East Sicily, Italy in 7 stops: a guide to the land of beauty
Discover what the East coast of this charming Italian island has to offer as well as the Aeolian Islands!
Nestled between beach fronts and rocky plateaus, Trieste is a pretty small but important port city in northeastern Italy. It has always been a melting pot of different cultures and populations, which is still palpable in the many narrow streets, building façades and, last but not least, in the traditional cuisine, where typical Hapsburg, Slavic and Mediterranean traditions and recipes meet in dishes that will blow your mind.
Everyone loves big touristic destinations, full of architecture, art and history, but we can assure you that this little town will make you fall in love with its beauty just as it bewitched us. Keep reading to start planning the best trip to Trieste!
Every place that we are going to mention here is easily reachable by foot, but if you take the public transport like city buses, which work efficiently, you will also be able to enjoy spectacular views of the city from belvederes that are not right in the city centre.
Here are 5 good reasons to book a trip to this precious gem of northern Italy:
As someone who grew up in Trieste and got to call this city my hometown, one of the factors that make this city so unique is its very strategic location: it is embedded, like a precious stone, between the gulf and the hills on which the houses climb up to the plateau, the so-called “Carso”.
There are quite a few places where you can enjoy the marvellous view from different areas. And as a local, I have to share my favourites:
Can we tell you about a maritime city without mentioning some beaches where you can have a nice swim? Well, the waterfront Barcola serves as both beach and promenade for walks in colder seasons. If you prefer enjoying a more peaceful spot, there are some cozy beaches and bays all along the Gulf, I definitely would recommend you to check out: the Filtri beach, the small port of Santa Croce, the Liburnia beach and the Costa dei Barbari Beach. La lanterna bathing facility in the centre of Trieste is also worth a visit.
Budget - Bed & Breakfast Al Cucherle
It’s located in the very heart of the city centre and offers an exquisite breakfast, with very friendly staff!
Midrange - Victoria Hotel Letterario
This hotel is located in the historic centre of Trieste and the combination between modern and traditional makes you live in a dream.
Luxury - Hotel Riviera & Maximilian’s
Located on a cliff above the Gulf of Trieste, it’s one of the most famous and most high-rated hotels in the city. From there the private beach is easy to reach with an elevator.
Colourful parks, trails surrounded by greenery, bike tours or simply meandering around the city discovering Art Nouveau and neoclassical historical buildings is what we live for. It is not all about panoramas and beaches, in Trieste you can also appreciate a good walk on one of the many trails along the Karst Plateau, like:
If you want to stay near the city centre, there are also some green lungs spread around different parts of town.
Now let’s go back to the promenades in the city centre, where you absolutely have to check out:
If you prefer to explore Trieste by bike, we recommend you to check out the bike sharing service BiTS here: Mobilità Sostenibile – Comune di Trieste to get more informations about tariffs and further instructions.
Trieste may be small, but it has an enviable history behind it, and the many museums and churches scattered around the city are proof of that.
Budget - Hotel Colombia
This hotel is located right behind the Narodni Dom, a historical building, now one of the University’s campuses for translators and interpreters. All the rooms are equipped and decorated with works of modern art.
Midrange - Hotel Miramare
It’s a hotel by the seaside, you can literally admire the Gulf from your window! It’s the perfect hotel for a peaceful and reinvigorating stay.
Luxury - Savoia Excelsior Palace Trieste
It’s a very luxurious hotel located in the “Rive”, some rooms offer a splendid view of the sea and the Savoy Restaurant presents a wide range of both international and local dishes.
Bunkersuppe, Jota, Sardoni impanai, capuzi garbi, presnitz, fave, strucolo de pomi, Kugelhupf… Gibberish, right? But we can assure you that, although unpronounceable, these dishes are perhaps one of the main reasons to book a flight to Trieste now. Anyone who comes to Trieste can still experience the charm of the old Hapsburg Monarchy, not only in the city structure and in the architecture, but also in the traditional cuisine. And it doesn’t end there, because the Slavic culinary tradition played its part too! Multiculturalism and simplicity are the key and they can even be “tasted” here in Trieste, there you go, these are some places where you can eat traditional dishes (and be prepared for the eventuality that you have to unbutton your trousers):
Here you can also find some vegetarian alternatives!
Did you know that Trieste is also called “the city of coffee”? With the arrival and trading of coffee in the free port of Trieste, the city was in the 18th century the most important Mediterranean port in this sector. In Trieste there is this deeply-rooted coffee tradition, it is not just a daily ritual, it is also part of the essence and the spirit of the city.
Here’s a list of the historical cafés (that still have the same charm today as they did in the past), where the evolution of Modernist literature took place and where authors such as Svevo, Saba, Joyce, Richard Francis Burton, Stendhal and Ivo Andrić found their cradle:
Are you looking for a nice and cozy place to have an unforgettable cocktail on the seaside? Don’t worry, we have got your back!
From my own time growing up in Trieste - you simply cannot leave Trieste without first experiencing the so-called “osmizas”. They are no restaurants, nor agri-tourism establishments, but rather places along the Karst Plateau where local wines and food, such as eggs, sausages, charcuterie and a lot of cheeses of course, are consumed exactly where they are produced.
There are currently about 50 osmizas and they are open all year long, so you have no excuse, you have to check this out!
Did we intrigue you? So what are you waiting for? Start planning your trip to Trieste, there is still so much to see!
Given its proximity to the Slovenian border, we also recommend you to take a look at our itineraries on Slovenia to get even more inspired.
