Excursion destinations around the island of Brač

How an entire city can arise out of a single house has been demonstrated by Split: when Emperor Diocletian once built his retirement residence here, the deserted area was a good argument for choosing precisely this spot. But the emperor's court moved here with him, and the farmers of the surroundings likewise settled inside and outside the palace walls. Today the palace forms the centre of the port city, its outer wall adjoins the promenade thronged with tourists, and the residential quarters of the city's population adjoin it in atrium fashion. Between the stalls and parks there are shopping streets, discotheques and the weekly market - everything except the seclusion that once drew the Caesar here.

A ferry shuttles between Brač and the neighbouring island of Hvar, so that a day trip - or even one lasting only a few hours - is no great effort. On Croatia's fourth largest island, 3,600 people live today in the town of the same name and in several other places. In between, beautiful bathing bays keep appearing, and in the island's interior one or another basilica from long-past times still stands. On the slopes the winegrowers grow their famous wine, and in the sea diving instructors and fishermen compete over who finds the spots richer in fish. And when you cross back towards Brač in the evening, you can be sure of having seen a great deal - but by no means everything.

With its more than thirteen thousand inhabitants, the coastal town of Makarska is one of the larger, livelier places near Brač. Because of its position on the Biokovo range and the 1,767 m high peak of Sveti Jure it is very popular with hikers and climbers, but it also attracts bathers and culture fans in droves. The changing occupying powers can be read from the townscape: Venetians, Habsburgs and Romans have left buildings behind here, and as a former diocese ecclesiastical buildings shape the street scene as well. Several well-known and still active sportspeople come from Makarska, but the well-kept beaches make it hard to spend an active holiday here, and many visitors prefer to enjoy the atmosphere of the place lying in the sun or doing water sports.