Riva is Split's famous promenade, with lively cafes, expensive boutiques and fashionable people. It's the starting point for any tour of the city and lends Split a reputation for being the "Monte Carlo of the Adriatic."
Croatia's second-largest city has a historical side to it. The Diocletian Palace, at the heart of Split, was built in the 4th Century AD as a retirement home for the Roman Emperor Diocletian. Later it was made into a fortress. Today, people live inside the palace walls. In 1979, UNESCO declared the city center a world heritage site.
The Financial Times put the center of Split top of its list of the 10 most alluring World Heritage sites to live in. But the locals don't find much to boast about in terms of their living conditions. The area has a poor infrastructure, a dilapidated sewage system and ailing electricity cables. Many are leaving the historic city center and selling their houses to investors.
The Dalmatian coast draws in crowds with the crystal clear waters of the Adriatic. The area has many beautiful beaches and idyllic islands. Just like here on the eastern side of the city - the "right" side of town, as many like to call it.
You find beaches such as this on the "wrong" side of Split, in the Bay of Kastela. Here there is little external investment and the local authorities don't have the money to beautify the place.
The shipbuilding industry is Croatia's sore spot. Before the war in the 1990s, it was an important part of the economy. Since then, Croatia has lost its footing in the global market. In the good times, 7,500 people worked in the shipyards - now, there are just half that number and many are working on short-term contracts.
There are a large number of factories in the area around Split, many of them built after World War II. The beautiful coastal town is therefore nestled in a grey industrial belt. Today, many of these factories lie empty, like this one, which once produced pipes made from asbestos.
This stadium, the home of the Hajduk Split football club, is known as the "beauty of Poljud." It was built in the late 1970s at a time when Split was a cosmopolitan Mediterranean city, which hosted the biggest European clubs. Today, the Champions' League is a distant dream for the Hajdurk team.
Split's weekly market, the Pazar, takes place at the palace gates. The locals all say that food from the Pazar tastes better than anything else. The elderly stall holders swear that it comes from their own gardens. The people of Split are worried that the EU will drive the place to the ground by imposing rules and regulations on the local traders.
Split is covered in graffiti, including many political slogans. This one reads, "No to Stalin, No to Milosevic, No to the EU!"
A BMW steering wheel, a Maradona sign at the back. This young resident of the Old Town proudly shows us the bicycle from her father's workshop.
The Croatian flag is everywhere - at weddings, village fetes and on houses. This flag was photographed in the suburbs of Split. "Look at that," said one passerby. "That's scandalous. But much of our country looks like that now as well."
DW travels to the Croatian city of Split on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea. With its ancient Roman palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its beautiful bay, the area is a popular destination for tourists.
DW travels to the Croatian city of Split on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea. With its ancient Roman palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its beautiful bay, the area is a popular destination for tourists.
