Arriving by train into Split does not really provide the best welcome to Croatia's second city. The railway station is, well frankly, a bit of a disgrace and despite the modern ticket office area (which you will not find when you first arrive) the first impressions are not that good. Admittedly the railway station is very close to the ferry port and bus/coach station so is well placed transport wise (although rarely do any of these three make for the best environment) but fortunately, and most importantly, it is around ten minutes walk to this very interesting and historic city. We rented an apartment that was just off The Riva (or seafront promenade) and not only was it a great location but it was also a fantastic room at a fantastic price (and less than £30 a night). Sometimes it pays to be out of the main holiday season! Being centrally located did mean some noise in the evening but this was from the advent festivities that were taking place. Rock bands, male choirs and DJs entertained in many of the squares and The Riva area of the city. The place really was buzzing with large crowds enjoying the seasonal events. Split, as I think the rest of Croatia, seems to limit Christmas to December only . . . . . this all seems quite sensible. The Riva area is packed with cafes, restaurants and shopping, but being Christmas there were also lots of 'pop up' bars, shops and food stands that added to the atmosphere. It is a great area to people watch - it was busy enough in December so would probably hate it in the main summer holiday season. There is plenty of walking to be done in Split as the city centre can really only be done on foot. Over three and a half days of wandering the pedometer was showing we had walked over 30 miles! The UNESCO listed 'old town' provides a mix of Roman ruins, old city walls, narrow streets, passageways with hidden restaurants, old churches and historic palaces. Some of it is crumbling a little but that only adds to the feel of the place. There is also a real working city hidden here too with plenty of proper shops tucked away amongst the streets . . . . every turn seemed to bring you to somewhere different and to places that we had not been earlier in the day or the day before. It really is a warren of streets and a great place to get lost in. As well as wandering the city streets we also climbed to the top of The Marjan, about 170 metres above sea level. We had great late afternoon views across the sea to the distant islands and Split itself. Given we had a studio apartment, our second evening was spent in our accomodation enjoying some great wine and some 'home cooked food' rather than eating out. Normal service however resumed for our final two evenings in Split! Our second full day in Split and we visited the City Museum, the Ethonographic Museum and the Basement Museum of the Diocletian's Palace which makes up a large section of the old city. We also walked to the beaches south of the city - these are not overly attractive and have a very 'Eastern European' feel about them. In my opinion, stick to a city break in Split and not come for a beach holiday. We finished our third evening at a local pizza place, this was good value, very filling and the house wine was reasonably good too. What more do you need? With one more full day in Croatia before heading back to the UK we rented a car and headed a little further afield - this also allowed us to drop the car back at the airport so no taxi or bus transfer will be needed either. I like it when a plan comes together! We headed to Trogir, about 35km from Split, as our first stop on our last full day. It really has potential and in the summer months there would be numerous bars and restaurants spilling out onto the narrow streets and quaint squares. In December it was rather 'closed for the season'. What a shame as there were people about and with only a few options for lunch I had to miss out on cevapcicis, which I really wanted, and settle for a rather tasty steak dish instead. After Trogir we headed to Marina, again a place that was very much closed for the winter, before returning to the outskirts of Split and the ancient Roman settlement of Solana. We arrived at the Salona car park at 15.45 and despite the site officially closing at 15.00 we had a chance to see the remains of this town dating back to around the year 2 AD. The light was fading but it was well worth the walk and, if honest, we could have spent a little longer exploring the ruins. We have eaten well in Croatia and enjoyed pretty some decent wine and food at good prices over the last week so we decided to have a real 'blow out' on our final evening. What a nice treat it was dining in the old palace area at Augubio, a place highly rated on Trip Advisor for good reason. Back home you would pay far more for food and service of this quality and it was a great way to round off the trip. Just a shame they did not offer any cevapcicis on their menu! Overall Split has exceed expectations and is firmly on 'the return to list' but probably during the shoulder season next time. With a flight back to London via Zagreb on Saturday with Croatian Airlines I wonder when we will be back?