Ljubljana and Trieste

Old Oct 2nd, 2016, 06:01 AM
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Ljubljana and Trieste

Hi to everyone,
I have always wanted to visit Slovenia (I have distant relatives who live there) but I am having trouble deciding whether to stay in Ljubljana for the entire eight nights or split the time and stay a few nights in Trieste, Italy, which also looks wonderful and is a city I have wanted to visit as well. The drive between the two cities is just under 100km.
We are travelling there in early to mid November.
Thank you.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2016, 08:09 AM
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Don't miss Trieste!!! With a car the trip to Ljubljana is easy and interesting. Would you cross the border at Gorizia? Like Trieste the Austrian/Hapsburg influence is everywhere. Cafe mit schlag territory. Udine is also worth seeing as is Cividale. As you can maybe tell, this is one of my favorite parts of Italy.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2016, 08:36 AM
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Hi Envierges,
I am just starting to plan now. Are you saying that I should spend all the time in Trieste or split the time with Ljubljana?
Thanks
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Old Oct 2nd, 2016, 09:08 AM
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I'm hedging. Ljubljana is lovely and you have family ties. However,there's much more to see in that part of Italy unless you are interested in WWI battlefields (Isonzo) as I am. Those are mostly in Slovenia now. The problem for me was that there is no direct train connection from Trieste to Ljubljana. I always had to backtrack through Venezia. A car will make between border travel easy for you. A good guidebook will tell you much about the fascinating former Austrian area of Friuli. For me the decision would be easy, but you have history to consider.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2016, 09:12 AM
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I just returned from a trip which included Trieste. A wonderful city with indeed a lot to remind you of the old Austrian-Hungarian empire. Two full days are however enough to explore it. Nearby Croatian Opatija would fit in nicely, created as the main resort of the then »Austrian Riviera«.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2016, 12:09 PM
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With eight nights, you can easily spend two or three days in the Trieste area, although you'll do the Friuli region injustice if you spend your time solely in Trieste, IMO.

Consider staying somewhere more to the north for 3 or 4 nights, such as the area around Gorizia, be it on the Italian or Slovenian side. You'll have great access to Cividale, the Brda/Collio area, the Vipava Valley, Aquileia, Kras/Carso and Trieste. You could also visit one of the caves (be it Postojna or Skocjan) and Piran from this area or you could also visit them from Ljubljana.

Get there from Ljubljana by driving north, over the Vrsic Pass into the Soca Valley and down the Soca Valley. A great and very scenic drive, although do allocate a whole day to do this. It's well worth it, though.

From Ljubljana, make sure to visit Lakes Bled and Bohinj. For getting to Bled, the drive through Skofja Loka and past Zelezniki and Kropa is very scenic. Finally (and obviously), allocate some time for your family, as well.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2016, 12:47 PM
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Ljubljana and Trieste
Posted by: SoFarAway on Oct 2, 16 at 10:01am


Before visiting Trieste I suggest the book "Trieste And The Meaning Of Nowhere" by Jan Morris. As we drove through Trieste my ex called it the "city of millimeters" based on driving habits of the locals.

Ljubljana is a very pretty city. We stayed a couple of nights. My nickname for it is "The Petite Paris of the East."

I would return to either. I suggest that you split your time. The drive, as I recall, is through some hills with a lot of turns. It was very difficult to pass the loggers' trucks and their diesel fumes. You see cafes along the way with lambs roasting out front. We stopped at one for lunch.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2016, 03:29 PM
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I visited Trieste on the way from Slovenia to Italy. I started in Ljubljana, then took a bus to Piran for a few days and then a taxi across the boarder to Trieste (public transportation across the border is not good and the taxi ride took less than an hour and only cost about 50€). I only spent one night in Trieste before taking the train on to other parts of Italy but I could see spending a couple days there. Also from Trieste you can take the train to Udine and Cividale so you could do that as a day trip. I actually just visited those two cities as a day trip from Venice this year (the Slovenia Trieste trip was a few years ago).

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...e-slovenia.cfm
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Old Oct 3rd, 2016, 05:50 AM
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Hi,
Thank you so much.
We are leaning towards 4 nights in Trieste and 4 nights in Ljubljana. We will also have a car for the full 9 days we are there.
Trieste looks beautiful, especially the main square, the Piazza Unità d'Italia, and looks like a great walking city as well.
Ljubljana looks so quaint and we also want to see Lake Bled, which is only about 50km away, and Predjama Castle, a castle built into the sides of a mountain, which is about 60km away. We have seen pictures and videos of the Slovenia countryside and it looks wonderful.
We would love to take a day trip to Pula, Istria from Trieste, which is about 130km away. Would that be possible? Anything closer to Trieste we should consider in Istria?
Thanks again.
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Old Oct 3rd, 2016, 06:09 AM
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If you like to read a little bit of history about places you'll be visiting, I highly recommend Slovenia 1945 by John Corsellis and Marcus Ferrar. It's about the much ignored history of what happened in Slovenia at the end of WW2.
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Old Oct 3rd, 2016, 06:17 AM
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Hi Holly,
I do and I will.
Thanks for the recommendation.
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Old Oct 3rd, 2016, 06:24 AM
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I was disappointed by Trieste - perhaps my expectations were too high after reading Jan Morris' book. I had bad weather, too. On the other hand I love Ljubljana, which I have visited twice. Last time I took a bus from Ljubljana to Trieste, no problem. I believe you can also take a train but you have to transfer to a tram to ride down into Trieste.
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Old Oct 3rd, 2016, 06:32 AM
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Hi Thrusdaysd,
What disappointed you about Trieste?
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Old Oct 3rd, 2016, 10:59 AM
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We are looking at reserving a room at the Starhotels Savoia Excelsior Palace. Great reviews and great location. Has anyone stayed a this hotel?

Also, which hotel would you recommend in Ljubljana?

Thanks.
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Old Oct 4th, 2016, 12:50 AM
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https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...te-in-trieste/
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Old Oct 4th, 2016, 01:04 AM
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Premier Hotel Slon (a best western) has a great location. We stayed there in July for 3 nights and it was ok. One thing though - they have some rooms that have been renovated & modernized and some that are still, ehem, communist era comfort. Make sure to ask for a renovated room!
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Old Oct 4th, 2016, 06:29 AM
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Returned from a stay at the Starhotels Savoia Excelsior Palace a few nights ago. It's a fine hotel with a a very good breakfast buffet, but avoid the restaurant for lunch or dinner.
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