43851CRO
Trogir
Excursion
- If you should find yourself with 3 hours of free time in Split, suggest a visit to Trogir. The local guides do a pretty comprehensive job on Diocletian’s Palace and there really isn’t a lot else to see in Split apart from the ruins of Salona or the Ivan Mestrovic Gallery out on the Marjan peninsula. There is also the Archaeological Museum about 10 minutes walk up the hill from the President. It’s not in the first rank but if you like that sort of thing, you can spend a happy hour there. For football fans the Hajduk Split shop is just round the corner from the President. Trogir, however, is only half an hour away and is truly memorable.
- Trogir is a small island with great architecture. You can walk the length of it in 15 minutes and the breadth in 10. It is full of palaces, old streets, has a castle you can climb up to, a lovely main square and a wonderful cathedral. The late Romanesque (13th) carving on the west portal of the cathedral by Radovan is one of the glories of the Adriatic.
- As you enter Trogir city limits, leave the entrance to the old town (the Land Gate) on your left. A couple of hundred yards down on the left a narrow lane leads to the bus park. It’s not well signposted or very obvious so look out for the tops of buses peeping over the fence and be sure to turn left before you pass them. If you overshoot, you’ll have to go a long way to find a turning place. If your driver is local, he may well stop at the bus station just before the bridge leading to the old town.
- Make sure everyone registers where the meeting point for the bus is as they will be making their own way back to the bus. There is a fairly conspicuous arched footbridge nearby which goes over to the island. Draw their attention to it as it makes a good landmark together with St. Mark’s Tower just beyond it on the other side of the water. Fix a meeting time back at the bus. If you are not short of time, 2 hours is not too long to spend in Trogir. Try to spend at least an hour and a half here as it’s a wonderful place just to wander around after you have done the compulsory bits.
- Lead them across the park to the bridge from the mainland and in through the Land Gate to the beautiful main square now named after Pope John Paul II. There is a charge of €5 for entrance to the cathedral. Strongly encourage them to pay it!
- After the cathedral, admire the other buildings in the square before heading out to the other side of the island, passing the Convent of St. Nicholas on your left. Go through the Town Gate and on to the Riva. Amble down to the far end, passing the Dominican church on your right. Lead them down to the fortress at the end – the Kamerlengo – and draw their attention to the possibility of climbing its tower. Great views from the top as you would expect. Feel free to give them free time at this stage and remind them of the meeting time. From the fortress the bus park is barely 5 minutes away. Cut through to the other side of the island from here and you will find yourself by St. Mark’s tower and the footbridge you saw when you came in. Alternatively they can walk back to the road bridge, which crosses to the bus station, if this is your meeting point.
- There should still, however, be plenty of time for people to wander about in the old streets, do some shopping or have a coffee. If timing permits, you could use Trogir as a lunch stop. There are cafes and restaurants on the island and also by the bus station. Trogir is not a place to be rushed.