Trogir, Dalmatia, Croatia

View from the castle tower

On the back flap of a Croatia guidebook we are borrowing from our upstairs neighbor, Trogir is listed as one of the five spots a visitor to this country must see (for the record, the other spots are Dubrovnik, Plitvice Lakes, the Porec Basilica, and Diocletian's Palace in Split -- all are UNESCO World Heritage sites).  So on our roundabout way to Dubrovnik, we thought we better spend a night here.  It did not disappoint.

We drove into Trogir after a brief stop in nearby Split (because Adam had a meeting).  Thirty minutes after departing Split, we arrived in Trogir at our hotel, the Villa Tudor.  Our room was on the top floor of a building right across from the historic area (just a two minute walk across a pretty bridge from our hotel to the island-town Trogir), so we had better views than if we were in the old town.  And the views were of a gorgeous antique stone city with campaniles and clock towers and castles with the Velebit mountain chain in the background.  Everything from the buildings to the "streets" -- all of Trogir is a pedestrian area only -- was made of limestone.  You could enjoy the town thoroughly by just walking around and taking in the ambiance (and food) without ever stepping foot in a museum.  And that's practically what we did.

In the town square

The streets in the historical core are not logically laid out in the way the Romans preferred, because the origins of the city are actually Greek, from the 3rd century BCE (the Greek settlers came from the island Vis which is where we are right now).  And because it's flat, it makes for excellent wandering down the tiny alleys and paths.  On one adorable street, I picked up a few souvenirs at a very cute tourist shop aimed directly at my demographic, knowing that except for Dubrovnik where prices will be inflated, I would probably not have such a good selection of Croatia products again.

We all walked to the 15th century Kamerlengo Castle and had great views of the city from the top turret. The castle was built for the Venetian governor of Trogir, and there are concerts in the castle nowadays.  We also walked to the 15th century loggia.  Adam walked around trying to learn things while the kids and I were perfectly happy to people-watch and eat gelato.  That was the end of our official sightseeing -- short but sweet.  And I thoroughly enjoyed the grilled sardines I had for dinner.  We had a good night's sleep in our air-conditioned room -- the first we've had all year -- and we left for Vis the next morning.