For a few seasons, the coast around Split doubled as Meereen, Braavos and the place Daenerys kept her dragons. The good news: the locations are real, ancient and worth seeing on their own merit. The honest note: there are no sets, no signs reading “Daenerys stood here,” and no dragons. If you come knowing that, it’s a genuinely fun way to see some of the oldest stone in the city.
Diocletian’s cellars — the dragon dungeon
The substructures beneath Diocletian’s Palace — the basement halls that once supported the emperor’s apartments — played the chamber where Daenerys chained her growing dragons. In real life they’re a 1,700-year-old Roman cellar system, cool and cavernous, right in the middle of the old town. You can walk the free passage through the middle for nothing, or pay a small fee to enter the larger halls on either side. Start with our palace guide for the lay of the land.
Klis Fortress — the gates of Meereen
Fifteen minutes uphill from Split, Klis Fortress stood in for Meereen, the slaver city Daenerys liberates. Long before the show it guarded the mountain pass into Split for centuries, and the views over the city and islands are the real reason to go. It’s an easy half-day — local bus or a short drive — and our Klis guide covers how to get there and what to expect.
Kaštel Gomilica — a corner of Braavos
Between Split and Trogir, the tiny fortified islet of Kaštel Gomilica became part of Braavos, the canal city. It’s not a tourist attraction in the usual sense — just a lived-in old hamlet on the water — so treat it as a quiet curiosity rather than a headline stop. Go for the atmosphere, not the photo op.
A bit further: Žrnovnica and the south
Some skirmish and road scenes were shot in the Žrnovnica valley and along the coast south of Split. These are working landscapes, not marked sites, and only worth chasing if you’re a serious fan with a car and a checklist. Most visitors get everything they want from the cellars and Klis.
DIY or guided tour?
You can do this independently and cheaply: the cellars and the whole palace are a short walk from the centre, and Klis is a bus ride away. Guided “Game of Thrones” walking tours add the on-set stories, the exact camera angles and a guide who can line up the scene on a tablet — worth it if the show is the whole point of your visit. If it’s a fun bonus to a Roman city, do it yourself.
Keep expectations sane
The magic here is that the “sets” were already 1,700 years old when the cameras arrived. Come for the stone — the cool dark cellars, the ramparts at Klis, the islands laid out below — and let the dragons be a story you tell on top of it. After the cellars, the palace keeps going after dark, when the crowds thin and it looks the most cinematic of all. We’re right inside the old town, so the dragon dungeon is, genuinely, a few minutes from your door.