Split – travellingzombie.com

Gluten Free in Split, Croatia

Located right on the front of the pier, this little gem is really easy to find. With indoor and outdoor seating, it was a good place to sit and watch the world go by.

+ Staff were really knowledgeable about the contents of the food and offered suggestions to swap out ingredients and sauces that might not be suitable. They were also well aware of cross contamination too.

+ Lots of variety – burgers (with great tasting burger buns), pasta and salads that were all dairy and gluten free.

+ Quick service

+ Indoor and outdoor seating

Marta’s Veggie Fusion

Huddled down one of the winding streets inside the palace walls, Marta’s is a treat for Vegan / Gluten Free dietary needs. We were here twice – gorgeous food and very friendly staff. Top tip, get the chips to take away and sit on the steps outside Luxor to watch the live musicians play the night away.

+ Amazing chips!

+ Lots of choice

+ Gluten Free, dairy free and vegan

+ Eat in or take away

+ Huge portions

+ Can adapt meals to cater for dietary requirements

+ Cake!

BezGlutenski Svijet

Looking for something to help with self catering? This place is the one for you! This is a ‘free from’ shop with all of the essentials: bread, pasta, milk, frozen meals and treats – all gluten free, diary free and vegan.

+ Good range of products

+ Porridge pots – great for breakfast

+ Cooking products e.g. flour

+ Bread and sandwich fillers

+ Ready-Made meals

+ The best diary free ice cream!

+ Great for self catering travellers

Step By Step

Right around the corner from our apartment, this little restaurant was always busy. We bought vegan / gluten free muffins from here for breakfast and they do a gluten free pizza too.

+ Pizza!

+ Tasty Muffins – great for breakfasts!

Did we miss anywhere? Share your top tips in the comments!

Sunset Boat Trip

One of the best ways to get a sense of a place is to have a view of the shoreline. That way, you get to see the whole of the city, wrapped up, postcard perfect, containing everyone as they go about their lives. Split was no different and sailing away from the shore slowly removed the bustle of the city. The sounds faded. Our boat was quiet, and the sound of the sea soon took over.

The outline of towers and buildings set against the silhouette of the mountains in the distance was captivating. We had been promised incredible sunsets and Croatia delivered. I’m a bit of a sunset/ sunrise collector (see here for more pictures from our travels) and this was definitely one of the more memorable.

The further out to sea we traveled, the more the light faded, creating beautiful patterns on the waves. Lights glimmered from the houses on the shore and beach stragglers waved to the boat as we passed.

As the temperature dropped and we sat in near total darkness, the trip back to the city brought burning lights – creating a snapshot of a city brought to life.

Is that a Wizard or is he just taking a selfie?

One of the most striking sights around the Diocletian’s Palace is the huge statue of, what appears to be, a giant wizard.

We found him outside the Golden Gate of the palace, towering over the walls and surrounded by onlookers and two Roman guards (actually, two dudes in fancy dress, but who’s checking?!).

Despite looking like a wizard, the statue is actually of Grgur Ninski. Playing a huge role in preserving the old Croatian language and supporting catholic practices in local languages rather than in Latin, our tour guide described him as a symbol of national pride.

She told us a further story about how the statue had moved locations a number of times, with locals protecting it from destruction before it was located in its current resting place. The way our tour guide told it, the statue had been broken down into small pieces and hidden across different locations until it was safe to reunite the statue in a safer location.

The biggest stand out feature of the statue is his huge, shiny toe! The toe has been worn smooth by thousands of visitors rubbing it for good luck or to have their wishes granted. So much so that the toe is now a completely different colour to the rest of the statue.

Although an imposing statue, it feels completely at home in its current location, watching over the palace walls.

It’s stories like this that peppered our visit to Split, learning more about the history and culture from the stories of locals – in my opinion, that’s the best way to learn.

Diocletian’s Palace and the Basements Below

Diocletian’s Palace is a sprawling network of twisting, turning streets, ruins and basements. Whilst the palace walls house the marbled streets above, below street level are a warren of passages more fitting for a horror set than a palace of wealth.

Most famous for their use in Game of Thrones, as a place to keep dragons, the basements have an interesting history.

They have only recently been cleared out and made accessible (some parts are still closed off) following a clean up operation spanning the last 50 years.

Filled with debris, rubbish and rubble over the years from the development works above, the basements had become an inaccessible time capsule, the hallways blocked with remnants of the changes taking place.

Slowly, the basements have been cleared, opening up section by section to the public. We overheard this story from one of the tour guides, her disembodied voice echoing through the underground rooms to where we stood, looking up at one of the huge piles of remaining rubble. It was amazing to think that the high ceilings and pillars had recently been hidden by the things discarded by the people in the city.

Walking through the basements, dimly lit with the sound of water dripping down the walls was a haunting experience, contrasting with the bustle from the markets in the halls above. The only noise echoing though the corridors was the rustle of birds and the slight echoing of other tourist’s footsteps. At least I hope that’s what it was……