I have just dodged the ash and returned from a 3 day trip to Trieste.

Why Trieste? Well Ryanair had some £3 flights on sale a few weeks ago and the timing suited me and it is Italy after all or so I thought.

Trieste was part of the Habsburg Monarchy from 1382 until 1918. In the 19th century it was their most important port . As a prosperous seaport in the Mediterranean region Trieste became the fourth largest city of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (after Vienna, Budapest, and Prague). After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire it was united with Italy.

I knew this before I arrived but walking along the streets from the train station I had this uncanny feeling that I was in Central Europe. Now I love Central Europe but I was in Italy and I wanted Italian!!!

My hotel was very basic, central and clean, it cost 28 euro per night bed and breakfast (I was on a budget). The room was small and faced a side road but with windows open it had traffic noise from the main road. The weather was between 17c and 18c so I had no need for AC but if there in the summer months it would be necessary and unfortunately not available. Breakfast was very good for the price, ham, eggs, cheese, bread, cereal and coffee from one of those machines. I opted for juice with my breakfast and bought a coffee later at a cafe.

As it was 6pm when I arrived I went out looking for a restaurant and ended up in the main Piazza - Wow this was lovely, for the first time I looked up at the architecture and it was lovely. Austrian but with an Italian influence. I can,t quite explain it but when I examined it more closely it is different to Italian architecture but equally different to Austrian/Hungarian, I loved it.

The sun was shining but chilly out of the sun so I sat down at a cafe facing the sun and ordered a glass of processo. It arrived on a silver plate with a bowl of jumbo olives, a bowl of crisps and 4 tiny little sandwiches. In Italy I have had the olives or the crisps but never all 3 and never the little sandwiches served with a drink. I scoffed the lot and went in search of a restaurant for my main meal (this combination of olives and sandwiches became my starter each evening) .

Found a lovely restaurant and this is when I knew I was in Italy the food in Trieste is Italian and the 3 meals I had were wonderful and very reasonably priced.

The next day was wet and cold. I made my way up the many steps and hills to the Castello and Cathedral above the town. On a good day the views are supposed to be wonderful but the weather was not on my side. It was a very interesting morning but neither the castle nor the cathedral were IMO exceptional. In the afternoon I went to Miramare Castle which is a 10 min bus ride from the centre.

You take bus 36 but not from the main bus station. The bus leaves you about a 10=15 min walk from the castle entrance. The rain had stopped and the sun came out but I was a little unsure about how long this would last as I could hear thunder. The grounds were delightful and well worth a visit. Because of the weather I decided not to go into the house but explore the grounds when the sun was shinning.

Back to Trieste and another lovely dinner/

The next day the sun was shining and I took the train to Venice. I had intended to go to Piran for the day but I have a friend who has a big birthday coming up and knew I would get her something different in Venice so off I went. I have been to Venice several time so all I did was shop. However for anyone interested the train from Trieste leaves hourly. There are two trains that leave about 10 mins apart but the first one takes 3 hours and the second one 2 hours, both cost the same 9 euro. I took the faster one.

Back in Triest for my last night and I went to my usual cafe in the big Piazza for my pre dinner Processo and the waiter came out, saw me and put his finger up and said Processo!! Now you wouldn't get that in Venice!!

Trieste was interesting and I would encourage anyone who is in the area to visit as it really is different. However 3 days was just a bit long without a car as the bus service to places other than Piran are infrequent. If I hadn't had my day in Venice I don't really know what I would have done.

I would say it is a one night stop but worth it if in the area

I enjoyed reading this. I had a similar experience in Trieste a couple of years ago en route from Istria to Venice. Like you, we found good places to eat and the best gelato shop ever (60 flavours). We did as you did, walking about, being surprised at the mixture of Austro-Hungarian and Italian, hung around the waterfront a fair bit. Tried to find James Joyce associations (in restauro) and found some Roman bits and pieces. I agree that Trieste is a good stop for a couple of days but not a particularly exciting city per se. It's a convenient stop in either direction with good transport links to Croatia and Italy.

Thanks for this - I'm planning a visit to TRieste from Venice in November.

Can you remember the name of your hotel - it sounds as though it would work for me.

