Walking Marjan Forest - stunning nature and saints
Walking around Marjan Forest, "the lungs of the city" is really a "must do“ for everyone who loves nature, history and folklore. It's a perfect half day trip for families and nature lovers.
Highlights
- Varos, Split’s oldest neighborhood, with winding stone streets and alleyways that snake their way up to Marjan
- Vidilica, for a spectacular view of the Old Town and the harbor
- The 16thC Jewish Cemetery, one of the oldest in Europe
- St Franciscan Monastery, for more wonderful views
- St Jerome hermitage
- This tour can easily be combined with How an emperor’s palace became a living city or The Sights and Tastes walking tours of the Old Town.
Every tour is private
and you choose the time!
Yes, we can customize this tour to fit your specific needs – like different time of the day to start, can we add a bike ride, etc. – Just ask!
Book your spot today
Quick and simple booking – Just pick the date and number of travelers, and fill in your info in the next step!
The sweeping views from Marjan are wonderful - especially sunset!
Overview of your tour
The lush green, almost 300-hectare hill that overlooks the western part of the Old Town, Marjan, is dear to the heart of every Splitcani. It’s here, just a 20-minute walk from the Old Town, where we walk, bike, climb, run, hike, play tennis and swim surrounded by the sea, ancient cliffs, towering pine and cypress trees and countless agaves.
Like Split, Marjan’s history also dates back to the 4thC when it was first mentioned on an illustrated map showing Rome’s incredible network of roads that extended from Britain to Persia. Later redrawn in the 13thC, it is known as the Tabula Peutingeriana.
The map not only shows the road to Marjan, via the settlement of Spalato (the Roman word for today’s Split), but its extension towards Epetium (today’s Stobrec) and Salona, the Roman capital of Dalmatia, today known as Solin.
This remarkable document consists of an enormous scroll measuring 6.75 meters long and 0.35 meters high, assembled from eleven sections. If you are ever in Vienna, you can see it at the Austrian National Library, where it has been on display since 1738.
Your tour itinerary
We start from St Francis Monastery, the city's most important church after St. Domnius Cathedral. St. Frane, as locals call it, is located the western end of Split's waterfront promenade—you can't miss it because it's the only church in the Old Town with a clock in its tower.
From here we walk up through Varos, the city's oldest neighborhood, climbing up cobbled streets and admiring beautiful stone houses along the way to a staircase leading up to Vidilica and the 16thC Jewish cementery behind this fabulous viewpoint overlook.
After enjoying the spectacular views and taking amazing pictures, we will share stories about the legendary history of this natural preserve before taking the southern walking route to St Jerome's . Born in Dalmatia in the 4thC, St. Jerome is one of 33 Catholic saints from this region and one of the most revered because it was his Latin translation, known as the Vulgate, that was Christianity's most influential Bible until the mid-20thC!
Cut into the cliff face, this dramatic hermitage was the most important sanctuary dedicated to St. Jerome in Dalmatia. The area of Marjan Forest Park was once home to more than a dozen churches. Mostly small and humble, many were the focus of annual pilgrimages. The earliest Christian single-nave churches were built at crossroads and served as landmarks. Most of them were or are located on Marjan’s southern slope.
As we wind our way back along the southern side of Marjan hill just next to a botanical garden, the views of Solta, Brac and Hvar island are marvelous.
The 9th-11thC remains of the Church of St. Benedict, for whom Bene is named, is just above Bene beach and its adjacent tennis courts.
Tour details
What's included
- Private Guide
Please note
This tour has an uphill climb for part of the way.
The walk begins at sea level at St. Frane Church. Although the walk is not difficult, there are some uphill stretches. We will move at a relaxed pace, but it is adviseable to bring water, wear sunscreen if it’s hot and sunny.
As we slowly climb up through cobbled streets and then along paved pathways, it will take about 3 hours. The tour will end at Vidilica, where you can walk back down the staircase and then re-trace your steps through Varos back to Sv. Frane church and the waterfront.
Please wear non-slip comfortable walking shoes as all the streets are cobbled and are slippery especially in wet weather.
Meeting location
Cruise terminal, the Split Tourist office on the Riva next to the Hotel Adriana, your hotel or apartment – please let us know!
Pricing
- 175 eur – up to 6 people
- If your group is larger than 6, please contact us for details
Great guides, Great reviews
Individually, our team has experience working as private guides for some of the most respected names in the travel industry, including Abercrombie & Kent, National Geographic Travel, Tours by Locals, Jon Baines Travel, numerous Virtuoso agencies and world-class cruise lines like Azamara, Windstar, Princess, Regent, Silver Sea and others.