Time stops in Trogir

My trip to the Balkans was a veritable treasure trove of history. Literally everywhere I stopped was a UNESCO world heritage site! Each small town was well preserved to a point where you could imagine yourself being in the middle ages as you ambled along the cobblestoned streets. While, the towns of Dubrovnik, Hvar and Split garner the most attention, there are several other gems along the Adriatic coast that are worthy of a stopover especially if you don’t want to get run over by tourist hordes. Tiny Trogir is one of them. It’s a small island sandwiched between the mainland and the island of Čiovo, here is an aerial shot that explains its location.

A bird’s eye view of Trogir, these are times I wish I owned a drone :p (Pic credit: http://www.villa-trogir.net/trogir/a

Walk the cobblestoned alleyways of Timeless Trogir

We drove to Trogir after spending an excellent afternoon and evening exploring Plitvice and reached Trogir tired and weary at night. The girlfriend was in no mood to walk anymore to get dinner so I ventured out myself into the walled citadel to search for food. Even though it was a weekday and past 9pm, a few restaurants were still open. Having no idea about what’s good and what not, I ambled along the alleyways and picked Konoba Toma (Konoba is traditional restaurant, known for serving Dalmatian cuisine). The reason I picked the place was because I was enthralled to see menus in the maximum number of languages!! – English, Croatian, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Hungarian, Russian and Czech. Seeing me enamored by the flags representing the various menus, the head waiter walked over and asked if I would be interested in a spot of dinner. I happily ordered some Homemade gnocchi or Pasticada with lamb and risotto on his recommendation. Dalmatian cuisine is heavily inspired by Italian fare but has its own twist on it with some subtle distinctions in spices and flavors. While I was waiting for the food to get ready I chatted with the owner/server who filled me up on the best places in Trogir to visit and also other off beat places on the Dalmatian coast. He suggested checking out the cluster of seven fishing villages called Kastela. To-go concept isn’t that prevalent in Europe,  where I feel people like to enjoy their dinner sitting and chatting for several hours. They didn’t have plastic spoons/forks, so he very kindly lent me steel cutlery to use and I promised I would stop by for coffee the next day and return them.

Dinner at Konoba Toma, with a snapshot of their multi-lingual menu

After a good nights sleep I ventured into Trogir again in the morning. Trogir may be tiny, but don’t underestimate it. It packs in a lot of history and old town charm within its walls. The shade of bricks on its dwellings are a bit different from Dubrovnik (which has more of an orangish tinge), but Trogir has a charm of its own with its narrow cobblestoned streets with artsy looking shops and ornate doors thrown in here and there. Trogir is touted to be the best preserved Romanesque-Gothic complex not only on the Dalmatian coast but in Central Europe. To get a bird’s eye view of the town, hike up the stairs of the bell tower at the Cathedral of St. Lawrence.

View from the Cathedral of St. Lawrence (Bell Tower)

Cobblestoned streets, my favorite pastime in Europe is to walk along these alleys!

The cathedral is also home to the famous portal created by Master Radovan which is an excellent example of Greco-gothic architecture. Once you are atop the bell tower, you get a 360 degree view of the walled town as well as the stunning Dalmatian coast dotted with yachts and fishing boats. Once we had admired the views we continued walking through the alleys and eventually reached Karmenglo fortress which marks one corner of the island. The harbor front which starts next to the fortress, is lined with small cute cafes where you can sip coffee and watch the yachts pass by.

The portal by Master Radovan

The boardwalk with its palm trees and cafes

Karmenglo Castle

All in all, Trogir is an excellent base from which to explore the Dalmatian coast. And the wonderfully preserved old town is definitely worth a stop for half a day to soak in the old world charm. Its much cheaper and less crowded than Split which is usually where people stay. There are amazing islands nearby with pristine beaches that are accessible by a short boat ride. Wish we had a couple more days to spare so that we could have gone to Hvar, Drevnik Veli and Mali and the fishing villages of Kastela. Oh well, I guess that’s saved for next time!

Orange rooftops are a staple of the Adriatic coast!! Lovely contrast with the blue waters!

Another view from the top of the cathedral (the islands of Čiovo)

Logistics:

Trogir falls under the municipal area of Split and is about a 30-45 min drive from the city center of Split. Bear in mind this can take longer on weekends or in peak summer. I drove to Trogir from my previous stop in Plitvice, a 2-3 hour drive. You can either stay on the island of Trogir, though you may have to park your car in the mainland and then walk over to the island as car traffic is very restricted on the island of Trogir unless you are passing by onto Čiovo island. However there are plenty of hotels/BnB’s/hostels on the road right opposite the bridges that you can walk over to get to Trogir and any one of them are good bets to stay. We stayed at the Villa Kampanel, which is a shiny new hotel/apartment with a view of walled city from the top floor. We got upgraded to a two floored suite which was very luxurious given the price. It was kind of hard to find at night though since GPS directions to addresses written in Croatian on a car I rented in Slovenia were a bit muddled to say the least! All in all, its best if you have a cell phone so you can call the owners to as for directions. It was a mere 5 min walk to Trogir from the place so I don’t regret at all not staying in the walled city which is much more expensive.

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