Trieste

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Looking forward to replies and your report. We'll spend a week in Trieste in October as part of our seven-week itinerary.

I haven't been to Trieste yet but have pulled together notes from posts on this forum and other sources. In case it helps, I'll post my potential sightseeing list here. I cannot vouch for these sights or suggest a priority. This information was gathered in 2020-2021, so all details need to be verified/updated. Prices will definitely be higher now.

There's a Friuli-Venezia Giulia sightseeing card (herein "FVG") that should save money for people with long visits. It includes some audio tours and some transportation as well as sights--and not just in Trieste.

• Walking tours: Themed tours (€10) offered by T.O. Sun 1030. Ask about self-guided tours at other times (€5). Free with FVG card. www.discover-trieste.it

• Piazza dell’Unita d’Italia: large waterfront square with neoclassical buildings (“comically pompous”), vintage late 19C/early 20C. Trieste’s grandest palazzi.

• Civico Museo d’Arte Orientale, Palazzetto Leo, Via San Sebastiano 1: Includes fabrics and ceramics. Thu-Sun 1000-1700. Free. www.museoarteorientaletrieste.it

• Borgo Teresiano: pedestrianized, grid-plan area vintage 18C. Neo-classical facades.

• Chiesa di Santo Spyridon, Via F. Filzi: Blue-domed Serbian Orthodox church. 1868. Glittering mosaics and 19C Russian icons. Mon-Sat 0830-1230 and 1700-2000. www.comunitaserba.org

• Teatro Romano, Via del Teatro Romano: 1C AD. Occasional concerts. Behind Piazza dell’Unita d’Italia.

• Corso Cavour: Passeggiata

• Walk early morning along waterfront.

• Cattedrale di San Giusto Martire, Piazza della Cattedrale 2: 14C Basilica. Restored medieval mosaics in floor and 13C mosaics in apses of side aisles. 20C mosaics in main apse. Breathtaking jewelry. Gothic rose window. Main-door jambs are Roman. Museum “jumbled but fascinating”. Above old town on Colle di San Giusto. Pleasant view. Remains of Roman forum adjoining. Good view from long flight of stairs from Piazza Goldoni. Or can walk up behind Piazza dell’Unita d’Italia and past ruined Roman theatre. Or take bus (24?). www.sangiustomartire.it

• Civico Museo di Storia ed Arte ed Orto Lapidario, Piazza della Cattedrale 1: Old-fashioned museum with Roman antiquities. Tue-Sat 1000-1300 and 1600-1900, Sun 1000-1700. Free. www.museostoriaeartetrieste.it

• Civico Museo del Castello di San Giusto, Castello di San Giusto, Piazza della Cattedrale 3: Large, taciturn 15C castle with city museum. Temporary exhibitions and permanent collection of weaponry, furnishings and tapestries. Lapidario Tergestino has Roman artifacts. Great views but museum may be skippable. Same hill as basilica. Bus 24 goes up. Daily 1000-1900; closed Mon in winter. €3 for castello, €6 for entire complex. FVG www.castellodisangiustotrieste.it

• Basilica Paleocristiana, Via Madonna del Mare 11: Substantial ruins of Roman law court from 1C AD. Wed 1000-1200.

• Chiesa di San Nicolo dei Greci, Riva Tre Novembre: Greek Orthodox. Beautiful door. Interior has icons.

• Canal Grande: N of Palazzo Carciotti: Flanked by impressive neo-classical buildings. Housing gaily colored boats. Busy area behind canal, up Via delle Torri to Piazza Goldoni.

• Museo Revoltella e Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Via Armando Diaz 27: Splendid 19C mansion (ode to conspicuous consumption), combined with modern Palazzo Brunner (huge, interesting collection of 19C/20C Triestine works). One writer says art is “a wonderland of 19C kitsch”. Pretty rooftop café open some summer evenings. Wed-Mon 1000-1900. €7. FVG www.museorevoltella.it

More in follow-up post.

