Day trip to Trieste
My first idea of Trieste was the one from my grandparents' and parents' stories about visiting this popular Italian tourist destination back in the day. Those were the times when no such entertainment was to be had here in Croatia. Fashionable ladies and everyone who thought of themselves so would visit Trieste at least a few times a year. My granny still remembers exquisite clothes and above all the shoes she would buy there.
Nowadays when everything is available everywhere and when there are much more exciting places lurking from the Internet, Trieste seems to have lost its reputation. Yet, if you spend a day in this town, you will see this conclusion is very wrong.
I was pleasantly surprised by the charming atmosphere and laid-back pace of sunny Trieste on a Saturday. I decided to spend a few hours there after having arrived on an early bus at 9.30 in the morning. So how to make the most of that time?
First, take a 5 minute stroll from Trieste Centrale, the railway station, to Piazza Unita d'Italia. After enjoying the spacious squares and admiring their majestic buildings, have a coffee in one of the numerous cafes on the way.
When you have finished resting on a cafe's sunny terrace, take the tram number 2 from Piazza Oberdan. It links this square, on the northern edge of the city centre, with the village of Villa Opicina in the hills above. It is an unusual hybrid between the tram and funicular railway. Your ride on this tram will be anything but boring.
When you have reached Opicina, enjoy the nice view of Trieste and simply take the same tram to go back to town.
In the afternoon, take a bus near Piazza Oberdan which will take you to Miramare Castle. You will need about half an hour on a bus to reach it, but on the way you will enjoy the view of Trieste's beautiful seafront.
When you have reached Miramare Castle, enjoy a nice stroll around and inside the castle, as well as all its surroundings. As this takes you an hour or two, my day trip in Trieste finished here and I took a bus going back home. During these few hours in Trieste, I got a whole new picture of this town that I took home with me.
