Trogir is a small port city located on an island a bridge away from the Croatian coast, about 21 km west of Split. Inhabited for over 2,300 years and a recorded Greek and Roman settlement, Trogir was sacked by the Saracens in 1123 and built up by the Venetians from the 1400s, now having one of the best-preserved medieval/renaissance city cores in Europe.

Split gets the obvious attention, however Trogir is a smaller and more relaxed town, as well as being a handy layover destination if you ever change planes at Split airport, which is just 6 km away. Once you are done with the winding and shaded streets, and have circuited the shell of a Venetian castle – used for summertime concerts, you can dial it down further along the waterfront promenade. There are places to step in for a swim in the Adriatic – such as by the fortress.

The mainly romanesque Cathedral of St. Lawrence, built on the site of an early Christian cathedral destroyed in 1123, was largely constructed in 1200-1250 with the bell tower built later in the 14th-16th centuries, from which you get great city views.

It has a pair of Venetian lions guarding the ornate marble portal, which was inscribed as being completed by a Croatian stonemason in 1240.

Trogir is a good place to check out some medieval alleyways, soak up the sun on the waterfront, and observe the yachts in the marina. The 13th-century Venetian Loggia faces about as large a town square as you’ll see here, and a good place to hang out.

If you need to get a walk in, you can cross south over the Ciovski bridge onto the next island and walk west to get a view of the town and the 15th-century Venetian Kamerlengo Castle.

Logistics. The simplest way into Trogir from the airport is by taxi, and there is a regular bus service via the airport to and from Split. Croatia is on it’s own currency, the Kuna, so a visit to the airport ATM is in order unless you want to try using Euros, which are often accepted. The bus service to and from the airport (No. 37 bus – which also serves Split) that stops at the bus station on Kneza Trpimira just northeast of the main bridge onto Trogir island, Trogirski Most.

There are plenty of hotel options in the immediate area if you want to spend a night here, from the rather grand XII Century Heritage to smaller guesthouses like the Villa Sveti Petar – which is always a good way to get a sense of the place once the day trippers have moved on.