More Trieste-area sightseeing options:

• San Silvestro, Piazza San Silvestro 1: Small Romanesque gem, 9C-12C. Some Romanesque fresco fragments. Deconsecrated and now Waldensian Church. www.triestevangelica.org

• Civico Museo Sartorio, Largo Papa Giovanni XXIII 1: Focused on art rather than furnishings. Large garden. Fabulous 14C altarpiece, Trittico di Santa Chiara, on 2nd floor. Stunning collection of Tiepolo drawings on 3rd floor (many in drawers). Also ceramics and jewelry. Basement has religious art, Byzantine to Baroque, including Roman mosaic. Thu-Sun 1000-1700. Free. www.museosartoriotrieste.it

• Synagogue, Via San Francesco d’Assisi 19: Richly decorated neo-classical synagogue, built 1912. Meticulously restored after WWII damage; one of most important and beautiful in Italy. Guided tours Mon and Wed 1600 and 1730; Tue 1000 and 1130, Sun 1000, 1100 and 1200; needn’t pre-book, just arrive 5 min early. €4. www.triestebraica.it

• Museo della Comunita Ebraica Carlo e Vera Wagner, Via del Monte 5 & 7: Small, highly prized collection of Jewish liturgical items, photographs, etc. Wed 1000-1300, Tue and Thu 1600-1900. Call to confirm hours. www.triestebraica.it

• Chiesa di Sant’Antonio Taumaturgo, Via della Zonta/Piazza San Antonio Nuovo: Enormous; neo-classical. 1842. May be closed for restoration. www.diocesi.trieste.it

• Risiera di San Sabba, Via Giovanni Palatucci 5: WWII concentration camp; reconstructed museum c. 1975. City Bus 8 or 10. Daily 0900-1900. Free. Tours cost €4. Bus 8 or 10. www.risierasansabba.it

• Arco di Riccardo, Via del Trionfo: Roman town gate overlooking pretty residential square.

• Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Via dei Tominz 4: Natural history. FVG enter link description here

• Trieste Art Nouveau walking tour. https://itinerari.comune.trieste.it/en/liberty-itinerary/

Outside town:

• Grotta del Gigante, Localita Borgo Grotta Gigante 42, Sgonico: Cavern 375 ft high; one of largest and most spectacular on continent. About 15 km from city. Especially pretty in spring and fall. Trieste-Opicina tram 2 from Piazza Oberdan to terminus, then Bus 42 to Borgo Grotta Gigante. Outbound can take Bus 42 all the way. 10-min. walk from bus stop. Daily 50-min guided tours hourly 0900-1800 daily summer, 1000-1600 Tue-Sat winter; closed Mon except in Jul-Aug. €13 (€10 senior). FVG (but call to reserve place: +39 040 327312). www.grottagigante.it

• Castello di Miramare, Viale Miramare, Guignano Point: Lovely Victorian-era neo-Gothic seaside palace with 55-acre gardens variously called “charming” and “in poor condition”. Fanciful design and over-the-top décor with copies of period furniture; no great artworks. Lots of paneling, plush and gilt; great views from windows. 8 km NW of city; long walk but very nice. Or take Bus 6 to Grignano (Fodor says Bus 36 from Piazza Oberdan) then walk about 15 min. Also rail service. Daily 0900-1900; gardens (fountains, sculptures) may open an hour earlier. €8. VFG www.castello-miramare.it

Still more to come...

More out-of-town sights:

• Villa Opicina: Slovenian town with un-Italian feel. Early-20C trolley (Tram 2) from Piazza Oberdan turns into a funicular to negotiate steep hill. Get off at obelisk one or two stops from end of line for walks overlooking city with spectacular views. Daily 0700-2000, every 20 min. €1.60 each way/€4.50 all day. www.triestetrasporti.it

• Muggia: Old Italian fishing village 5 km S of city on Istrian Peninsula. 14C castle and semi-ruined walls. Venetian-feeling port backs up to steep hills. Seafood restaurants along waterfront. Ferries from Stazione Marittima 6+/day, 0:30, €4.35.

• Museo d’Arte Moderna, Via Roma 9, Muggia: Possibly open only intermittently, for exhibitions. Mid-Sep to mid-Jun Tue-Fri 1700-1900, Sat 1000-1200 and 1700-1900, Sun/hol 1000-1200; summer hours Tue-Fri 1800-2000, Sat 1000-1200 and 1800-2000, Sun 1000-1200.

