City break in Trieste, Italy

An Italian seaside city with an interesting historical background, located very close to our home in Budapest: Trieste was the perfect destination for a city break at the end of August! It satisfied all our cravings after two summer months at home: a new destination for both of us, sun and sea, Italian food, urban exploration, and the delicious feeling of finally doing what summer is made for.

Piazza dell'Unitá, Trieste

A bit on purpose and a bit by chance, we timed our activities there very well. We arrived with Blablacar on a Thursday evening, just in time for the sunset: we walked from the train station to the city centre, admiring the reflection of the setting sun on the sea and the warm light on the magnificent buildings of Piazza Unitá, the main square. Our Airbnb was a cute tiny minimal studio, two streets away from the sea promenade and from the main square - in the building where James Joyce used to come and, ahem, spend some quality time with the local ladies. Did you even know that Joyce spent 15 years in Trieste?

A couple of words about Trieste: even though I was well aware of where it is, it wasn't until the second evening that I realized that the sun was setting in the sea. Wait a moment: doesn't the sun set in the sea only on the Western coast of, well, everywhere? We're in Eastern Italy, so how is that possible?? Well, Trieste is basically in Slovenia, almost in Croatia, so it's not really Eastern Italy as much as the Western coast of the Balkan countries... So there is enough space for the sun to set in the sea. Nowhere else in Eastern Italy you can see the sun setting in the sea. How cool is that?! (Ok probably it's possible in Puglia, in Gallipoli and around there, but never mind)

Stazione Rogers bar

We started off with the right foot at one of the best pizzeria in town, DnapoliMaestri Pizzaioli. We received a couple of proseccos while waiting for our table and ended up chatting with another couple of foreigners, Israeli guy and Taiwanese girl, travelling through the Balkans. Of course, they had Couchsurfing experience! It's quite a common trait of so many cool and social people we meet :) The pizza was simply amazing, anything else passing by us also looked delicious, and we spent only 25 euros for the two of us! Afterwards, we followed my friend Giada's advice and took a stroll along the beautiful sea promenade - imagine historical Austrian-style buildings on your left, pavement dropping into the sea on your right, and sailboats parked in small club marinas. At the very end, behind a weird curvy small building, there is Stazione Rogers: a bar built inside a caravan, with a DJ set on the side, surrounded by pallet furniture and protected from the main street by a set of plants in vases. The cocktails were great and the atmosphere was so relaxed and free: we spent quite a while people-watching, admiring the unique and cool outfits of guys and girls, relaxing on a Thursday evening and probably procrastinating the studying for the September university exams. It felt to me like travelling in the past!

We planned to spend Friday exploring the city, and to use Saturday to go to the nearby city of Gorizia and to the seaside outside of Trieste.

One of the best feelings for us - and one of the things I really miss of Italy - is breakfast: turn one or two corners from wherever you are, and you will find a café, serving tasty pastries and great coffee, just waiting for you to sit down and relax for 15 minutes - or not! The counter always has space for a standing flash break.

Trieste walking tour

As usual, we passed by the info point, where I was glad we queued and spoke with the friendly  and knowledgeable lady: for only 4 euros each, we got and audio tour and a small map that guided us around the centre and through the history of the city. It can probably be completed in just a couple of hours by very efficient travellers, but we took our time (and a lunch break), so we spent approximately 5 hours. It was really well done, a captivating blend of information and story-telling: first some history of the city and the area, then up the hill of San Giusto to visit the ancient roman and medieval areas, then down to the squared Theresian district, built by the Austrians in the 1800, and back to Piazza Unitá through the Jewish district. (Post-travel research: this guide looks very thorough!)

View from the bell tower of San Giusto

The view from the bell tower of top of San Giusto hill was gorgeous and worth the effort, as it encompasses the sea, the city, the hills and the Fortress just next to the Church. We loved how visible the layers of history are, in this area of the city: part of the roman Arch of Riccardo is actually inside a house; the church of San Giusto (1320) is itself the union of two older churches under the same roof, with stunning byzantine mosaics inside, and showcases on its facade two cannonballs fired at it during the Napoleonic wars; between the winding streets that connect the low and high parts of the hill, there is a whole Roman Theatre, well renovated and very evocative.  It's located quite inside the city from the sea promenade, but back then it was the welcoming sight for sailors: it's magical to stand there now, almost 2000 years later!

Irish writer James Joyce

After a delicious lunch at Eppinger, we continued along the regular streets of the Theresian district, a beautiful fusion of Neo-classic, Neo-renaissance and Eclectic architecture. Saint Anthony square  is the symbol of the variety of people, languages and religions that populated this city over the centuries: you will find there historical coffee houses, the Neoclassical Saint Anthony church, the Serbian Orthodox Church of Saint Spyridon, the statue of James Joyce on the Red bridge, and the Canal Grande built by wish of Austrian Empress Theresa. Not far from there is Piazza Oberdan, the starting stop of the Opicina tramway, which turns into a cog railway to climb up the hills and impress you with the best view of the city and the gulf: unfortunately, due to an accident on the tracks, it was closed.

Palazzo del Governo

Piazza della Borsa and Piazza Verdi led us to the narrow alleys of the Jewish neighbourhood (Via Beccherie), before bringing us back to the magnificent Piazza Unitá. The Palazzo del Governo, with its delicate golden and colourful mosaic decorations reflecting the sun, is definitely be one of the most beautiful buildings we have ever seen; the square itself, the largest seafront square in Europe, is simply stunning. 

