Bačvice Beach

Bačvice is Split's most popular city beach — a shallow, sandy cove east of the old town that is the spiritual home of picigin, a unique ball game played in knee-deep water that has been a Split tradition since the 1920s and was added to Croatia's list of intangible cultural heritage. The game involves keeping a small ball in the air using acrobatic dives, kicks, and palm slaps, and the players — who perform increasingly theatrical moves as the audience (the entire beach) watches — turn the shallows into a stage.

The beach bar scene at Bačvice — particularly the clubs and lounges that line the promenade behind the beach — provides Split's evening entertainment in summer, and the combination of swimming, picigin, sunset cocktails, and the walk back to the old town along the harbour makes Bačvice the default summer day-to-evening destination.