Split hands you a Roman palace for free: its lanes are public streets, not a ticketed site. Pair that with Pazar market picnics, Marjan's no-cost viewpoints and city buses at €1.50, and three days here run on pocket change.
The northern palace gate, once the emperor's ceremonial entrance, is open street 24/7 with no ticket. Behind it stands Meštrović's 8.5m bronze bishop; rubbing the polished big toe is the local wish ritual. Free, no queue before 10:00.
From Varoš, a stone staircase climbs to the Vidilica terrace over the palace roofs and harbour. The whole park is free and open around the clock; the Jewish cemetery from 1573 sits just above the café terrace.
A pebble cove on Marjan's south flank, reachable free on foot in 35 minutes along the coastal road or by bus 12. Clear deep water, pine shade behind the pebbles, and no entry fee — only the sunbed rental costs anything.
An 11th-century Romanesque chapel wedged into the fishermen's quarter of stone cottages above the centre. The lanes here are the old free-to-wander Split: laundry lines, tiny shrines, cats, and views back over the palace roofs.
Split's open-air market east of the palace walls, running daily from about 06:30 to 14:00. Peaches, tomatoes, olives, ewe's cheese and fresh bread build a picnic for under €6. Prices drop noticeably in the last hour of trading.
The 1890s covered fish hall on Kraj Sv. Marije, famously fly-free thanks to sulphur springs next door. Trading runs 06:30-13:00; sardines and small mackerel are the cheapest catch on the slabs by a wide margin.
Croatian bakeries are the budget traveller's engine: burek with cheese or meat runs about €3, a slice of soparnik or a pizza cut around €2.50. Most open from 06:00 to late evening and sell by weight.
The little working boat harbour at the Riva's west end, where students and locals sit on the breakwater with shop-bought drinks and watch the sun go down behind Čiovo. Costs nothing; a bottle of Karlovačko from a konzum is about €1.30.
City bus 60 from the Sukoišan terminal reaches the ruins of Salona, the Roman provincial capital where Diocletian was born, in about 25 minutes. The amphitheatre and basilica fields are vast and near-empty compared with the palace.
On the Meje coastal road, the 16th-century fortified villa Ivan Meštrović bought to house his Life of Christ wood reliefs. The walled garden, chapel exterior and sea terrace can be taken in from the public road for nothing.
Bus 22 from Split's HNK stop climbs to the fortress guarding the mountain pass, held against the Ottomans until 1537 and used as Meereen in Game of Thrones. The ramparts give the full sweep over Split and the islands.
Marjan's highest point at 178m, reached free on forest paths from Vidilica in about 40 minutes. The plateau looks south to Brač, Šolta and Hvar, and almost nobody climbs the last stretch past the Church of St Jerome.