Miramare Castle

A quick and delicious ice-cream at Jazzin and we were off by bus (line 6 or 36 from the train station) to visit the Miramare castle. Located 10 km North of the city, it was built from 1856 to 1860, for Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, a magnificent example of eclectic architecture designed by Carl Junker. Reaching it from the side of the sea, through the southern main gate (in the direction of Trieste) and the park, it looks like a big white cube sitting on the edge of the rocky promontory, but as we got closer we noticed the delicate decorations on the external walls, the modest but still imperial entrance, and the distinctive feeling of the money and care that was put in the building and in the park.

We were quite tired, so we didn't spend a long time visiting the apartments (8 eur entrance fee), but they are so magnificent it could be easy to spend a couple of hours in there. The luxurious fabric on the walls, the intricate details in the wood carving of the cupboards and wardrobes, the historical paintings on the walls and the surprising frescoes on the ceiling... Everything tells the story of the Archduke and his passion for botany, his wish to turn this barren promontory into a botanical garden with species from around the world, his planning of the palace, the interiors and the garden itself, which he experienced for so little after he was crowned Emperor of Mexico and was killed there only 3 years later. The weather was so warm that we enjoyed much more just strolling around the castle, down to the quay by the sea, and then through the woods to the Grignano marina. We waited with a spritz for the ferry (timetable here for Trieste-Grignano) that took us back to Trieste, a 40 minutes trip perfectly timed with the sunset, portraying the coast and the castle in a magical golden light, so gorgeous I even shot a video! If we win the lottery, we are definitely buying a couple of rooms overlooking the sea, and a helicopter for quick travelling over the weekends :D

We discovered Via Torino for dinner: even though there was some waiting time at Siora Rosa, the traditional dishes of meat and fish were delicious, the original hearty local cuisine. Via Torino is a long sequence of fancy bars and restaurants, closed to traffic, where a huge crowd enjoys the warm temperatures and the cool drinks outside, chatting and moving slowly from bar to bar. After only one day in Trieste, we had the strong feeling that it must be a good place to live :)

On Saturday, even though I couldn't read properly the departures and arrivals board at the train station, we had a lovely day. After missing the train to Gorizia, we decided to starti with Barcola beach, where the lack of sand is irrelevant: you just sunbathe on your towel on the hard pavement and climb down the rocks and stairs to have a swim in the cool sea. Finally, 45 minutes of Italian summer for us! I was ecstatic!

Tagliata and sausages at Da Gianni

Later, a nice train ride between the hills and the sea brought us in 40 minutes to the city of Gorizia, whose special feature is that it is located on the border between Italy and Slovenia: Gorizia is on the Italian side, and Nova Gorica is on the Slovenian one. Our destination here was the Trattoria Da Gianni, famous for its tasty local (Italian/Balkan) menu, but most of all for the epic size of their portions. Everything is served on a pizza plate: pasta, wienerschnitzel, meat, everything! We ordered a beef tagliata (thick slices) and Balkan cevapcici sausages, and the tagliata was one of the most mind-blowing meals ever, so juicy and tender and simple... Absolutely memorable, and cheap! The waitress brought us take-away boxes without even asking :)

Italian-Slovenian border

I was inspired by Mhoek on Instagram to go to the train station of Nova Gorica. The local bus dropped us at the end of Via Caprin, in Italy; 50 meters away from there, on the other side of the square, is the train station of a Slovenian city, and no barrier in between. Stone flower pots mark the border, with Italian cars parked on one side, Slovenian on the other; in the centre, a circular area, just a step higher than the rest of the square, and in the centre a metal plaque, where a fence used to be. My mother actually remembers the fence, when she stayed at a hotel at the corner of the square, 30 years ago; now, from that corner, it is quicker to go get a coffee at the Slovenian bar of the station, than at the coffee house at the end of the Italian street. It was so magical to be there, to feel so free to jump from one country to the other, so grateful for our passports... And it was impossible not to think of the thousands of people who are not so lucky and embark on months-long ventures to cross these borders and reach Europe.

We took our time to cross the simple city centre of Gorizia, which didn't have any special attractions besides the castle sitting on top of the hill. We enjoyed another perfect sunset in Trieste, eating another delicious gelato from Jazzin, and relaxed all evening at Stazione Rogers, still too full from lunch to have dinner. We even got lucky, as there was a live concert of a local jazz band, the FatSlims! A reminder of something to search for when planning our future holidays :)

We left with Blablacar on Sunday at 9am, and even though I wished we had just one more morning in Trieste, it was actually great to arrive to Budapest at 3pm and have time to unpack and unwind.

Must see in Trieste:

• Piazza dell'Unitá and the promenade
• The Cathedral of San Giusto
• The Theresian district
• Miramare Castle

What did we miss?

• The Opicina tramway and the beautiful view from the hills
• All museums, I was particularly interested in the Old Hydrodynamic Plant - in my head a cool industrial steam-punk museum - and also the modern art gallery of Museo Revoltella should be great
• The exploration of the old harbour, near the station
• Also of the other side of the harbour, to the south
• Hiking in the nearby Carso hills
• A half-day trip to the village of Muggia, which resembles Venezia
• The Empress Sissi statue in Piazza della Libertá (Liberty Square) in front of the train station

It would have been easy to spend a couple more days in Trieste; we'll keep these attractions for our next visit.

Did we miss something else? Was our story useful to plan your trip? Let us know in the comments! More pictures are on Instagram and soon the video will be ready :)

Cheers, Giulia and Darek