Split is home to the well-preserved Ancient Roman Diocletian Palace, built in the 4th Century. The former fortress now has stores, shops and museums within its walls to tour during your stay.

Split is the second largest city in Croatia, behind the capital, Zagreb. It sits on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea, and is surrounded by coastal mountains, making for a picture-perfect postcard scene.

Split is over 2,000 years old. The Roman Emperor Diocletian built a palace here back in the 4th Century. Construction took 10 years with no expense spared. There's columns and sphinxes from Egypt and marble from Italy and Greece. Many of the large stones simply lay on top of each other with nothing but egg whites holding everything together.

The palace was part residence, part military fortress and also a fortified town. The whole area spans nearly 40,000 square meters and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Cathedral of Saint Domnius is one of the oldest and best preserved Roman buildings in the world. Initially, it was erected for the remains of Diocletian. Diocletian was a big Christian persecutor, so the Christians had the last word when they turned his mausoleum into a church.

If you're lucky, you can catch local singers making use of the wonderful acoustics, just off the Peristyle Square. They were amazing harmonizing together while we were touring the grounds, making for a lovely soundtrack to our visit.

Interestingly, 3,000 people live on the former palace property today. Restaurants, bars and shops line the winding streets. There's museums and galleries interspersed with hanging laundry and tiny cafes. It's bustling and active, so be prepared to share the tight, narrow lanes with many others while strolling the area.

The beach is also quite popular, and was body to body the day we visited Split. There's a cove around from the main harbor that offered a nice spot to spend an afternoon.

To make your time in Split even nicer, you might want to try some of the local wine. Frajona offers a few varieties under their label that go from crisp white to a more full and robust Merlot. I always love sampling Rose, but I have to say my allegiance to the French did not waiver here.

Next stop in Croatia is Dubrovnik!