Split

Between the Kastela bay and the channel of Split, Emperor Diocletian once had a palace erected that has no equal. Within the walls, and soon outside them too, families settled, and so the little village grew into a city of almost 250,000 inhabitants. The seven hours of sunshine per day, the generous promenade, nearby beaches, fine boutiques and informative museums all contribute to this figure additionally rising during the holiday season. Then the market people have extra large deliveries of counterfeit designer handbags brought in, the yacht owners display their wealth even more demonstratively, the football club Haiduk suddenly has even more fans than usual and the nightclubs no longer close before sunrise. So if you are asked to feel "quite at home" in Split, your hosts actually mean the way you would like to feel at home...

Split lies on the Dalmatian Adriatic coast, a few kilometres from the airport of the same name. A bus shuttles here regularly and brings the passengers of the international budget flights and of the scheduled flights from Zagreb to the harbour of the city of Split. Here they meet those who have travelled in by ferry from the surrounding islands or from Italy. Anyone who prefers to travel independently can come via the perfectly built A1 motorway, which runs parallel to the coastline through the whole of Dalmatia. It has only just been built and, with regular restaurants, wide lanes and perfect signposting, offers as much comfort as is possible for a road - so that you reach your really cosy destination quickly.

Split's four harbours lie separated from one another by spits of land in the bays in the south of the city: the ferry harbour in the west is often overrun, especially in the high season, with travellers who want to go to Italy or have just come from there. The cars stand cheek by jowl in front of the car ferry, and "idyllic" is really not what one can call this transshipment point. Things are similarly hectic but somewhat more personal at the domestic Croatian ferry harbour at the beginning of the promenade. From here you can take excursions to the surrounding islands and to the neighbouring coastal towns. Then, in front of the promenade, you will find the prestigious ACI Marina. Anyone here not merely to look must already have invested quite a few euros in a yacht of their own - and of course likes to show it. Somewhat more hidden, on the northern shore of the Marjan cape, you will find the sports harbour of Spinut. Every evening exhausted but happy sailors drop their anchors here, only to explore further unknown coastal areas the very next day. If you feel inspired by the maritime attitude to life, you can also hire a boat yourself, with a crew if need be, in order to explore a few uninhabited islands of the Adriatic or to say hello to the fish in the open sea.