Vis was founded as the Greek colony of Issa in 397 BC, the first proper urban settlement on the Croatian coast, and pieces of the original city are still visible at the western edge of Vis town. The most accessible remains are the Roman thermal baths — a small set of well-preserved rooms with mosaic floors — and stretches of the original Greek city wall that frame several houses in the modern street grid.
The Archaeological Collection in the Battery (the Austrian-built coastal fortification on the eastern end of the bay) holds the finds: jewellery, ceramics, the gilded bronze head of an Aphrodite figurine that is the highlight of the collection. Open daily in summer, weekday mornings in winter. Allow an hour for the museum and another for a slow walk through the archaeological zone.