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By Ana Marendić, licensed tourist guide and art historian, Split, Croatia · Last updated: May 2026 · ~10 minute read
Between 2014 and 2016, HBO filmed several scenes of Game of Thrones in and around Split, Croatia. The fictional Slaver's Bay city of Meereen — where Daenerys Targaryen frees the slaves, chains her dragons, and is ambushed by the Sons of the Harpy — was created using three real locations: the underground cellars of Diocletian's Palace (Daenerys's throne room and dragon dungeons), the medieval Klis Fortress twenty minutes inland (Meereen's exterior walls), and the village of Žrnovnica (where Missandei bathes and the slave masters meet Daenerys's army). This guide, written by a licensed Split tourist guide, identifies every confirmed Game of Thrones filming location in and around Split, the specific scenes shot at each, and the actual 1,700-year-old Roman and medieval history behind them.
Game of Thrones fans who come to Split usually arrive with a checklist. Find the dragon dungeons. See where Daenerys stood. Photograph the throne room.
What most of them don't realise is that every one of those Meereen scenes was filmed inside something far older than HBO's set design. The "Meereen dungeons" are the underground chambers of a Roman emperor's private residence, built in the 290s AD. The "throne room of Meereen" is a section of imperial substructures unchanged since the year 305. The "exterior of Meereen" is a fortress that has been continuously occupied for over 2,000 years.
I work as a guide in Diocletian's Palace. Below is every confirmed Game of Thrones filming location in Split and the surrounding area, the specific scenes shot at each, and — more interestingly — the real history of the building that HBO turned into Meereen.
If you came to Split for Daenerys, stay for what's actually there.
The underground cellars beneath the southern half of Diocletian's Palace are the filming location for Daenerys Targaryen's throne room in Meereen and the dungeons where she chains her dragons. Multiple scenes from Seasons 4, 5, and 6 were shot here.
The cellars (called the substructures or podrumi in Croatian) are a vast network of vaulted underground chambers, located beneath what was once Diocletian's private imperial residence. The Roman architects built them to support the floor of the imperial apartments above — which means the cellars below preserve, in extraordinary detail, the floor plan of the actual rooms a Roman emperor lived in.
In Game of Thrones, the central hall of the substructures is where Daenerys sits on her stone throne in Meereen, hears petitions from her subjects, and ultimately learns that her dragons have killed a shepherd's daughter. The corridors leading off from that hall are where she walks down to her chained dragons in Season 4. Those exact rooms — same walls, same ceiling, same flagstones — are what you walk through today.
The cellars are open to the public year-round for a small entrance fee. They are also, according to the UNESCO World Heritage nomination dossier, one of the most architecturally important examples of late Roman residential design in existence. You can see why HBO chose them: there is no set decoration in the world that looks more authentically ancient than 1,700-year-old original stone.
The Vestibule of Diocletian's Palace, with its open dome and dramatic acoustics, is where Grey Worm and the Unsullied are ambushed by the Sons of the Harpy in Season 5, Episode 4 ("Sons of the Harpy").
Walk south from the Peristyle through the archway and you enter a tall circular room with a hole in the ceiling, open to the sky. This is the Vestibule — the original imperial reception hall, where visitors to Diocletian's palace waited to be received into the emperor's private apartments.
In Season 5, this is the alley-like passage where the masked Sons of the Harpy attack the Unsullied. The scene is shot with the camera looking up toward the open dome — which, in the show, becomes a slot of light revealing more attackers above.
In 305 AD, this room did not have a hole in the ceiling. It had a gold mosaic dome lit from below by oil lamps, deliberately designed to make visitors feel they were entering the residence of a god. Today, the dome decoration is long gone, the structure is open to the sky, and Croatian klapa singers perform here for tourists because of the acoustics. Free, every day, mid-morning and late afternoon.
It is the same architectural space, used by a Roman emperor in 305 AD, by an HBO film crew in 2014, and by a klapa quartet on the morning you visit.
The narrow Papalićeva Street, running through the heart of Diocletian's Palace, served as the alleys of Meereen during the slave revolt and chase sequences in Season 4, Episode 4 ("Oathkeeper").
Papalićeva is one of the oldest streets inside the palace walls — its alignment dates to the original Roman street grid of the 290s AD. The Renaissance palace it is named after, the Papalić Palace, was built into the Roman fabric in the 15th century by the noble Papalić family of Split. Today it houses the Split City Museum.
In Game of Thrones, this is the street the Unsullied run through during the Meereen slave uprising. The chase sequences, the slave masters' panic, the moment Daenerys finally proclaims "All the slaves are free" — all filmed within a hundred metres of this single Roman street, surrounded by walls that have stood since the late 3rd century AD.
The Peristyle of Diocletian's Palace — the ceremonial colonnaded courtyard at the centre of the complex — appears in establishing shots of Meereen during Daenerys's storyline.
The Peristyle is the most photographed space in Split. It is the courtyard surrounded by deep red Aswan granite columns shipped from Egypt on Diocletian's personal orders, with the 3,500-year-old Egyptian sphinx of Pharaoh Thutmose III sitting on its eastern edge. It was originally Diocletian's ceremonial audience chamber, open to the sky.
