Game of Thrones Filming Locations Tour with Palace Cellars Split

Diocletian's Palace, the heart of Split

Diocletian's Palace was built between about 295 and 305 AD as the retirement residence of the Roman emperor whose name it carries. Half fortress, half villa, it covered a rectangle of roughly 215 by 180 metres facing the sea. After the fall of Rome, people from nearby Salona took refuge inside its walls and slowly turned it into a town, which is why Split's old town still lives within the Roman layout.

Today the palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the most visited monument in Croatia, with shops, cafés and families living among its ancient stones. Its mix of Roman columns, medieval lanes and Renaissance houses gave the producers of Game of Thrones a ready-made fantasy city, and a Diocletian Palace walking tour like this one shows you both sides of the story.

The palace cellars (substructures)

Beneath the southern half of the palace lie its huge vaulted cellars, built to raise the imperial apartments above the sloping ground. Because they mirror the floor plan of the rooms above, they show how the emperor's residence was laid out. For centuries they were filled with rubble and waste, and only in the 20th century were they cleared, revealing some of the best-preserved Roman substructures in the world.

In the series the cellars became the place where the dragons were kept chained in the fifth season, and they also housed scenes set among the people of the slave city of Meereen. On this tour you walk through the central passage from the Bronze Gate on the waterfront; the side halls are a separate paid visit, and the entry ticket for them is not included.

Peristyle and Vestibule

The Peristyle is the palace's ceremonial courtyard, framed by tall granite columns and arches, where the emperor once appeared before his subjects. Above it rise the cathedral, originally Diocletian's octagonal mausoleum, and its slender Romanesque bell tower. A 3,500-year-old black granite sphinx brought from Egypt still guards the courtyard.

From the Peristyle a staircase leads up into the Vestibule, a round domed hall with an open oculus to the sky and remarkable acoustics, where local a cappella groups sometimes sing. Your guide points out the corners and passages used during filming and explains how the crew dressed these spaces, while also telling the real story of the emperor and the city that grew around his palace.

Lanes of the old town and the Golden Gate

Between the main monuments, the walk follows the narrow stone lanes of the palace quarter, where the series filmed street scenes with soldiers patrolling and a tense ambush in a tight passage. These lanes are the most atmospheric part of Split, especially in the early morning or after sunset when the crowds thin out.

The tour also reaches the Golden Gate, the grand northern entrance of the palace, once the main gate on the road to Salona. Its façade with rows of niches and the massive stone walls on each side make it one of the most impressive Roman gateways on the Adriatic. Just outside it lies a green park and the edge of the old town.

Riva promenade and practical tips

The tour starts on the Riva, the palm-lined waterfront promenade along the southern façade of the palace. From here you can see the outline of the old palace wall, now lined with houses, and the small Bronze Gate that once opened directly onto the sea.

Diocletian's Palace is open to walk around at any hour and has no general entry ticket; only some interior spaces such as the side halls of the cellars, the cathedral and the bell tower charge entry. The best time to visit Diocletian's Palace is spring or autumn, or the 18:30 departure in summer, when the stone is cooler and the evening light is beautiful.