• Val Rosandra: “Extraordinary natural wilderness”. Take Bus 40 or 41 toward Dolina; get off at Bagnoli.

• Castello di Duino, Frazione di Duino 32, Duino: 14C/15C castle with delightfully idiosyncratic collection of antique furnishings, but garden with 21,000 flowers and fab views are main attractions. Amazing Palladian circular staircase. About 14 km NW of Miramare; Bus 41 from Piazza Oberdan or Bus 44 or 51 from train station (verify numbers). Easy path along coast toward city has gorgeous views rivaling Amalfi Coast and Cinque Terre. 1.7 km Sentiero Rilke (Rilke Trail) to Sistiana even and easy. Apr-Sep Wed-Mon 0930-1730; Nov to mid-Mar Sat-Sun 0930-1600. €8; €2 discount with FVG. www.castellodiduino.it

This not-often-visited part of Italy seems to have a lot of places of interest. At the top of my list would be Udine (a bit over an hour by train, with some sights covered by the FVG card) and Aquileia/Grado (also with FVG card benefits). Lots of Roman ruins in the latter area; it's closer than Udine but might require train+bus transportation. Cividale del Friuli (more FVG card benefits) also sounds promising but takes longer to reach, requiring a transfer in Udine.

In Trieste you are practically in Slovenia, so there are additional options there. Koper, on the northern coast of Istria. is nice. Most of Istria belongs to Croatia. If you could spend a few nights away from Trieste, you could see a lot of Istria, both Croatian and Slovenia. Lovely Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, would also be an option for a few days. A day trip from Trieste would be rushed.

I wouldn't be surprised if there are bus or van tours from Trieste to the Lipizzaner horse farm at Lipica and the Skocjan and/or Postojna Caves (all in Slovenia). I don't know whether you could get to those areas by public transportation traveling from Trieste. The caves are accessible from Ljubljana.

My goodness @acraven! Amazing amount of info for any of us hoping to get to Trieste. Think I need to block out more than 7 nights. Love the Lipizzaner info. They have tours and there are 3rd party tours too, but it is only a 22 minute drive from Trieste so might be worth a car rental for a day!

Thank you for all your gatherings.

Wow! Thank you so much for all of this info. We are taking a 7 day bicycle ride through Slovenia and Croatia so I will be excited to check out these other beautiful areas.

I spent only a single night in Trieste a few years back (plus a brief stop to change from bus to train on another trip). As with many other places in Italy, you can get along just fine speaking English in most cases. Most people will speak some. I'd be more inclined to learn a little Italian if I were spending 4-6 weeks in a place, I guess, vs. just a few nights.

A popular activity is the easy hike along the Strada Napoleonica (aka Strada Vicentina). It's more of a stroll than a hike - it's completely paved and flat. The views down on the bay are wonderful.

I had a car while I was in Trieste and so I drove to Risiera di San Sabba and to Lipica to see the horses, which is a lovely day out. We took the guided tour, but were not there on a day when they had ring practice. After the tour, we wandered the grounds, admiring the horses. We went to the Skocjan caves the following day, but they are near enough to each other (13km) that you could visit both in the same day, if the timing works out for tours at each place.

The driving between Trieste and Lipica/Skocjan is very rural and easy. If you will be on any highways, you'll need to procure a Slovenian vignette sticker for your rental car. We didn't go on any highways for those destinations.

Suggestion: Read Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere, by Jan Morris.

I took a taxi to and from Lipica Lippizan farm. They arranged the taxi for me from and back to Trieste train station. It was pouring down rain that day so I divided my time between the barns, restaurant and performance. Lipica is mainly a breeding farm.
I’m glad I went but found the tour geared to non-horse people. If you know how to put a dressage horse on the bit, you will probably be disappointed. If you don’t know what I just said and like horses, the farm is worth a visit.
I visited as a day trip from Venice. From the little I saw of the area, I’m interested in exploring it more.

Is this an area suitable for e-biking? Are there routes?
Is Uber in the area?
Anybody know private tour drivers/guides that are available by the day? We are staying 20 minutes north of Trieste.