Secret Split: Socialist Architecture & Brutalism - Urban Utopia

I recently joined a tour around my very own neighbourhood. Our guide Mirjana shared captivating stories of the socialist architecture, its residents and creators, and the whole historical context and social fabric behind this incredible urban project of 1970's Yugoslavia. What really stood out was her natural, flowy storytelling! She effortlessly took us through a hundred years of history, weaving together streets, buildings, and the lives of the people who shaped them. Being in a small group made the experience feel even more intimate, and I left with a completely new perspective on the area I thought I knew. Highly recommended for anyone wanting to truly connect with this city and get a little further under the skin of local life.

This was my second time joining this tour and it was just as fantastic as the first! Mirjana is genuinely engaging, and you can clearly feel how much she loves Split’s history and architecture. It’s a perfect way to spend an afternoon and see a side of Split most people completely miss. Huge credit to Mirjana for creating and running this experience - every local, and anyone who loves Split, architecture, history, or all three, should take this tour. So yes... This walking tour is an absolute must when visiting Split!

Two things intersected perfectly here - firstly the recent history of Split, which is not talked about much, and secondly our guide Mirjana, who is very knowledgeable, and friendly and clearly enjoys what she does. For anyone coming to Split for the first time, I highly recommend this tour. For locals (especially if they live in Split 3), this tour should be a must!!!

The tour was not only educational but also an eye opening experience. The urban planning of this part of the town is quite impressive. At first glance not so attractive with Mirjanas tour completely made sense. Her tour is unique as is the urban project of Split 3. I would recommend this tour not only to people with urban and architectural interests but also to anyone who wants to have a great time with a local expert.

Great throwback to recent history through architectural, human and political context. The guide was engaged, factual and gave us a perspective to overthink some of the common narration of the past and to link it with today's life. Mirjana, thank you for a special experience!

The tour was amazing. We had Mirjana as our tour guide. She is not only a fabulous professional but a passionate connoisseur of her home town. The tour was deeply informative and interesting with humorous details and inside information. We would love to recommend this tour to anyone who wants to find out more about this beautiful town and it's marvelous architecture. The tour is easy to walk. Top tour. Thank you Mirjana.

Personalised, very interesting. Loved our time with Mirjana who is clearly very passionate, knowledgeable about her city. Would highly recommend. Perfect if you like brutalist architecture, history, planning, community, local knowledge.

Tour with Mirjana was really nice ! It was new expierence in Split. It was interesting to see this part of Split and get to know more about history how this area was planned and builded. I would highly reccomend this tour to everyone !

As we've wandered the outskirts of Split, my wife and I didn't find a lot of 'humanity' in the socialist concrete blocks. This changed given our time with Mirjana. We now see the beauty, not only in the architecture and design elements, but also in the human stories in the web of life that has been created. We've loved Split since the day we arrived. That love has been taken to another level with the understanding of its people and their stories on this tour. A highlight came at the end of the tour as we sat and immersed ourselves in a coffee, this wonderful Croatian practice of nursing a coffee or hot chocolate in good company. No cell phones, no distractions, just wonderful conversation. Love our tour!

I would highly recommend the tour, the guild kept you engaged with interesting stories of the area. Was very relaxing with a warm personality! You don’t want to miss this opportunity while in split. Stuart

I highly recommend this tour to anyone interested in urban planning and in the history of Yugoslavia. Mirjana was a great guide, who explained the history and philosophy of the neighborhood in an engaging way. It is a great opportunity to explore a part of the city which you otherwise may not think to visit, but is nonetheless very much worth visiting.

I am so glad I found out about this tour, which allowed me to discover a part of Split I never would have learned about on my own. Mirjana is a fantastic guide and taught us about the social and political history behind the unique architecture of Split 3. This tour is perfect for anyone interested in design, planning, history—or simply just exploring beyond the old city.

Mirjana is an excellent guide, I can't recommend her enough. She's so passionate and dedicated. You can see there's research behind all the great stories she tell. I hope to be able to do more of her tours. Unfortunately, we can only give 5 stars in TripAdvisor, so here's an extra one: ⭐

This tour like no other lets you explore Split's rich history and architecture. It's a truly immersive experience. Especially the Split 3 area is a gem, hiding in plain sight. It might look like yet another socialist concrete jungle, but it's so much more than that. Having grown up Poland, surrounded by socialist architecture, I didn't think that Split 3 would make such an impression on me. Yet it did, and it's all thanks to Mirjana's incredible ability to tell a compelling story, which takes you back in time and lets you see everything from a different perspective. Combined with a trip in a red tiny old-timer Fico, it's the ultimate Split experience. Highly recommended!

This is one of the tours I would recommend to everyone visiting Split. Not only do you learn more about the recent history of Croatia, but you get to see and explore real life in the area where people live, hear about the architecture and the idea behind it. Look at the work of local artists and drive around in the smallest car I ever saw and even drive that car. This is a must do tour. Mirjana and Ivan took us to caffee in a local place, and it was nice to be away from the crowds of the old town. Thank you guys for an amazing day!!

Having had a tour of Old Town Solit with Mirjana which was fabulous, we decided to give it a go with this one…Great, fun and a very different experience that will show the life in the second part of XX century for majority of people. With Mirjana as a presenter we were taken back in time and with small red cars went through highrises that hold so many stories (good and bad) that you would normally miss! Exceptional and original!

Mirjana i njena sposobnost prenošenja emocije je iznad svih turističkih vodiča. Pomislili biste da tura Split 3 nema previše povijesnih podataka. Međutim od Morjane saznate sve detalje i zaljubite se iznova u svaki dio Splita. Njen entuzijazam i energija su zarazni i nakon svake njene ture odeš kući obogaćen znanjem, ali i dobrom voljom. Da joj mogu dati ocjenu 10 bila bi čista desetka.

Nočekivano otkriće Trstenika – moderna duša Splita koju morate doživjeti! Iskreno, nisam znao što očekivati od ove ture. Trstenik mi je uvijek bio kvart kojeg jednostavno “poznajem” – betonske zgrade, pralelne ulice, ništa posebno… Ili sam barem tako mislio. Ali onda sam krenuo u razgled s Mirjanom i ostao bez riječi… Ovo nije tipična turistička tura. Nema Dioklecijanove palače, nema razgledavanja “klasičnih” spomenika. Umjesto toga, ova šetnja vodi vas kroz početke modernog Splita, kroz urbanizam, viziju grada, kroz djela slavnih arhitekata. Iza naizgled tipičnih fasada kriju se fascinantne priče – o stanarima, golubovima, ciglama koje su inspirirane upravo Dioklecijanovom palačom, o fragmentima moderne arhitekture koji su se na nevjerojatan način stopili s okolišem, o detaljima koji su tu cijelo vrijeme, ali ih tek uz Mirjaninu priču zaista primijetiš. Mirjana je mjesecima istraživala, razgovarala, tražila – i sve to utkala u turu koja nije samo edukativna, nego i dirljiva, inspirativna i nevjerojatno autentična. Otkrila je jednu novu dušu grada – živu, tihu, toplu – i podijelila je s nama. Preporučujem svakome tko želi vidjeti Split iz jedne posve druge perspektive, prošećete Trstenikom u društvu Mirjane 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻😊