Split Walking Tour: A Guide to its Old Town and Marjan Hill

(63 reviews)

Split audio tour: Split Walking Tour: A Guide to its Old Town and Marjan Hill

This is a 0.9mi walking tour

It takes an average of 60 mins to complete.

Split

Croatia

$11.99

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About the Tour

Discover the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Split’s Old Town and the neighboring green oasis of Marjan Hill on this walking tour.

Starting in front of the bronze Model of the historical core of the city of Split, I'll share the Roman and medieval Old Town’s history. I’ll guide you through Diocletian's Palace and picturesque squares including Pjaca, Fruit and Prokurative, before taking you along Split Riva and Promenada. Along the way, you’ll find out what the area was like under Venetian, French, Austrian-Hungarian and Yugoslavian rule. After visiting the hustle and bustle of Split’s Old Town center, I’ll show you the lovely Marjan hill where you can enjoy sweeping vistas across the city. Marjan Hill was a sacred place for the locals, once filled with ancient temples that were replaced by the Christian churches that are still scattered around the forested area today.

Along the way, you’ll have a chance to:

Take in Diocletian's Palace, the grand palatial home of the Roman Emperor Diocletian in the 4th century
See the basement level of the Palace with its substructures and learn about the very unusual reason why they are so well preserved
Sit and relax on Peristil Square with views of the Mausoleum, St. Domnius's Cathedral and Jupiter's Temple, and hear about the rituals that used to take place there
Pass through the Golden Gate and follow the local tradition for good luck
Learn about the former Jewish ghetto and the synagogue still in use in the area
Explore Varoš, a charming 17th to 19th-century former fishermen's neighborhood while you climb the steps to the old Jewish cemetery and Marjan hill

By the end of this one hour tour, you’ll have a better understanding of the rich history, local lifestyle and peculiar details that make Split so unique. You’ll also get recommendations on what to do and see after the tour.

Tour Producer

Sanja

11 tours

Hello traveller!

I’m Sanja, a licensed tour guide and foreign language teacher. My love for languages and travel began at an early age and, over time, grew into a lifelong profession. I earned my Master’s degree in Linguistics and Literature and have been working as a teacher and guide since 2011.

Fluent in English, Italian, French and Spanish, and conversational in Portuguese, I enjoy connecting with visitors from around the world and sharing the stories of the places I know best. My expertise spans Dalmatia, Croatia and Montenegro.

Through my VoiceMap tours, I explore local history, architecture, culture, gastronomy and everyday life—along with the fascinating details and peculiarities that make each location unique. I’m delighted to guide you through these remarkable places and hope my tours help you experience them with curiosity, insight and joy.

Welcome!

Preview Location

Location 3

Peristil square

When you arrive at the square, look around and try to find a place where you can sit or stand while you listen.

Welcome to the heart of the imperial palace, its religious center, Peristil square. This was the place where the emperor was worshipped by his subjects as a livin... When you arrive at the square, look around and try to find a place where you can sit or stand while you listen.

Welcome to the heart of the imperial palace, its religious center, Peristil square. This was the place where the emperor was worshipped by his subjects as a living deity, the son of the main Roman god Jupiter. The ritual was held during the time he was living in the palace, approximately 11 years. On those occasions, he would come out from his apartment and stand on the elevated space just above the stairway you climbed to come to the square. His subjects would lie on the floor of the square, face down, to show admiration. It was forbidden to look him in the eye. After his death, at the age of about 70, they could continue worshipping him in his Mausoleum. It is the octagonal building surrounded by columns behind the belltower. In the meantime, the building changed its function and became a Christian cathedral, so the belltower was added in front in the 13th century. This change was actually deliberate. You see, apart from being an emperor with impressively long and successful career, Diocletian is remembered in history as a persecutor of Christians. Being a living god, the son of Jupiter, he wanted people to believe in him, and not in the new religion that was then developing, so he persecuted its members. Eventually, Christianity became the official religion of the empire, and Christians were free to start cancelling their enemy Diocletian from history. They changed his Mausoleum into a Cathedral and destroyed his body and his sarcophagus inside, as well as any statues showing Diocletian anywhere in the palace. Ironically, they put inside the remains of a man who died as a martyr during the persecutions. His name is St. Domnius, and he is the official patron saint of Split to whom the Cathedral is dedicated. It is now an active Roman Catholic cathedral open for mass, weddings and baptisms, as well as visiting. I suggest you do this after the tour. You can get the ticket in the ticket office opposite the Cathedral and you can use it also to visit Jupiter's temple, as it is included in the price of the ticket.

