Hi guys,
Let us talk about a city in Italy called Trieste (->map).
I live in Slovenia, very close from the border with Italy.
All the people living around here know Trieste and most of them have already been there at least once or twice.
You know why ? Because this city is beautiful.
I am french but I have been living in Slovenia for 2 years now.
Sadly, when I talk about traveling in Italy with my french friends, none of them know a lick about Trieste,
where it is on map or even if this city actually exists.
This, my friend, is pretty bad !
But with god’s help, this grave injustice will stop today thanks to you, who are reading this blog right now.
This is my contribution to Trieste.
Today, I will take Trieste in my hands and put it aside the shadow of tourism powerhouse cities such as Venise, Rome, Florence or Milan.
Trieste is the 15th biggest city of Italy by its population and is almost entirely surrounded by Slovenia.
With about 200.000 people living there, I must confess that it is the kind of city that I like to discover.
It is not too big (like London) and not too small.
This is really the perfect recipe (for me) to discover a city because I know that there will be plenty of things
to see and visit and since the city is not too big, the list of things to visit will not be too daunting.
Ahhh dear Trieste.
Every time I go there, the first thing that strikes me is how beautiful the color of the sea is.
When the weather is nice, this blue is really intense and it makes me feel peaceful within me.
I just stand there, by the water, look at the sea, and linger for a while like this dude down below,
sitting by the water, chilling out and letting his mind flow.
One funny thing that was striking to me, as I was taking a stroll in the city center (near “Plazza Unita d’ Italia”),
was how well people were dressed. It was really amazing.
For a moment, I almost felt like watching models walking on a Catwalk in open air.
Women were beautiful in their nice outfits and black sunglasses and men were very classy as well.
I must admit that I was very impressed.
There are many things that I like to do every time I go to Trieste.
But, of them all, what I prefer is to go have a tea or a coffee at the “Caffé Degli Specchi” at the Piazza Unita d’Italia.
This place is really an institution. It is more than 150 years old.
Should you choose to go there and drink a coffee, it will not be just about having a coffee, it will feel like having a coffee
in a special place inked in history.
If the weather is nice, I love drinking a tea outside this café and watch people passing by on the Piazza.
There is no better place for People Watching in Trieste.
I do hope that by now, your interrest for Trieste has started to grow.
Now guys, I would like to share with you my list of things to do and see in Trieste.
It might help keeping this new interrest of yours growing.
Don’t you give up on me yet !
My tips for Trieste:
1/ Piazza Unita D’Italia.
This, to me, is the heart of the city. History, Cool Atmosphere, great natural light …all of those things gel together
and it gives this place something special. A MUST !
2/ Canal Grande.
This very nice canal is about 200 m long, from the sea towards the old city center.
I love walking along it. Really nice place where you might forget for a few moments that you are in a big city.
3/ Castello Di San Giusto.
Beautiful castle on a hill above Trieste.
From up there, there is a great view over the city and the adriatic sea.
4/ Teatro Romano.
Very old theatre in open air. It is still pretty well preserved.
5/ Walk along “Molo Audace”.
You might not be able to walk on the water (like Jesus), but in Trieste, this is a good as it gets.
“Molo Audace” is a 240 m pier, from the dock towards the sea. It is nice to take a stroll there.
6/ Viale Miramare.
This long avenue (leading to the Miramare Castle) is a great place to take a stroll alone or with friends or family.
This avenue is a long and peaceful promenade and every time I go there, I always have a strange feeling of Déja Vu.
This long promenade really reminds me a lot of the city “Nice” (in France) and its famous promenade called “Promenade des Anglais”.
The red color of the ground has probably something to do with it.
The people who engineered this promenade did something really remarkable.
Indeed, they planted a lot of pine trees along the avenue.
This was a brilliant idea because when the weather is really hot, we can shelter under the trees to enjoy a cooler air temperature.
The promenade is also the perfect place if you have kids to entertain. Many playgrounds for kids can be found under the trees.
Many Triestians actually go take a sun bath on this promenade.
Old people, young people, kids …they all bring their chairs, long chairs, towels … and take a sun bath.
Some of them even go take a swim in the sea.
For someone like me who love People Watching, it is really a delight to see where
and how Triestini go to relax and have fun on a sunny day.
7/ Castello Di Miramare.
This wonderful Castle is actually just outside Trieste, not in the city in itself.
The castle is surrounded by a very big park where locals like to walk, run and take their dogs for a walk.
Et voilà, mes amis.
Of course, I could add many more things to see and visit.
But the good part of discovering a city is also to go and walk randomly around the city and therefore discover awesome places by oneself.
NOW …my dears friends … you who have been able to survive this long speech and have been faithfully waiting for The Punchline.
After all the details, the infos and the enthusiam that I gave you, I think it would be fair to say that The Question is not IF you will go to Trieste, but WHEN.
Bye Bye !