Split began as a retirement home. The Roman emperor Diocletian, born nearby, built a vast fortified palace on this peninsula around the year 300 and retired here after abdicating, to grow cabbages, so the story goes. After the Roman world fell apart, refugees from the nearby city of Salona sheltered inside its walls, and over the centuries the palace turned into a town. Today you walk through the Golden Gate, the Peristyle and the old cellars, and find cafés, shops, apartments and washing lines inside what is, effectively, a Roman building, with the emperor's mausoleum converted into a cathedral. UNESCO lists the palace and the historic centre.
Split is the largest city on the Croatian coast, so it feels like a real place, with a working port, football crowds, a busy market and ferries to the islands of Brač, Hvar and Šolta. The seafront promenade, the Riva, is the place to take an evening coffee, and the wooded hill of Marjan to the west is a pleasant green lung with paths and views.
For riders the city is a base and a junction. The Adriatic Highway, the D8, runs south along the coast toward Omiš and the Makarska Riviera, with the Biokovo mountains behind, and north toward Trogir and Šibenik. It is a good road, with fine coastal views and a lot of curves, but in summer the traffic is heavy and slow, and a sudden burst of wind, the bura, can hit hard on exposed sections. Inland, the road up to Klis fortress and the mountain roads beyond give a different feel, with dry stone walls and karst.
Everything you need is here, from fuel stations to tyre fitters and big supermarkets. Parking in the centre is hard, and the old town is pedestrian only, so use a garage or the lots by the port. Summer is hot and crowded, and May, June and September are more comfortable. Eat grilled fish, black risotto, or a plate of pršut and cheese, and try the local sweet wines. Have your passport handy for the ferries and, if you cross into Bosnia on the coast near Neum, for the border checks.