HBO used the Peristyle for several short establishing shots of Meereen, most often at night with added torchlight and CGI banners covering the Roman frieze of the cathedral (originally Diocletian's mausoleum). If you've seen the show, the layout will feel familiar — the deep colonnades, the square geometry, the narrow exit to the south.
For the full list of what to look for in the Peristyle beyond Game of Thrones, see our guide to 12 hidden details in Diocletian's Palace.
Klis Fortress, a medieval stronghold 9 kilometres inland from Split, served as the exterior of Meereen — including the city's gates, walls, and the staircase where Daenerys gives her victory speech to the freed slaves.
Klis Fortress sits on a dramatic limestone ridge above Split, controlling the only natural pass between the coast and the interior. The Romans had a military outpost here in antiquity to defend nearby Salona. In the medieval period it became one of the most important Croatian royal castles. It withstood Ottoman sieges in the 16th century, hosted the legendary Uskok guerrilla fighters in the 17th, and remained a working military fortification until the Second World War.
In Game of Thrones, Klis is Meereen. The slave revolt scenes, Daenerys's conquest of the city in Season 4 (Episode 3, "Breaker of Chains"), her crucifixion of the slave masters, her victory speech to the freed population — most were filmed on Klis's stairs, walls, and central courtyard. The fortress contains a small Game of Thrones room with props and behind-the-scenes photographs from the production.
Klis is about a 20-minute drive from Split, or you can take public bus #22 from the city centre. The entrance fee is around €11. Allow 1.5–2 hours to walk the full circuit of walls.
The village of Žrnovnica, 10 kilometres east of Split, was used for two distinct Game of Thrones scenes: Daenerys's army approaching Meereen, filmed at a nearby disused quarry, and Missandei's iconic bath scene, filmed at the village's old stone mill on the Žrnovnica River.
Žrnovnica is a small village at the foot of Mosor mountain, settled by a Croatian aristocratic family in the 11th century. It is centred on the spring of the Žrnovnica River, one of the shortest rivers in Croatia, which historically powered a series of stone watermills.
In Season 4 (Episode 3, "Breaker of Chains"), Daenerys's army approaches the gates of Meereen across an open plain — that plain is the abandoned quarry on the village's outskirts. It is also where the Meereenese champion rides out to challenge her, where Daario Naharis duels him, and where the chains are hurled over the city walls.
Missandei's bath scene, in which she is interrupted by Grey Worm, was filmed at a 17th-century stone mill on the Žrnovnica River itself — a tranquil, green setting that contrasts with the action sequences elsewhere in the season.
The mill is still standing. The quarry is still there. Most local tourists drive past Žrnovnica without realising it played a role in the series.
Want a guide who'll show you the Roman version of these places — not just the Meereen one? Time Walk is a licensed VR-enhanced walking tour of Diocletian's Palace, led by an accredited Split historian. At two locations — the Golden Gate and the Peristyle — guests put on Meta Quest 3 headsets and see the palace reconstructed as it stood in 305 AD: the imperial apartments above the "Meereen dungeons," the original gold mosaic dome of the "Sons of the Harpy" room, the painted Peristyle as Diocletian saw it.€19 · 80 minutes · Small groups · Rated ★ 5.0 across 90+ verified reviews→ Book your tour
The medieval town of Trogir, 30 kilometres west of Split, was used for filming the exterior of Qarth — including the famous "Gates of Qarth" scene in Season 2, Episode 5 ("The Ghost of Harrenhal").
Trogir is a small, almost entirely intact medieval town built on a tiny island, connected to the mainland by short bridges. Like Split, its historic core is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city walls and waterfront fortifications were used for the exterior shots of Qarth, the wealthy port city Daenerys visits early in her arc.
Trogir is the easiest Game of Thrones day trip from Split — about 30 minutes by car or public bus, or 50 minutes by ferry. Most visitors combine it with a stop at the nearby Roman ruins of Salona, the ancient capital of the province of Dalmatia, where Diocletian was born.
If you've already covered the Meereen locations and want a fuller picture of Game of Thrones in Croatia, Trogir is the obvious extension.
For die-hard fans willing to travel further, two additional Game of Thrones filming clusters are within a few hours of Split:
Both are accessible by bus, car, or organised day tour from Split. For most fans, however, the in-Split-area locations (Diocletian's Palace + Klis + Žrnovnica) deliver the highest density of filming sites in the smallest geographic area anywhere in the Game of Thrones universe.
You can comfortably cover every Game of Thrones filming location in Split and its immediate surroundings in a single day. Here is the most efficient sequence, assuming you start in the city centre:
Morning (3 hours): Begin inside Diocletian's Palace. Walk the Peristyle (Meereen establishing shots), enter the Vestibule (Sons of the Harpy ambush), descend into the cellars (Daenerys's throne room and dragon dungeons), walk Papalićeva Street (slave revolt chase). This is also where Time Walk's VR walking tour operates — and where the most layered historical interpretation happens.
