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City in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
Photo: Zinn, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Trieste (Triest in German, Trst in Slovenian and Croatian) is a city in North-East Italy that was once a very influential and powerful centre of politics, literature, music, art and culture under Austrian-Hungarian dominion.
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Old Town
Trieste boasts an extensive old town: there are many very narrow and crooked streets with typical medieval houses. Nearly the entire area is closed to traffic.
Half of the city was built under Austrian-Hungarian dominion, so there are a lot of palaces that resemble Vienna. An iconic place of this quarter is the majestic Piazza Unità (Unity Square), which is Europe's largest sea-front square. The most present architecture styles are Neoclassical, Art Nouveau, Eclectic, and Baroque.
A walk on the castle ramparts and bastions gives a complete panorama of the city of Trieste, its hills and the sea. It was built between the 15th and 17th centuries by the Habsburgs to control and defend the city. Its thick walls and bastions reflect evolving military architecture, while today it houses a museum and offers sweeping views over Trieste and the Adriatic Sea. Access is also possible via the elevator at the underground carpark of Park San Giusto on Via del Teatro Romano.
Church of Sant’Antonio Taumaturgo in Trieste is a grand Neoclassical church dominating the end of the city’s Grand Canal. Built between 1825 and 1849 to a design by the architect Pietro Nobile, it is the largest Catholic church in Trieste and reflects the city’s 19th-century growth and prosperity.
Foro Romano
The heart of the ancient city of Tergeste. Although only fragmentary remains of the Roman Forum survive—mainly paving, columns, and foundations—the site marks the civic and religious core of Tergeste.
Contains Roman and Medieval relics, and a cenotaph to the archaeologist Johann Winckelmann, father of neoclassicism, who died in Trieste in 1769.
This historic 19th-century castle is a 20-minute trip from Piazza Oberdan on the #6 bus.
Tergeste, which probably dates back to the prehistoric period, was enclosed by walls built in 33-32 BC on Emperor Octavius’s orders. The city developed greatly during the 1st and 2nd century AD. The Roman Theatre faces the sea. The construction partially exploits the gentle slope of the hill, and most of the construction work is in stone. The topmost portion of the amphitheatre steps and the stage were presumably made of wood. The statues that adorned the theatre (which was brought to light in the 1930s) are now preserved at the Town Museum. Three inscriptions from the Trajan period mention a certain Q. Petronius Modestus, a person who was closely connected with the development of the theatre, which was erected during the second half of the 1st century.
Victory Lighthouse
An impressive work of the Triestine architect Arduino Berlam (1880-1946) and of the sculptor Giovanni Mayer (1863-1943), has two important functions. Besides lighting the gulf of Trieste, in order to help navigation, it also serves as a commemorative monument dedicated to the fallen of World War I. The lighthouse is topped by an embossed copper statue of Victory sculpted by Giovanni Mayer. Under this statue is affixed the anchor of the torpedo-boat Audace (the first Italian ship that entered the port of Trieste on November 3, 1918).
An Augustan gate built in the Roman walls in 33 AD, in the narrow streets of the old town.
Trieste's beautiful grand canal. Step onto the bridge to pose with a bronze statue of James Joyce, one of Trieste's many iconic statues that walk the streets instead of standing on pedestals.
This museum was donated to the city in 1869 by Baron Pasquale Revoltella, a great patron of the arts who liked to surround himself with precious and avant-garde works. In a building restored and extended by architect Carlo Scarpa, the museum today houses one of Italy’s finest collections of 19th-century, modern and contemporary art..
Museum of History and Art and Lapidary Garden
Archaeological, historical and art collections. Prehistoric and protohuman findings of local origin; Roman and medieval sculptures and epigraphs. Egyptian, Greek, Roman and pre-Roman antiques. Numismatic collection. Photograph and book libraries.
Zoological, botanical, geological, palaeontological and mineralogical collections. Vivarium. Specialised scientific library..
"Carlo e Vera Wagner" Museum of the Jewish Community of Trieste
Collection of ritual art of the Jewish community of Trieste, mainly silverware and fabrics.
Risiera di San Sabba Museum
A national monument, a testimonial of the only Nazi extermination camp in Italy.
Features drawings, models and fullsized train engines and railcars as well as horse-drawn trams from Trieste's past.
Art collections donated to the city by the Sartorio family. Paintings from the 19th and 20th centuries; sculptures; sketches by Giambattista Tiepolo.
A small museum dedicated to Bora and wind in Trieste.
This giant cave claims to be the biggest tourist cave in the world (since 1997 in the Guinness Book of Records). The enormous hall is 107 m high, 280 m long and 65 m wide. The multi-lingual guided tour takes about 45 minutes. You can also visit the Museum of Speleology is near the cave and besides the various speleological, geological and paleontological finds it also includes some valuable archeological pieces and a poster collection of the cave. Reservation in advance is compulsory for visit.
