Split is Croatia's second city and the capital of the Dalmatian coast — a working port that doubles, almost incidentally, as one of the best-preserved Roman sites in Europe. The city has grown up inside and around the walls of Diocletian's Palace, an enormous 3rd-century imperial retirement complex that is still fully inhabited. Around 3,000 people live inside the palace walls today; the rest of the city has spread along the coast and up the hills behind.
The palace itself is the main draw. The Peristyle, the ceremonial courtyard at its heart, has been the social centre of the city for 1,700 years; the Cathedral of St Domnius — originally Diocletian's mausoleum — and the Temple of Jupiter occupy the western sector; the underground cellars mirror the palace floor plan below; and the Golden Gate on the north side has Ivan Meštrović's enormous bronze statue of Gregory of Nin standing in front of it, his toe polished gold by a thousand superstitious hands. West of the palace, the Riva promenade runs along the harbour edge, and then Marjan Hill rises into pine forest with the Meštrović Gallery on its lower slopes and Kašjuni beach below.
The city's atmosphere comes partly from the ancient bones and partly from the life lived inside them. The Prokurative and the old Croatian National Theatre speak to a civic confidence that goes back to the Austrian and Venetian periods. The fishing neighbourhood of Varoš immediately outside the western palace gate is the most local-feeling part of the centre. The Bačvice beach, ten minutes' walk from the old town, is where picigin is played — a waterball game unique to Split. And the utterly inexplicable Froggyland, a collection of 507 taxidermied frogs in human poses, is one of the most cheerfully strange museums in Europe.
Split is also the main ferry hub for the Dalmatian islands. Brač, Hvar, Vis, Šolta, Korčula, and Dubrovnik by catamaran are all reachable from the main harbour. The Roman ruins of ancient Salona are a short bus ride north; the UNESCO-listed medieval town of Trogir is 30 minutes west.