Walk Split old town from the markets to the Riva
Split old town is easier to navigate when you link recognizable public spaces rather than collect isolated landmarks. Start with Pazar beside the Silver Gate, follow the Decumanus west toward the Iron Gate and Pjaca, then connect the fish market, Marmontova, Prokurative and Riva. This gives the walk a clear structure while leaving room to stop where you find something interesting. The public palace lanes and simply looking around the markets are free.
A walking tour adds explanation to that setting, with a defined meeting point and duration. It is particularly useful if the palace gates and later squares initially blur together. Keep your independent route separate from a booked tour's precise itinerary: the city connections suggested here do not mean every guide covers every market and square. For the ancient layout and paid interiors, continue to the Diocletian's Palace guide.
Our picks: Old town walks
Choose a guided walk in English or a small group tour through the cellar passage. Check paid cellar access separately.
Hand-picked tours, booked through Viator. Prices are indicative starting prices in euros (as of October 2026). Tap a tour for live availability and the current price in your currency.
Old town walk with licensed guide
- Licensed English speaking tour guide
The listed inclusion is a licensed guide; a tower ticket is not specified.
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Old town and cellar passage walk
- Walk through the Cellars of Diocletian's Palace
- Licensed and Fluent English Speaking Guide
- Small Group Tour
A ticket to paid cellar rooms is not specified.
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Old town and palace walk
- Professional, local tour guide
- 90-minute WALKING TOUR IN ENGLISH
The walk includes sightseeing of the palace.
Check availability →Old town walking tours and starting points
Compare a 90-minute English-language palace walk from the Golden Gate, a small-group route from the bronze city model and a local-guide walk starting by the Riva.
Pazar and the Silver Gate
Pazar is the green market beside the Silver Gate. It makes a useful starting landmark because it connects market life with the palace's eastern approach. A market visit and a guided food experience are different choices: looking around the stalls does not include a tasting. If eating is a main interest, leave room for a separate food and wine experience rather than trying to turn every sightseeing stop into a meal stop.
Use the gate as your transition from the market to the public palace lanes. You can then follow the Decumanus toward the western side. This is an orientation route rather than a timed itinerary, so allow the pace to respond to your interests. Market opening arrangements can vary; check them if shopping is the purpose of the visit rather than simply using the area as a landmark.
Pjaca and the western squares
The Decumanus leads toward the Iron Gate and Pjaca, also called People's Square. This connection helps explain why a walk through Split extends beyond the Roman enclosure. Pause in the square before continuing toward the fish market area. The value of this part of the route is the change between lanes and open spaces, giving you a way to reorient without repeatedly returning to the same palace entrance.
Peškarija, Marmontova and Prokurative
The fish market is known as Peškarija. It can be combined with Marmontova and Prokurative in the same old town walk. Keep these as a sequence of orientation points rather than promises about individual stalls, opening hours or purchases. If your main aim is photography or looking at the buildings, leave time to stop without a shopping deadline. If you want a particular market visit, organize the rest of the route around that priority.
This western part also helps you decide what to leave for another outing. A route focused on market spaces differs from a detailed palace interior visit. Both can fit the same stay, but they need not be squeezed into a single guided walk. The sightseeing overview offers a wider choice of stops, while the old town route here keeps attention on the connections between them.
Return to the Riva
The Riva is the public waterfront promenade in front of the palace, with cafés and restaurants. Use it as a place to finish the walk and regain a clear sense of the seafront. It is also a practical reference for tour starts: both the bronze city model and the beginning of the promenade appear in walking-tour meeting instructions. A booking that says Riva still needs its own exact meeting landmark.
Choose a walking tour by its meeting point and scope
The Golden Gate option is a 90-minute English-language walk with a professional local guide and palace sightseeing. The small-group route from the bronze city model also takes 90 minutes, includes a licensed English-speaking guide and a walk through the cellars. Treat that passage separately from a paid visit to the cellar halls. The local-guide old city walk starts at the beginning of the Riva and includes a licensed English-speaking guide; a tower admission is not part of that stated service.
Choose the starting point that fits your arrival and the style of explanation you want. Tour duration is time for the organized experience, not a recommended limit on your own city exploration. Leave an unbooked stretch afterwards to return to the market area or square you enjoyed. For other formats beyond a walk, the tour comparison brings city, food and sea outings together.
Extend the walk toward Marjan
The route beyond the centre connects Matejuška, Varoš and the Marjan viewpoint by the old Jewish cemetery. Make that an optional extension rather than a requirement after a full city walk. The wooded peninsula has its own walking choices and local signs to follow. Read the Marjan guide before choosing forest paths, or finish at the waterfront if you prefer to keep the day within the old town.
Old town walking questions
Can I follow the route without a tour?
Yes. The public palace lanes, Riva and market browsing can form an independent walk. A booked guide adds commentary and a defined route.
Does a cellar walk include the paid halls?
Distinguish a route through the cellars from a paid hall visit. Choose a ticketed interior visit separately when that is what you want to see.
Where do the walking tours meet?
The options use different landmarks: the Golden Gate, bronze city model or beginning of the Riva. Follow the meeting instructions for your selected walk.