Serbian Orthodox Church of St. Spyridon
It's one of the largest in Europe, and was built in 1912. Guided tours only.
The long pier across from Piazza Unica d'Italia. An amazing place to relax and watch the sunset.
Kras in Slovene, Carso in Italian
The limestone plateau above the city on both sides of the border. It is ideal for walking and offers excellent views of the Gulf of Trieste, coastal areas of Slovenia, and northern Croatia. Many of the villages in the Karst are majority-Slovene speaking areas. The principal town in the Karst is Opicina.
A pedestrian road stretching from Opicina to Prosecco, about 6km long. The views are superb.
Trieste's concrete, sandless beach just south of Miramare. You can sunbathe here.
This tour agency offers half-day and full-day sailboat cruises around the Gulf of Trieste, with great views of Duino, Miramare, and the surrounding landscape from the sea.
From the Marine Biodiversity Centre, BioMA arranges diving and snorkeling activities in the Miramare Marine Protected Area and around Gulf of Trieste.
Great place for a quick stop for pizza. Excellent pizza mainly take away but there are a few tables to eat it also on site. There are two types of dough, you should try them. Closed Sundays.
Chain serving a good selection of wraps. The best piadina! Big portions and nice ambiance in the street.
Great piadina. Excellent for a quick and hearty lunch. The dough of the piadina is great.
Excellent little Italian restaurant. The food is like homemade. The best place to have a good meal with dishes that are as alternative as they are delicious. Very friendly owner, quiet and welcoming environment.
Family owned trattoria with fresh fish traditionally prepared. Genuine dishes, seasoned with the simplicity of the past to enhance the natural flavor. Generous portions. The owner is very kind. Very casual and optimal quality-to-price ratio.
Great for a quick lunch a stone's throw from the square. Arancine are good and have a lot of variety of ingredients. Amazing cannoli freshly prepared. Very informal environment suitable for a quick lunch or a night snack. Possible to consume at the tables outside or take away. Rapidity and smile distinguish this culinary corner of Sicily in the heart of Trieste.
Quick place to stop in and get some relatively healthy food. Outdoor seating is available. The piadina dough is very good. Good ingredients in general. Excellent choice of flavors. There is another branch of La Piadineria in Via del Ponte, 9/B
Trattoria with a characteristic atmosphere, with home cooking, simple but good dishes, fast service. Cucinadomaca is recommended. As soon as you enter, you are catapulted 60/70 years back, typical Triestine cuisine in a vintage setting.
Great pizza and friendly, The service efficient. It's nice to get away from the crowds outside and find this place with a more local feel.
Excellent food and service. Friendly, nice and yummy.
Considering that this restaurant is right at the Grand Canale, it has very moderate prices (and of course a beautiful view).
Le Barettine
Italian seafood restaurant, huge wine collection, in Trieste's historical city center.
One of Trieste's oldest family-owned restaurants operating since before World War II, serving typical Triestine cuisine. Particularly famous for their proscuitto cotto: cooked ham served with piquant mustard and horseradish.
Open since 1914, San Marco is as popular with today's students and tourists as it was in the days of Saba and Giotti.
Perfectly preserved gem from the 19th century.
One of the few remaining petesserias (cake shop that also sells coffee and liqueur, as well as beverages made from) to have retained its Viennese charm. One of its most devoted customers was none other than James Joyce.
It's a must for hot chocolate in wintertime and chocolate icecream in summertime.
74 beds, restaurant indoors and a snack-bar and restaurant on the panoramic terrace. The youth hostel is easily reached by bus. It has a fantastic location with the Adriatic Sea just a few metres in front of it.
Close to the Castle Duino, the Rilke Promenade above the Natural reserve of Duino's Cliffs, very good connections with public transport to airport and downtown. Staff is very friendly and helpful.
Close to the beautiful Piazza Unità, its rooms have a CD-player, and cable TV. Staff are friendly and speak English.
3-star hotel in the centre. 19th-century building, hotel bar and even business facilities.
A 4-star hotel in a majestic building that has 125 rooms and suites, 6 meeting rooms, spa centre, fitness centre, a restaurant and a bar.
Elegant hotel few minutes by car from the centre, with indoor swimming pool.
By bus
Local routes include Udine, Grado and San Candido/Innichen.
By car
A4 Venice-Trieste, toll-gate Monfalcone-Lisert, exit point "Sistiana" (SS 14 "Costiera"). The town is 24 km from the motorway.
By train
The main railway station in Trieste is Trieste Centrale, located around 15 minutes by foot from Piazza Unita d'Italia.
By public transport
Trieste has a network of buses whose schedules are generally accurate on Google Maps. Timetables are also available on the web.
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Ronchi dei Legionari/Trieste · International · TRS
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