Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Split – The fun never splits here!

Croatia’s second-largest city, Split is not only the most popular tourist destination from amongst all the scenic places along the Adriatic Sea, but in fact one of the most admired leisure venues in the whole of Europe. Pristine beaches along with a multitude of historical venues make Split an idealistic tourist destination.

When it comes to sightseeing in Split, it can simply be considered incomplete without a visit to the Diocletian's Palace, which has been included in UNESCO’s coveted list of World Heritage Sites. The diversity of form is a prominent feature of the palace, not seen in other similar structures – while the Cybele and Venus temples are circular; the Temple of Jupiter is rectangular and the mausoleum itself is octagonal. Split also has exclusive museums like the Town Museum which beautifully recalls the history of Split. In addition, there are two archaeological museums in Split – one known simply as Archaeological Museum while the other is referred to as Museum of Croatian Archaeological Monuments. Tourists also extensively enjoy Split’s art galleries, including the Mestrovic Gallery as well as the Gallery of Fine Arts.

Split’s beaches are spotlessly clean, serene and pure. One of the most happening beaches here is the Bacvice Beach, right in front of the Bacvice restaurant-nightlife complex. It is clean to the extent that it was awarded the Blue Flag award for the cleanliness of its beach as well as its surroundings, including the facilities at the beach. A little away from the city, at the foot of Marjan hill, lies the resplendent Kasjuni Beach. Other prominent and popular beaches include the tranquil Bene beach as well as the striking Zlatni Rat beach on Brac Island.

Split offers an enormous amount of variety to foodies, that too at reasonably affordable prices. It is unlikely that you will find anything very exclusive and exquisite in Split’s restaurants, but the usual, everyday fare would be prepared and served in the most delectable manner. If you are looking for seafood, Nostromo might just be the place for you, especially since it is located right next to a fish market. The Restoran Boban offers the entire range of Croatian cuisine including Istrian truffles and Dalmatian grilled fish and meat. If pizzas excite your taste buds more than other cuisines, head straight to the Pizzeria Galija, considered to be the best pizzeria of Split. Other popular outlets include the vegetarian Makrovega, Buffet Fife whose specialty is pasticada, a meaty stew and Konoba Varos who’s USP is meat cooked "under a bell", that is, it is roasted for long under a low flame.

Having enjoyed your day sightseeing or at the beach, you would probably be looking to hit the deck and party now! Well, Split offers considerable variety of choice for that too! Most of the happening places are located within the Diocletian's Palace including the comfortable Ghetto Club, the ever-popular Cafes – Song & Shook, and Red Room.

Life in Split is a perennial, un-splitting party!

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