Where to stay in Split: the old town, the coast and the islands

Nowhere else in Europe lets you sleep inside a Roman emperor's palace. Diocletian's walls now enclose a UNESCO-listed maze of marble lanes, where the Peristyle's columns frame café tables and the cathedral bell tower rises over the rooftops. Out front, the palm-lined Riva is the city's promenade and living room, the green market spills out beside the palace walls, and Marjan hill, a pine-forested park with sweeping views, rises at the western end of town.

Hotels range from a five-star in a restored building right inside the protected historic core to a new six-storey hotel on the western promenade with city and sea views, and a luxury hotel at the foot of Marjan. A completely renovated flagship hotel, with piano music in its restaurant, sits a short stroll from Bačvice, the sandy city beach where locals play picigin in the shallows. Expect late-night noise in the old town and lots of steps; in return, the ferry port is minutes away on foot.

Trogir is Split's smaller, prettier sibling: a whole medieval town squeezed onto an islet and reached by little bridges, its UNESCO-listed lanes lined with Romanesque churches, Renaissance palaces and a waterfront where yachts moor beneath the castle walls. Summer evenings bring concerts, brass bands and singers to the squares.

Many of the best places to stay are inside or right beside the old town, including small family-run hotels in buildings several centuries old and a heritage hotel in an 18th-century Baroque palace. For a pool and a sundeck, a design-led beach house hotel sits a short walk from the sea, under a kilometre from the old town. Split airport is only a few kilometres away, which makes Trogir a superb first or last night.

Just south-east of the city, Podstrana is where Split goes to the beach. A string of pebble coves runs along the foot of the mountains, with a little marina and a seafront path, and buses run into the city from the main road. It is quieter than staying in town, but you can still be at the Riva for dinner in a matter of minutes.

The big name is a five-star resort with a spa, pools and its own beach, plus an aparthotel inside the same grounds for families who want a kitchen. Elsewhere you'll find long-running seaside hotels with balconies and sea views, and a sleek, newer four-star a short walk from Grbavac beach. Good value for what you get, and a fine compromise between city and beach.

Omiš has one of the most dramatic settings on the coast. The Cetina river carves a deep gorge through the mountains and spills into the sea right beside the medieval old town, which was once a notorious pirates' lair. Two fortresses watch over the rooftops, and the river is the place for rafting, kayaking and canyon zip-lines.

Hotels are small and full of character: a luxury boutique hotel with a spa by the sea, a pair of old houses built against the medieval town walls around a hidden courtyard, and an eco-friendly hotel on a cliff above the old town. Split is around half an hour up the coast, and the beach is right in town.

The Makarska Riviera is a 60-kilometre ribbon of beach towns pinned between the sea and the bare grey wall of the Biokovo mountains. Makarska itself is the hub, with a palm-lined promenade, a harbour full of boats, bars and clubs, and pine-shaded pebble beaches on either side of town. The water is famously clear, and the islands of Brač and Hvar fill the horizon.

It is a classic family choice, with big, well-run beach hotels, a five-star resort and spa on the sand, and a boutique hotel right on the promenade. A few minutes south, Tučepi is calmer, with a long beach and a five-star hotel in the pines with infinity pool views. Split airport is roughly 70 km away.

At the northern end of the Makarska Riviera, Baška Voda and neighbouring Brela are smaller and slower than Makarska, with seafront promenades, pine woods coming right down to the shore and white pebble beaches. Brela's Punta Rata, with its rock and lone pine, is one of the most celebrated beaches in the country.

Hotels range from a family-run four-star a few steps from the sea to bigger resort hotels in Brela with pools, spa and easy access to the sand, and a small boutique hotel near the promenade. It's ideal if you want the Riviera's scenery without its crowds, and it's the closest part of it to Split.

Hvar town is the Adriatic's party harbour and it knows it. Yachts line the waterfront, a Spanish fortress looks down from the hill, and the bars stay busy until the early hours. By day, water taxis shuttle sunbathers to the pine-covered Pakleni islands just offshore. Over on the north coast, Stari Grad is the island's quieter, older soul, surrounded by an ancient field system protected by UNESCO.

Pick a hotel to match your mood. A secluded hotel in a private cove a couple of kilometres from Hvar town is a classic couples' hideaway, a boutique beach resort is calmer still, and a Beaux Arts hotel with its own nightclub keeps you close to the action. In Stari Grad, a heritage villa comes with its own winery. Catamarans run from Split.

Bol is the reason most people come to Brač. Just along the coast from this old fishing village lies Zlatni Rat, a long tongue of fine pebbles that pokes out into the sea and shifts its shape with the wind and currents. The breezy channel between Brač and Hvar makes Bol a favourite for windsurfers, and the village itself has a pretty harbour and promenade.

Hotels here are mostly small and stylish: an elegant boutique hotel in a restored heritage building in the village centre, an adults-only lifestyle hotel with a pool and sauna, and boutique villas a few steps from the promenade and marina. Catamarans link Bol with Split.

An hour or so up the coast from Split, Šibenik is a handsome old stone city that climbs steeply from the sea to its fortresses, with the UNESCO-listed Cathedral of St James at its heart. The waterfalls of Krka National Park are a short drive inland. Neighbouring Vodice is a busier beach resort with a harbour, clubs and a pine-fringed seafront.

Stay in a heritage hotel in a 15th-century palace in Šibenik's old town, or head to the resort hotels on the coast just outside the city, which are split by style: one for families, with bunk-bed family rooms, one built for couples, with an indoor-outdoor spa. In Vodice, a brand-new hotel has a rooftop pool and jacuzzi.