The Best Things to do When You Visit Trieste, Italy

Trieste is an ancient port city located in northeastern Italy. Right near the boarder of Slovenia, it is also a short drive away from Croatia. While this beautiful city is often overshadowed by the far more popular Venice, it has much history and interest to offer visitors. In this post, I am providing you with all kinds of information you will need to help you plan your trip. This includes how to get there, where to stay, and my list of favorite things to do on a visit to Trieste, Italy!

***Disclaimer: Be sure to look up all entry rules and restrictions for Italy and and activity you wish to participate in before booking any part of your journey!

Five Interesting Facts About Trieste, Italy

If you are a coffee lover, then Trieste is the place for you. Not only is considered by some to be the “Coffee Capital of Italy”, it is also the headquarters for Italy’s famous Illy Coffee company.

Trieste is considered to be one of Italy’s great “literary” cities and has attracted a great number of intellectuals over the centuries. Additionally, it is the birthplace of Umberto Saba and Italo Svevo, two great Italian authors, as well as being the adopted city of James Joyce. You can find statues of all three of these men and many more throughout the city.

Trieste has long been a culturally diverse city as it is located at the intersection of Latin, Slavic, and Germanic cultures.

While originally established as a Roman settlement, Trieste has not always belonged to Italy. From 1382 until 1918, it was an important city and port for the Habsburg monarchy.

In 1947, Trieste was declared to be an independent city state (The Free Territory of Trieste) under the protection of the UN. It was divided into two zones (A & B) which were eventually given to Italy (the majority of Zone A) and Yugoslavia (Zone B).

How to Get to Trieste, Italy

Arriving in Trieste By Plane

The closest airport to Trieste is the Friuli Venezia Giulia Airport (TRS).

From here, you have the option to rent a car, take a taxi, or utilize the public transportation.

Personally, I recommend taking the train from Trieste Airport to Trieste Centrale because it is cheap and only about a 30 minute ride. Even better, there are many connections throughout the day!

Alternatively, you can look at the multiple bus options as presented on the Airport’s website.

Navigating the Public Transportation From Venice

While it is less convenient, you do have the option fly into the Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE). From here, you have the options to rent a car, take the bus, or take the train.

The best and cheapest bus option from Marco Polo Airport to Trieste is via Flix Bus and takes approximately 2 hours.
You can also take the train from the airport. However, your journey will be longer because you will have to take the shuttle from Marco Polo Airport to the Mestre Train Station first.

If you are planning to stay in Venice either before or after your time in Trieste, you can check out the great train options from Venezia Santa Lucia to Trieste Centrale on the TrenItalia website.

Where to Park in Trieste if You Have a Vehicle

Parking a vehicle is a challenge all across Europe and we found Trieste was no exception. Our host was incredibly helpful and tried to help us find a free parking spot near the Parco della Rimembranza. However, no spots were available, so we ended up parking in this area. Overall, we didn’t have any problems with it and it was free to park on Sundays (although, I am not sure if that is still the case).

Where to Stay in Trieste

We stayed in a fabulous little apartment which was in a great location. We found that it was quick and easy to walk to most of the sites that we wanted to see. The host was super welcoming and very helpful and the location was perfect. It is also great if you are traveling with a group because it can have up to 4 people between the bed and the sofa bed.

If you would like to book the same apartment as us, please click here.

1. Best Thing to do in Trieste, Italy: Visit Castello di Miramare

This magnificent castle, located right on the scenic Gulf of Trieste, is a site that you will not want to miss during your visit to Trieste!

It was commissioned in the mid-19th century by Archduke Fernando Maximiliano, who was the younger brother of Austria’s Emperor (Franz Josef). Legend has it that Ferdinand Maximilian picked the location after he was forced to take shelter in the tiny harbor of Grignano after getting caught sailing into a storm in the Gulf of Trieste. He fell in love with the area and decided he wanted to make it his permanent residence.

Despite the care that he had towards the design and look of the castle, the Archduke only lived there a few years and never got to see the full completion of the castle. He and his wife, Charlotte of Belgium, were relocated to Mexico in 1864, where he was installed as Emperor. Sadly, only a few years later, he was executed and Charlotte slowly fell into a state of madness/psychosis.

There are many unique points of interest at Miramare, including its gardens with rare/exotic plants, the Chinese and Japanese drawing rooms, and the Archduke’s bedroom which was designed to look like a ship’s cabin (He was very fond of sailing and traveling the world).