Midday (1 hour for transit + lunch): Take a taxi or public bus #22 to Klis. Lunch at one of the village konobas just below the fortress (try the local peka — slow-cooked lamb under an iron bell).
Afternoon (2 hours): Klis Fortress (Meereen exterior). Walk the walls, find the Game of Thrones room, climb to the southern bastion for the panoramic shot of Split.
Late afternoon (1 hour): Drive or taxi to Žrnovnica (15 minutes from Klis). Walk the stone mill on the river, visit the quarry on the outskirts. Stay for sunset over Mosor mountain.
This is a full day. You will have walked through every confirmed Game of Thrones filming location in the Split metropolitan area, and seen the actual 1,700-year-old Roman and medieval architecture that the show used to create Meereen.
For broader visitor planning, see our one-day Split itinerary and our complete guide to things to do in Split, Croatia.
80 minutes · €19 · Small groups · Rated ★ 5.0 across 90+ verified reviews · Available in English
Split and its surrounding area served as the fictional Essos city of Meereen across Seasons 4, 5, and 6 of Game of Thrones. Specific filming locations include the underground cellars of Diocletian's Palace (Daenerys's throne room and dragon dungeons), the Vestibule (Sons of the Harpy ambush), Papalićeva Street (slave revolt chase), the Peristyle (establishing shots), Klis Fortress 20 minutes inland (Meereen exterior walls), and the village of Žrnovnica (army approach and Missandei's bath scene).
Yes. All confirmed Split filming locations are open to the public year-round. Diocletian's Palace is the historic centre of Split and is free to enter, though the cellars and cathedral charge small entrance fees. Klis Fortress charges approximately €11. Žrnovnica village is free to walk through. The full circuit can be completed in a single day.
The scenes of Daenerys chaining her dragons in the Meereen dungeons were filmed in the central hall and corridors of the underground cellars beneath Diocletian's Palace. These are the original Roman substructures built in the 290s AD to support the floor of the imperial apartments above. They are open to the public for a small fee.
Yes — both as a Game of Thrones location and as one of the most historically important medieval fortifications in Croatia. Klis was a Roman military outpost, a Croatian royal castle, an Ottoman frontier garrison, and a centre of Uskok resistance, before becoming Meereen in Game of Thrones. It also offers one of the best panoramic views of Split and the Adriatic. Allow 1.5–2 hours.
The most common options are public bus #22 from Split city centre (about 25 minutes, around €3), a taxi or Uber (around 20 minutes, €15–€20), or driving (free parking available outside the fortress). Many Game of Thrones-themed tours operating from Split also include Klis as a stop.
There are several Game of Thrones-themed tours operating in Split, ranging from short walking tours of Diocletian's Palace to full-day bus tours that include Klis Fortress and Žrnovnica. For visitors who want to combine Game of Thrones with the real 1,700-year-old Roman history of Diocletian's Palace, Time Walk's VR-enhanced walking tour covers all in-palace filming locations and reconstructs each in its original 305 AD form using Meta Quest 3 headsets.
The major Game of Thrones filming locations in Croatia, in order of importance, are: Dubrovnik (King's Landing — the primary location of the series), Split and its surroundings (Meereen), Šibenik (Braavos), Trogir (Qarth), and Lokrum Island near Dubrovnik (also Qarth interiors). Dubrovnik and Split together host more filming days than any other location outside Northern Ireland.
Production in the Split area took place from 2013 to 2016, primarily for Seasons 4, 5, and 6 of the series. The Meereen storyline ended in Season 6, and filming in Split did not continue into Seasons 7 or 8.
Time Walk is a VR-enhanced walking tour of Diocletian's Palace, which means it covers all in-palace Game of Thrones filming locations (the cellars, the Vestibule, Papalićeva, the Peristyle) — but the VR reconstruction shows the Roman version of these spaces, as they stood in 305 AD when Diocletian moved in, rather than the Meereen version from the show. For visitors who want both layers — the HBO setting and the real imperial palace underneath — it is the most context-rich way to experience the palace.
Yes. All public locations allow photography. The palace cellars, Klis Fortress, and Žrnovnica are all open-air or have permissive photo policies. Some interior sections of the Cathedral of Saint Domnius restrict flash photography. Drone usage in Diocletian's Palace requires a permit from the Croatian authorities.
Ana Marendić is a licensed tourist guide (turistički vodič) registered with the Croatian Ministry of Tourism and Sport. She conducts walking tours of Diocletian's Palace and Split's historic centre as the resident guide for Time Walk, a VR-enhanced walking tour of the palace. She is based in Split, Croatia.
This article draws on the author's professional guiding experience in Diocletian's Palace, Game of Thrones episode-by-episode location verification, and the published filming records from HBO's official production materials and the Internet Movie Database. Roman and medieval historical context is supplemented by Wilkes (1986), Marasović (1968), and the UNESCO World Heritage nomination dossier for Diocletian's Palace. Filming location identifications are cross-referenced with the official tourism listings of Klis Municipality, the Split Tourist Board, and independent visitor reports published between 2015 and 2026. Where scene-to-location matches are debated among fans, the article uses the most widely accepted production-source attribution.
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