Split Tour Gay History Queer Roman Emperors and LGBTQ+ Struggle
- 2 hours
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- Guided in English
- Instant confirmation
Highlights
Your guide is a licensed Split tour expert, as well as a mental health professional and counselor, working to increase visibility of the LGBT community and bring these stories to life through tourism. Meet the Roman queer emperors and discover the stories of their lovers, meet Elagabal, history’s first known trans figure. Learn why same-sex relationships were legal for free men and slaves but forbidden for equal citizens, risking status and life. Explore Diocletian’s Palace secrets: why the headless sphinx guards Jupiter’s temple, survive the human trap at the Golden Gate. Travel to the Middle Ages, when queer lives went into hiding. Discover the curse of the last Croatian king that legend says cost the state a thousand years of independence. Fast forward to modern Split: see how the Homeland War shaped Croatia, and how Pride marches, activism, and legal reforms brought civil partnerships, adoption rights, and visibility to the LGBTQIA+ community.
Inclusions
What's included
- Photo on the Iron Throne, kings Throne of Swords
- Additional discounts at selected shops, museums, and recommended restaurants
- LGBTQIA+ mental health expert, counselor ally, sharing insights into social issues in Split.
- Split History Walking Tour
- Game of Thrones Filming Scenes and Videos for GoT fans
- Licensed tour guide
- Split City Palace Museum Entry
Itinerary
Peristyle Square, we’re standing in the ceremonial heart of Diocletian’s Palace, where subjects once knelt before the emperor who believed to be a god on Earth.
Golden Gate, the main entrance to the emperor’s palace, enemies who tried to break in would find themselves trapped between double gates, a deadly Roman defense mechanism.
Gregory of Nin, he gave his life defending the Croatian language, is today its powerful symbol and legend says his statue brings good luck to anyone who rubs its big toe.
Down in the dark basements of the emperor’s apartment, the dragons live and devour bad master, but in reality, much worse, this was also the city’s largest medieval toilet… absolutely disgusting.
The Vestibule is where the emperor was worshipped like a god on Earth, much like in the Pantheon, but today, we can pause here to listen to the a cappella voices of modern Split.
Pjaca Square is where people still gather today, a lively meeting place whose architecture tells the turbulent story of Spli. From the Romans and Venetians, through French, Austro-Hungarian, and Yugoslav rule, all the way to modern Croatia.
Đardin Park was once a well-known meeting place for prostitutes in recent history, and today it has transformed into the central gathering point for Split’s LGBTQIA+ Pride, symbolizing the city’s social change.
Along the Riva, all of Split comes for their coffee and sunshine, and here the Pride parade marches in full swing, with music and demonstrations flowing together in a lively, harmonious rhythm.
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Reviews
5.0
- 52
- 40
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- 10
Ratings come from 2 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- Gregory of Nin Statue at the Golden Gate. The guide will wait with the black umbrella.
- Pickup
- Pickup is offered, or you can meet at the starting point.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Operated by
- Hi-story hiSTORY
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
How it compares in Split
- Its from-price is 30% below the median of the 1250 experiences we list in Split.
- It is shorter than most of them.
- By number of reviews it ranks 706 of 1250.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About Split
Split is a busy Dalmatian port built within and around a Roman emperor's palace, with ferries to some of Croatia's loveliest islands.
Diocletian's Palace, built around the turn of the fourth century as the emperor's retirement home, is the old town itself: its walls, cellars and courtyards hold homes, shops and cafés. The Peristyle, the colonnaded heart, leads to the Cathedral of St Domnius, once the emperor's mausoleum, and its bell tower gives views over the rooftops.
Top-ranked sights in Split: Budikovac Island (Veliki Budikovac), Blue Lagoon Croatia (Krknjasi Bay), Peristyle Square (Peristil).
Special offers in Split
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
