Car Hire: Take advantage of the special easyJet inflight rates. Visit the Europcar desk on arrival or call +385 (0)91 430 3019. Open from 8am-8pm seven days a week.

Airport Transfer: Pre-book your door-to-door transfer with easyJet’s transfer partner, Holiday Taxis—from home to the airport, then city or resort (easyjet.holidaytaxis.com).

Taxi: The fare is about HRK125-HRK150 to the centre.

Bus: Bus 37 leaves from just outside the airport to Split’s main bus station. Tickets: HRK22. Private buses normally leave shortly after each flight arrival. Tickets: HRK35

Kibela
( Kraj Svetog Ivana. Tel. 021 347 932 )
Cheap and cheerful fodder is on offer here, but the Dalmatian fish dishes are pretty tasty for the price.

Konaba Pizzeria Atlantida
( 13 Trumbiceva Obala. Tel. 021 490 748 )
If it's pizza you are after, then this is the place. Don’t expect any of that deep-filled nonsense, though—these pizzas may even win Neapolitan approval.

Bota Sare
( Uvala Bacvice. Tel. 021 488 648 )
Head to the Splicani’s favourite beach, Bacvice, and check out one of its finest restaurants. This close to the sea, seafood is the way to go.

Boban
( 49 Hektoroviceva. Tel. 021 543 300 )
This restaurant is run by a man who turned his back on a glittering professional football career to become a restaurateur. His talents are well appreciated by diners with top-notch fish dishes and some excellent Croatian wines.

Alien
( 13 Riva. )
There are many café/bars to choose from on the waterfront Riva, but this is one of the best. Take a pew and watch the impressive catwalk show as the Splicani strut their long-legged stuff.

Croatian National Theatre
( Trg Gaje Bulata. Tel. 021 585 999 )
The city’s most elegant live music venue hosts domestic and international classical talents. The venue itself is often as impressive as the performances (www.hnk-split.hr).

Puls 2
( 1 Buvinina. Tel. 021 314 4788 )
One of the most lively bars within the walls of the palace complex. Come and pose through the night with a cold glass of Karlovacko.

Marmontova is a sleek thoroughfare on the edge of the palace, where the locals come to pick up their designer gear in the phalanx of increasingly chic shops.

Many tourists milling through Diocletian’s Palace are totally unaware there is a second floor just waiting to be explored. Head up here and you will be rewarded with trendy bars, a boutique hotel and an escape from the hordes.

Split is unique in that its centre is founded around an the ancient Roman palace. Today, you can ease across narrow streets once smoothed by Roman sandals, see old women lean out of flats that were Roman barracks and delve into the subterranean level to check out the ancient history of Split.

Independence Day, on 8 October, celebrates the independence that Croatia won in the early 1990s in a bloody divorce from Yugoslavia. Expect lots of proud and happy locals, a strong dash of patriotism and a spectacular fireworks display on the Riva.

Klis – Head for the hills if you want to taste some stunning lamb. As fresh-as-can-be meat is served simply roasted with spring onion and bread at a trio of roadside restaurants in this hilly suburb where locals once tried and failed to hold back the Ottoman Empire.

Ivan Mestrovic is Croatia’s most famous sculptor. A native Dalmatian, he spent a lot of time in Split and loved the city so much he, like Emperor Diocletian, built a retirement home for himself. But he emigrated to America instead, and it is now a gallery that showcases his work.

Compiled by Robin McKelvie/www.robinmckelvie.com