Nestled between beach fronts and rocky plateaus, Trieste is a pretty small but important port city in northeastern Italy. It has always been a melting pot of different cultures and populations, which is still palpable in the many narrow streets, building façades and, last but not least, in the traditional cuisine, where typical Hapsburg, Slavic and Mediterranean traditions and recipes meet in dishes that will blow your mind.
Everyone loves big touristic destinations, full of architecture, art and history, but we can assure you that this little town will make you fall in love with its beauty just as it bewitched us. Keep reading to start planning the best trip to Trieste!
Every place that we are going to mention here is easily reachable by foot, but if you take the public transport like city buses, which work efficiently, you will also be able to enjoy spectacular views of the city from belvederes that are not right in the city centre.
Here are 5 good reasons to book a trip to this precious gem of northern Italy:
As someone who grew up in Trieste and got to call this city my hometown, one of the factors that make this city so unique is its very strategic location: it is embedded, like a precious stone, between the gulf and the hills on which the houses climb up to the plateau, the so-called “Carso”.
There are quite a few places where you can enjoy the marvellous view from different areas. And as a local, I have to share my favourites:
Can we tell you about a maritime city without mentioning some beaches where you can have a nice swim? Well, the waterfront Barcola serves as both beach and promenade for walks in colder seasons. If you prefer enjoying a more peaceful spot, there are some cozy beaches and bays all along the Gulf, I definitely would recommend you to check out: the Filtri beach, the small port of Santa Croce, the Liburnia beach and the Costa dei Barbari Beach. La lanterna bathing facility in the centre of Trieste is also worth a visit.
Budget - Bed & Breakfast Al Cucherle
It’s located in the very heart of the city centre and offers an exquisite breakfast, with very friendly staff!
Midrange - Victoria Hotel Letterario
This hotel is located in the historic centre of Trieste and the combination between modern and traditional makes you live in a dream.
Luxury - Hotel Riviera & Maximilian’s
Located on a cliff above the Gulf of Trieste, it’s one of the most famous and most high-rated hotels in the city. From there the private beach is easy to reach with an elevator.
Colourful parks, trails surrounded by greenery, bike tours or simply meandering around the city discovering Art Nouveau and neoclassical historical buildings is what we live for. It is not all about panoramas and beaches, in Trieste you can also appreciate a good walk on one of the many trails along the Karst Plateau, like:
If you want to stay near the city centre, there are also some green lungs spread around different parts of town.
Now let’s go back to the promenades in the city centre, where you absolutely have to check out:
If you prefer to explore Trieste by bike, we recommend you to check out the bike sharing service BiTS here: Mobilità Sostenibile – Comune di Trieste to get more informations about tariffs and further instructions.
Trieste may be small, but it has an enviable history behind it, and the many museums and churches scattered around the city are proof of that.
Budget - Hotel Colombia
This hotel is located right behind the Narodni Dom, a historical building, now one of the University’s campuses for translators and interpreters. All the rooms are equipped and decorated with works of modern art.
Midrange - Hotel Miramare
It’s a hotel by the seaside, you can literally admire the Gulf from your window! It’s the perfect hotel for a peaceful and reinvigorating stay.
Luxury - Savoia Excelsior Palace Trieste
It’s a very luxurious hotel located in the “Rive”, some rooms offer a splendid view of the sea and the Savoy Restaurant presents a wide range of both international and local dishes.
Bunkersuppe, Jota, Sardoni impanai, capuzi garbi, presnitz, fave, strucolo de pomi, Kugelhupf… Gibberish, right? But we can assure you that, although unpronounceable, these dishes are perhaps one of the main reasons to book a flight to Trieste now. Anyone who comes to Trieste can still experience the charm of the old Hapsburg Monarchy, not only in the city structure and in the architecture, but also in the traditional cuisine. And it doesn’t end there, because the Slavic culinary tradition played its part too! Multiculturalism and simplicity are the key and they can even be “tasted” here in Trieste, there you go, these are some places where you can eat traditional dishes (and be prepared for the eventuality that you have to unbutton your trousers):
Here you can also find some vegetarian alternatives!
Did you know that Trieste is also called “the city of coffee”? With the arrival and trading of coffee in the free port of Trieste, the city was in the 18th century the most important Mediterranean port in this sector. In Trieste there is this deeply-rooted coffee tradition, it is not just a daily ritual, it is also part of the essence and the spirit of the city.
Here’s a list of the historical cafés (that still have the same charm today as they did in the past), where the evolution of Modernist literature took place and where authors such as Svevo, Saba, Joyce, Richard Francis Burton, Stendhal and Ivo Andrić found their cradle:
Are you looking for a nice and cozy place to have an unforgettable cocktail on the seaside? Don’t worry, we have got your back!
From my own time growing up in Trieste - you simply cannot leave Trieste without first experiencing the so-called “osmizas”. They are no restaurants, nor agri-tourism establishments, but rather places along the Karst Plateau where local wines and food, such as eggs, sausages, charcuterie and a lot of cheeses of course, are consumed exactly where they are produced.
There are currently about 50 osmizas and they are open all year long, so you have no excuse, you have to check this out!
Did we intrigue you? So what are you waiting for? Start planning your trip to Trieste, there is still so much to see!
Given its proximity to the Slovenian border, we also recommend you to take a look at our itineraries on Slovenia to get even more inspired.
Everything you need to plan a trip in the palm of your hands