Let's discuss the name of the square, too. The word ''Peristil'' is of Greek origin, and if translated into English, it means ''surrounded by columns''. If you look around, you will see that on 3 sides of the square there are granite columns that actually came from Egypt. Back in his day, Diocletian was successful in conquering Egypt so he could take whatever he wanted from Egyptian temples to decorate his palace. He also brought sphinxes. By now, you have probably noticed the black granite sphinx that stands close to the belltower. It is the oldest thing we have in the palace, 3500 years old. In comparison, the palace is 1700 years old. This is not the only sphinx we have in the palace. 12 of them were found, but originally there might have been even more. A sphinx is a combination of a human head and a lion body. This sphinx is the only one that is still complete, others were decapitated by early Christians who considered them to be a pagan symbol. You will see more sphinxes on the way, but just the lion body or the human head, not both together.

Take your time to enjoy the square and when you are ready, head along the narrow street opposite the Cathedral, in between the two medieval nobility houses. You will be going towards Jupiter's temple. Read More

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Major Landmarks

Model of the historical core of the city of Split
Brass Gate
Diocletian's Palace
Diocletian's Cellars
Peristil
Saint Domnius Cathedral
Saint Domnius Bell Tower
Sphinx
Sphinx
Jupiter's Temple
Vestibul
Silver Gate
Cardo Maximus / glavna rimska cesta
Palace Augubio
Golden Gate
Monument to Gregory of Nin
The bell tower and the Chapel of the Holy Arnir
Bosanska ulica
Split Synagogue
People's Square
Old Town Hall
Iron Gate
Gradska ura
Radić Brothers Square (Fruit Square)
Marko Marulic Statue
Venetian Tower
Split Riva
Marmontova ulica
Fishmarket
Republic Square
Church and Convent of St. Francis
Varoš
Trg Šperun
Senjska ulica
Old Jewish cemetery
Viewpoint to Marjan
Marjan

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
21.000, 21000, Grad, Split, Croatia
Total distance

2km
Final location
Šetalište Luke Botića 3, 21000, Split, Croatia
Distance back to start location

755.99m

Directions to Starting Point

Start: Obala hrvatskog narodnog preporoda 22

The tour begins by the bronze model of the old town on Riva promenade by the sea. The model is situated next to a parking lot and in front of the south entrance to Diocletian's palace.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

This tour does not require entering any museums or sites (with entrance fees). However, the sites will be suggested for visiting after the tour. The listener may also pause the audio tour to visit the sites when they are mentioned and explained on the recording, and continue listening upon leaving the site (this refers to Diocletian's palace substructures, St. Domnius's cathedral / the Mausoleum and Jupiter's temple).
If you want to sit down for a while during the tour, it can be pleasant to sit at the cafe on Peristil square while you listen to the recording about that site and/ or at the cafe at the viewpoint on Marjan hill while you enjoy the view of the town.

Best time of day

It is possible to do the tour all year long, every day of the week including holidays because there is no entry to museums or other sites that operate on a schedule. However, you should bear in mind that if you are visiting from May to October, the busier part of the year, the streets might be crowded with people and there might be background noise. My suggestion is to do the tour early in the morning or later in the afternoon to avoid the crowds. Also, if you are visiting in winter, from November to February, note that it gets dark already by 4 or 5 pm, so make sure you finish the tour before that time. Summer months can be very hot, with scorching sun, and winter days can be rainy and/ or windy.

Precautions

I suggest wearing comfortable walking shoes. The tour is not suited for people who have difficulties climbing steps (there are 2 stairways on the way).

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Questions and Reviews

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63 Ratings

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Sense of Place

100%

Navigation

93%

Production Quality

100%

Depth of Info

93%

Route

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Split Walking Tour: A Guide to its Old Town and Marjan Hill

About the Tour

Tour Producer

Sanja

Preview Location

Location 3

Peristil square

How VoiceMap Works

Major Landmarks

Model of the historical core of the city of Split

Brass Gate

Diocletian's Palace

Diocletian's Cellars

Peristil

Saint Domnius Cathedral

Saint Domnius Bell Tower

Sphinx

Sphinx

Jupiter's Temple

Vestibul

Silver Gate

Cardo Maximus / glavna rimska cesta

Palace Augubio

Golden Gate

Monument to Gregory of Nin

The bell tower and the Chapel of the Holy Arnir

Bosanska ulica

Split Synagogue

People's Square

Old Town Hall

Iron Gate

Gradska ura

Radić Brothers Square (Fruit Square)

Marko Marulic Statue

Venetian Tower

Split Riva

Marmontova ulica

Fishmarket

Republic Square

Church and Convent of St. Francis

Varoš

Trg Šperun

Senjska ulica

Old Jewish cemetery

Viewpoint to Marjan

Marjan