Thanks.

http://www.nh-hotels.com/nh/en/hotel...y/trieste.html
I think this is where we stayed. Convenient for bus/train station. Staff were helpful.

Thanks for an interesting report. Those of us who can associate with faded glory should read Jan Morris's book -

http://www.amazon.com/Trieste-Meanin.../dp/0743201280

Farremog, a thousand thanks. I just ordered "Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere", two minutes ago. I'm a bit of a Jan Morris freak.

I would be interested to know where you ate as I was there a few years ago and finding restaurants was a struggle.

The best thing about Trieste, apart from the coffeehouses, is the big piazza open to the sea, but I agree with you, it is not Italy, more mittel europe. Did you get the James Joyce trail from the tourist office?

Thanks for this report. We were meant to be going to Trieste later this year, but have had to postpone. However, it is still great to hear about your stay. We will be there for longer as we are staying in a friend's villa outside of the town and are looking forward to some relaxation as well as some travelling.

Peter-S-Aus, I stayed in Hotel Alabarba but booked it through Travellerspoint. It really was a cheap and cheerful place but very clean and central to everything.
www.hotelalabarda.it/

Tarquin, I didn't have any trouble finding places to eat. I can't remember the names but one was something like cafe Tomasseo and it was lovely with beautiful mouldings inside. Another was on the corner facing the canal overlooking James Joyce's Bronze and the other was was close to the big Piazza, sorry can't remember the names.

The tourist office was closed when I was there (I am not sure if it is closed permanently or if it was because the main season hasn't started yet) but I did visit the cafe that James Joyce frequented and where he started thinking about Ulysses.

Cathies, will you have a car? Public transport to other places in Slovenia and Croatia is a bit scanty. With a car there will be lots of places to visit within a short drive in 3 different countries!

Hi,

This was in interesting to read. I'm going to Trieste in less than a month. However, I'm spending an entire week. Now that I've just read that you think it's worth staying only for a couple of nights, I'm again having doubts as to whether or not it was a mistake to book so many nights.

I'll spend practically 2 days touring the city (Old City and Theresian Quarter) and then doing day trips, though, because, I agree, that the historic center seems to be small.

My daytrips are:
Muggia (the remaining strip of Istria that's still Italian)
Duino and Sistiana Bay (joined by the Rilke Path)
Miramare Castle and the Napoleonica Path (up in Opicina)
The Rosandra Valley

Hopefully, this will keep me busy and interested for 7 nights.

We went as a day trip from Venice. We rented the audio tour in Miramare-Ferdinand was a very interesting person-although we thought the audio was a little boring.

Did you search for gelato??

Castellanese, you've obviously spend a lot of time researching the area so I am sure you will have a great time.

Will you have a car?

I am only familiar with Miramare Castle for your day trips and there is a very frequent bus service to it. However, I found public transport to other places i.e. Rovinj, Porec to be infrequent. There is only one bus per day which leaves Trieste at around 3pm with return the following morning.

If you won't have a car have you checked the availability of public transport to the places you wish to visit?

Good luck and enjoy Trieste.

Udine, which feels like a combination of Palladio and eastern Europe (lots of pork,) is not far on the train. and from there you can take a bus to the star-shaped fortified city of Palmanova and on to Aquileia with its beautiful mosaics.

Otherwise I think a week would be a long time in Trieste.

Hi,

I won't have a car, but I've checked public transportation for Duino, Muggia and Bagnoli della Rosandra, and there're plenty of services. Opicina is served by the tram and there's even a train for Miramare.

Trieste Lines, apparently, is about to reopen ferry services between Trieste and Pirano/Rovigno (they did it last Summer and announced for this Summer again).

However, I think I have enough to do for a week. I'll be spending mostly 2 days in Trieste, which, I agree, it's more than enough. Istria is a fine Plan B (along with Udine, as suggested), in case I want to do something else (counting on the Trieste Lines services, of course).

I'll definitely write a trip report.

Thanks,

Castellanese.

Hi everybody,

I've just come back from a wonderful week in Trieste and I didn't even have time to day trip to Istria. I'll work on a trip report about it!

Castellanese

Castellanese, can you tell us about your visit to Trieste? We are thinking of spending a few days there after our visit to Venice and before we leave for home. Can you recommend a hotel, restaurants. things to do and see, etc?

Thanks.