Planning Your Visit to Mirarmare Castle

For more information about opening hours, ticket prices, and more, be sure to check out the official Castello di Miramare website.

2. Walking Tour of Trieste

A walking tour is a great way to get oriented in any new city that you visit. And, I would say that it’s one of the first things you will want to do after arriving in Trieste.

There are always a number of options for every kind of budget. There are paid guided walking tours, free guided walking tours (but it’s usually proper to tip the guide), and free self-guided walking tours that you can find online. All you have to do is print it out at home before you leave or pull up on your phone.

One thing I personally found unique about Trieste is the fact that you can rent an audioguide from their tourist office and take it on a self guided tour of the major city highlights. Because this is what we personally did, I’ve included more information about it down below.

Find Your Walking Tour

For a paid guided walking tour, I recommend checking popular sites such as: www.getyourguide.com and www.viator.com. If you click on either of those links, it will take you straight to the tours available in Trieste.

For a free guided walking tour of Trieste, you can check out the Free Tour website or Guru Walk.

If you are interested in a Hop On-Hop Off bus tour of Trieste, you can try this tour on Get Your Guide.

Special Note: Self guided walking tours are my personal favorite. If you’re like me and you love photography, a self guided tour is great because there is less immediate competition for the prime location. Also, there is less pressure to “hurry up so we can get to the next location”. In addition, a self guided tour allows for more flexibility since you are not limited by any particular time slot. You can do it whenever you want or even split it up between days if necessary.

How to Get Your Own Self-Guided Walking Tour of Trieste

I loved this so much and thought it was such a great way to experience the city and appreciate the landmarks I was seeing along the way. You can pick up a map of the tour as well as rent (for only a couple of Euros) an audioguide from the InfoPoint.

3. Take a Lazy Afternoon to Enjoy the Coffee Houses of Trieste

The historic coffee houses throughout Trieste are a big deal. That makes them one of things you certainly won’t want to miss during your visit. Many of them have been around for a number of years and have been the sites for great literary and philosophical debates/discussions. In particular, San Marco is one of the oldest quite famous for its vibe, coffee, and the famous people who have visited it regularly. The interior is still full of old world charm and the coffee and croissants were delicious.

Historic Cafes You Won’t Want to Miss in Trieste

4. Day Trips Options From Trieste to Slovenia

Trieste is located just across the boarder from the incredible and painfully underrated country of Slovenia. Like, literally about 15-20 minutes away from the boarder. This positions it perfectly for day trips to this unique and highly underrated country. There are many ways to arrange visits to main Slovene attractions such as Predjama Castle (the largest castle in a cave), Skocjanske Jame (the world’s largest known underground river canyon), Piran (a small Venetian city of old), Lake Bled (perfectly tucked into the Julian alps with its iconic monastery in the middle of the lake), Lubljana (the capital of Slovenia/foodie’s paradise) and so many more!

To learn more about these incredible destinations (and where to park if you have a rental car), check out my post Top 5 Amazing Places to Visit on Your Vacation in Slovenia! And, if you are looking the best public transportation connections from Trieste, I recommend checking out the Rome2Rio website.

Group Day Trip Options

We personally had a vehicle, so we drove to each of these places. However, I totally understand that this is not the most practical option for all travelers. But, don’t worry, there are some great group day trip options.

***Please note that we did not personally go on these tours and I am only recommending them to you because of their high review scores.

Here is a well-rated option for visiting Predjama Castle and Postojna Jame offered through Get Your Guide.

There are also options to visit Lake Bled and Ljubljana such as this tour offered through Viator.

Here is an example of a well-rated group day trip to Piran offered through Viator.

5. Day Trip From Trieste to Venice

Is there a more romantic place than Venice, Italy? The first thing that comes to mind is wandering the winding paths through calm streets and over fairy-tale bridges. All the while, singing gondoliers row starry-eyed couples peacefully along the canals. The truth is, Venice is such much more than just these images which have been passed on to us via Hollywood and other media sources. It’s a stunning place with an interesting and (sometimes) strange history. You certainly won’t want to pass up the chance to visit, if even for a day, while you’re in northeastern Italy.

To learn more about some unique things to do in Venice, check out my post 5 Unique Things to do on Vacation in Venice, Italy.

For more information about how to travel between Trieste and Venice, be sure to check out the section above labeled “How to Get to Trieste, Italy”.

In Conclusion

I hope that you have found this post helpful for you as you plan your own visit to Trieste, Italy. I hope you enjoy your visit to Trieste and find it just as beautiful as I do!

Happy Travels,
<3 Christine