Europe > Italy > Northeast Italy > Friuli-Venezia Giulia > Trieste Trieste From Wikivoyage Trieste (http://www.triestetourism.it/) (Triest in German, Trst in Slovenian and Croatian) is a city in North-East Italy that was once a very influential and powerful centre of politics, literature, music, art and culture under Austrian- Hungarian dominion. Today, Trieste is often forgotten as tourists head off to the big Italian cities like Rome and Milan and it is a very charming and underestimated city, with a quiet and lovely almost Eastern European atmosphere, several pubs and cafes, some stunning architecture and a beautiful sea view. It was also, for a while, the residence of the famous Irish writer, James Joyce. Palazzo del Municipio at Piazza Unità, Trieste Understand Trieste is the capital of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia and has 205,557 inhabitants. It is situated on the crossroads of several commercial and cultural flows: German middle Europe to the north, Slavic masses and the Balkans to the east, Italy and then Latin countries to the west and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Its artistic and cultural heritage is linked to its singular "border town" location. You can find some old Roman architecture (a small theatre near the sea, a nice arch into old city and an interesting Roman museum), Austrian The sea in Trieste. empire architecture across the city centre (similar to stuff you can find in Vienna) and a nice atmosphere of metissage of Mediterranean styles, as Trieste was a very important port during the 18th century. Talk The region of Friuli Venezia Giulia is officially quadrilingual (Italian, Slovene, Friulian, and German). Signs are often only in Italian in Trieste, as the city itself is generally Italian speaking and the local dialect (a form of the Venetian language) is called Triestine. Surrounding villages and towns are often inhabited by mostly Slovene speakers. Residents, and those working in the city, can easily find free courses to learn Italian, Slovene, German, English and many other languages. When walking around Trieste, you will also hear Croatian/Serbian all the time, mainly from people who visit the city on brief shopping trips. Get in By air National flights via Milan, Rome and Genoa. International flights via Milan and Rome (Alitalia (http://www.ali talia.com/)); direct flights from Munich (Air Dolomiti - Lufthansa [1] (http://www.airdolomiti.it/)); direct flights from London and Birmingham (Ryanair [2] (http://www.ryanair.com/)); direct flights from Belgrade (Jat [3] (http://www.jat.com/)); direct flights from Tirana and Prishtina (BelleAir [4] (http://www.belleair.it/)). The International Airport of Ronchi dei Legionari (http://www.aeroporto.fvg.it/) is 33km north of the city centre. A bus service (number 51) runs to the airport from Trieste's bus station (next to the railway station). Weekdays buses leave at 5 minutes and 35 minutes past the hour however on Sundays the service is every 1 to 2 hours. The bus takes about 55 minutes, a taxi (around 50 euro) takes 30-35 minutes. Tickets can be bought from a machine in the airport terminal. You can also take a train from Trieste station to Monfalcone (approximately 25 minutes) and take a short bus / taxi ride to the airport. The airport is just off the A4 Trieste-Venice motorway (Redipuglia exit). Long and short-stay car parks are available. Monfalcone Railway Station - located some 5 km from the airport on the Trieste-Venice railway line - can be reached by Local Transport service APT Bus 10, running every 20/25 minutes. The public transport company APT operates bus and coach services linking the airport with: Gorizia: Coach 1 and other services in connection with Coach 51 Monfalcone: Bus 10 Udine: Coach 51 (also non-stop via the motorway) Trieste: Coach 51 Tickets can be purchased at city bus/coach stations or at the airport: in the Arrivals Hall, with an automatic machine for selfticketing and at the Post Office. Taxis are available outside the Arrivals hall from 08.00 to 24.00. Taxi fare to Trieste is around 70 EUR. A greater number of flights connect with Venice Marco Polo, Venice Treviso, Ljubljana (Slovenia) and Pula (Croatia) which are all less than 2 hours from Trieste by private or public transport. By bus Local routes (http://www.aptgorizia.it) include Udine, Grado, San Candido/Innichen At the Trieste Coach Station, bus and coach connections to several European countries, including Slovenia (Izola - Isola, Koper - Capodistria, Ljubljana, Piran - Pirano, Portorož - Portorose, Postojna - Postumia, Sežana - Sesana), Croatia (Dubrovnik, Poreč - Parenzo, Pula - Pola, Opatija - Abbazia, Rijeka - Fiume, Rovinj - Rovigno, Split - Spalato, Zadar - Zara) and Serbia (Belgrade - Belgrado) are available. Connections to Germany and Austria are available via Flixbus. By Car A4 Venice-Trieste, toll-gate Monfalcone-Lisert, exit point "Sistiana" (SS 14 "Costiera" ). The town is 24 km from the motorway. SS 202 Triestina: Motorway A4, toll-gate Lisert, Carso Plateau, Opicina, Padriciano, Trieste SS 15 Via Flavia: Koper (Slovenia) - Rabuiese border SS 58, Carniola highway: Ljubljana (Slovenia) - Fernetti border - Opicina, where the highway joins to SS 202, Trieste By train Lots of trains from Venice and Udine, InterCity trains from Rome and Florence, FrecciaBianca from Milan and Torino at the Central Railway Station. If you arrive by train, the last 15 minutes of travel you have a beautiful sight, because the railway goes along the sea and if the weather is good it should be very striking. Trains from Central Europe have all but diminished, the easiest option is to travel to the Slovenian border town of Sežana, which sees six daily trains from Ljubljana. From there, take a taxi across the border to Villa Opicina (5 km/10 minutes/10 euros - Taxi Tirič +386 41 62 13 47, Taxi Kras +386 40 23 34 90). To reach Trieste it's possible to travel by bus No. 2 or 4, or take the wonderful and very scenic historic tram to reach the city centre. Note that there is also a bus service between Sežana and Trieste but it is usually inconvenient (buses go only in the early morning and early afternoon, nothing between or later) Get around On foot Like most of Europe, a stroll through the town to admire its ancient architecture is a very popular activity. You get to travel at your own pace and even get some coffee along the way. Trieste is not particularly big and if you do not have luggage with you there is no need to take a bus. By public transport Trieste has a network of buses running on a strict schedule. This can often be checked on the web (http://www.t riestetrasporti.it). Routes are very frequent through the day but rarer after 9pm in the evening, on Sundays and holidays. Strikes occasionally affect buses but Trieste is a small city and most places of interest can easily be reached on foot. Tickets cost €1.30 each, and can be bought from tobacconists and from machines which are found at some of the busier bus stops. The bus system includes the #2 tram to Opicina, which is regarded as an attraction in and of itself. For a small extra fee (€2-4) you can get unlimited bus and tram service with your FVG Card (http://www.turis mofvg.it/Special-offers/FVG-Card), which can be purchased at the Trieste tourist office in Piazza Unita d'Italia. See Unlike many other Italian cities, Trieste's all-inclusive tourist pass is well worth the price. The FVG Card (htt p://www.turismofvg.it/Special-offers/FVG-Card) can be purchased at the tourist center in Piazza Unita, and includes free access to nearly all the major attractions in the Trieste area, and many in other nearby cities. €15 for 48 hours, €20 for 72 hours, and €29 for 7 days. Sights Città Vecchia (Old Town). Trieste boasts an extensive old town: there are many very narrow and crooked streets with typical medieval houses. Nearly the entire area is closed to traffic. The Austrian Quarter. Half of the city was built under Austrian-Hungarian dominion, so there is present a very large number of palaces that resemble Vienna. An iconic place of this quarter is the majestic Piazza Unità (Unity Square), which is Europe's largest sea-front square. The most present architecture styles are Neoclassical, Art Nouveau, Eclectic, and Baroque. 1 The Roman Theatre. Trieste or Tergeste, which probably dates back to the protohistoric period, was enclosed by walls built in 33-32 BC on Emperor Octavius’s orders. The city developed greatly during the 1st and 2nd century AD. The Roman Theatre lies at the foot of the San Giusto hill, and faces the sea. The construction partially exploits the gentle slope of the hill, and most of the construction work is in stone. The topmost portion of the amphitheatre steps and the stage were presumably made of wood. The statues that adorned the theatre (which was brought to light in the '30s) are now preserved at the Town Museum. Three inscriptions from the Trajan period mention a certain Q. Petronius Modestus, a person who was closely connected with the development of the theatre, which was erected during the second half of the 1st century. 2 Il Faro della Vittoria (Victory Lighthouse). The Lighthouse of the Victory, an impressive work of the Triestine architect Arduino Berlam (1880-1946) and of the sculptor Giovanni Mayer (1863- Roman Theatre 1943), has two important functions. Besides lighting the gulf of Trieste, in order to help navigation, it also serves as a commemorative monument dedicated to the fallen of the first Worid War.