostel could be difficult to find so I didn't want to be wandering around in the dark for ages lugging my stuff. I didn't have much trouble finding the right street (though, street signs that aren't the same colour as the buildings that they are on would be a really good idea, guys!) but had a little trouble finding the right house (street lights would be another bonus). I eventually worked out which one it was by counting down from the only street number that I could see and taking a stab. It luckily turned out that I was right as negotiating the stairs in the dark with the bag on my back could have been difficult.

Sunset over the coast near Split
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The hostel is really nice and not too crowded at the moment. I had a good night's sleep and got up the next morning all ready to hit the old town. The weather has been fantastic while I have been here and Sunday was no exception. It was 21 degrees and bright sunlight for nearly the whole day. I started with the old town and Diocletian's Palace. It was built by a Roman emperor who was planning to come and retire to the Croatian coast. And on a day like Sunday you could see why. The palace is no longer complete because over the centuries the locals have moved into it and built new stuff over the top or pilfered the stone for other things. So it is a weird mix of ancient Roman, gothic, renaissance and more modern. It looks really good though and is fantastic to just walk around in. Don't bother with the maps and the walking tours, just follow your nose and within a couple of hours you will have seen everything that you want to plus a little more. The locals still live in the palace even though it is world heritage and there is washing hanging out over the streets. It's nice to see something old being lived in.

The silver gate in the Palace in Split
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Some of the highlights of the old town include the cathedral, the remains of the palace and the Temple of Jupiter (which was converted to become the Baptistry of St John). I'm not sure when the cathedral opens during the week as there was no sign on the doors saying what the opening hours are. As it was Sunday, it was open for services so I popped in after one of them. It is lovely inside with a strange mix of Roman and more modern architecture. The original octagonal structure was built to be a tomb for Diocletian but was later adapted into a church. The carvings around the ceiling are lovely. There are also some lovely marble pieces within the church behind the altar. The doors are also magnificently carved.

The Cathedral of St Dominic in Split
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The remains of the entry into the palace and the basement are also worth a good look. The dome of the main entrance into the Emperor's section of the palace is missing but the rest of the stone work still remains. Underneath this is the basement of the palace which now contains a lot of tourist stalls. There is a section that you can go into which has nothing in it but the ruins but it wasn't open on Sunday and I haven't had a chance to go back again to go in as it only opens short hours in the off season (9-2).

The Cathedral again
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The St John Baptistery is just off one of the alleys near the cathedral and used to be a Roman temple before being converted. It's 5 kuna to get in and it also didn't seem to advertise it's opening times. I'm sure that the tourist office knows when all these things are open but they don't open on Sundays either. It's not a big building and is a single room inside. There is a large cross shaped carved marble box in the middle of the room, two marble chests and a statue which I assume is of St John. The ceiling is covered in marble carvings. Unfortunately they are cleaning the front of the building at the moment so you can't see the carvings on the outside.

The St John Baptistry which used to be the temple of Jupiter
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I just wandered around the rest of the town as there are lots of nice well preserved buildings and strange little alleyways. I sat on the promenade and had my sandwich. It's a very pleasant place to sit when it is sunny and warm. The promenade is lined with restaurants and cafes and I imagine would be a very nice place to waste time during the summer.

After lunch I walked around the waterfront to the next marina which offers good views across the water back to the old town. From there, after much wandering around looking for the stairs, I headed up onto Marjan Hill. This seems to be a very popular place for an afternoon walk for the locals and there were quite a few people up there. There are several walking tracks that loop around the hill and go past several churches and the zoo. There is also a lookout point on the very top of the hill that gives nice views over the bay. You can't really see the city from here though as you have come too far around. It was very relaxing just walking around in the sunshine and I lay down on the top of the hill and read a book for a little while until the sun disappeared into the clouds and it started to get cold.

They have really nice gardens in the courtyards inside the palace
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The little churches on the hill aren't open but are very cute from the outside and remind me of the churches in pictures of the Greek Islands. Other than the stairs to get up the hill, the walk isn't particularly hard or steep and the paths are quite wide. I think there is a longer way that you can go that avoids the steps to get to the walking paths as I saw people on bikes and with pushers and I can't imagine them carrying them up the stairs.

I then headed back to the hostel via the outside edge of the old town and the parks at the back of it. I was lucky enough to have the dorm to myself for the night which was very pleasant.

Looking up through the broken dome of part of the palace
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Today I went out to Trogir which you can read about in the next entry and came back late this afternoon. I've spent a couple of hours trying to find somewhere to stay in Pula that doesn't cost the earth or only let you book it for the whole week. The internet is proving frustrating today.

Tomorrow I head onto Zadar in the morning and have a few days there, so stay tuned.