From Plitvice I got a bus to Croatia’s second biggest city, Split. The city centre of Split is dominated by the Diocletian’s Palace. It’s not so much a palace as a small town with a labyrinth of streets packed with shops, bars, restaurants and people, and all set within the walls of one of the most imposing and impressive Roman ruins in existence. I stayed at an Airbnb just outside the walls and then went to explore.
Just outside the city walls stands the statue of Gregorius of Nil. Apparently if you rub the big toe of the statue it’s meant to bring you good luck and guarantees that you’ll come back to Split. You can see where it’s been rubbed as it had got shiny with the many hands that had touched it over the years. I don’t really believe in these sort of things but thought I’d give it a go just in case.
After walking round and exploring most of the palace, I bought a ticket in the early evening to go down into the substructure basement of the Diocletian’s Palace. A huge vaulted space of interconnected rooms, it was a welcome cooling relief from the heat above. When I visited it was almost deserted and I had the place mostly to myself. It was very atmospheric and interesting. Any Game of Thrones fans may recognise it as where Daenerys Targaren keeps her dragons while she is in the City of Meereen. I can highly recommend a visit.
