I had a base in Split for nearly a week on a recent trip to Croatia. Only a single day was budgeted for exploring the town, but I also returned to the city core every evening through that stay, so by the end of it I could plausibly claim a pretty intimate familiarity with this great town.

The historic center of Split is anchored by the area known as the Diocletian’s Palace. Built for the Roman emperor of that name in the early 4th century AD, it was even back then more a whole town than just a palace, with the emperor’s quarters taking about half of the vast structure. Nowadays, the walls largely remain, and a number of buildings can trace their ancestry to the original palace grounds. The palace area is somewhat reminiscent of Venice, minus the canals, with a maze of short narrow streets. The overall protected area extends beyond the wall perimeter to the west, including a couple of atmospheric public spaces.

Only one building is explicitly mentioned on the very brief Split WH inscription, the cathedral of St Domnius. As cathedrals go, it is of rather modest dimensions although it was extended a bit in the 17th century. Its interior is actually pretty impressive with the amount of decoration in the limited space. Other points of interest to explore are the bell tower (not very easy to climb – the steps are narrow, high, and slippery for a good part of the way – but the payoff is excellent), the main palace court Peristyle (unmissable mix of architectural styles), the four gates opening to the four sides of the world (look up to see the 24-hour-face clock by the western Iron Gate and rub the already shiny big toe of the statue of Grgur Ninski by the northern Golden Gate), the defined palace spaces such as the round vestibule (a capella singing throughout the day) or the basements (nice collection of artisan shops), Temple of Jupiter (aka Baptistery of St John), and several churches and palaces that the inscription generically mentions as "making up the rest of the protected area". The waterfront promenade, Riva, is impossible to miss as well.

One day appears to be enough for the historic area in Split, but if your interests go beyond WH sightseeing, the town can support a couple of days of exploring. A number of other interesting locations on the Dalmatian coast is within easy reach from Split as well.