Making the most of Trieste
Use these notes to shape a realistic day ashore, then confirm any time-sensitive information for the date of your call.
Arriving at the port
The Trieste Maritime Station, which is also used as a congress center, is located in the Customs port, in the heart of Trieste. The Maritime station acts as the cruise terminal and ticket office to both international cruises as well as short-distance car and passenger ferry lines operating between the gulf and the nearby coastline of Slovenia and Croatia.
Just cross the street and you are right in the elegant and well cared for center of Trieste.
How to get to Trieste.
From the airport: If you're traveling to or from Trieste itself, 20 miles away, the easiest way to travel is to take the number 51 bus which runs along near the coast to Trieste bus station (which is alongside the railway station). A single ticket costs €3, buses are generally half-hourly on weekdays, and the journey takes approximately 50 minutes. Look out for Castello Miramare on your right as you journey along the coast Tickets can be purchased at city bus/coach stations or at the airport: in the Arrivals Hall, with an automatic machine for self ticketing at the Post Office.
Most cruise lines i.e. Costa and MSC offer shuttles from Venice Marco Polo airport. About a two hour ride. The last part of the ride is stunning as you ride past the Adriatic from great heights.
Taxis are available outside the Arrivals hall from 08.00 to 24.00.
Printable map to take along.
This lively city enjoys a prominent location on a hillside surrounded by rugged countryside and a beautiful coastline. The vast Piazza Unità d'Italia (just a block away from the cruise terminal) is a popular meeting place, with sidewalk cafés and a number of buildings of architectural interest. Trieste is regarded as one of the most famous coffee towns (Illy) in the world, so be sure to enjoy a cup of coffee in a local cafe. Among Trieste's highlights are the Cathedral of San Giusto, containing beautiful Byzantine mosaics and medieval frescoes. At the Piazza della Borsa stands the neoclassical former stock exchange, which serves now as the…
Trieste is one big, open-air museum. Ancient Roman buildings are interspersed with beautiful eighteenth-century ones, Austrian-style landscapes, churches of all dominations, Art Nouveau facades, rural towns and villages such as Muggia and those on the upland plains
The tourist office
Getting around
Villa Opicina Tram Line: The terminus is located in the center of town, in Piazza Oberdan, about a 20 minute walk from the cruise terminal. The tram takes you up from the city to the surrounding beautiful natural environment of the Carso plateau, 348 m above sea level. This is an original form of transport (a cross between an regular tram and a cable railway) in nicely restored tram cars. Every 20 minutes from early morning to early evening. About €3 return. A 20 or so minute ride.
Nearby places
Friuli Venezia Giulia is often defined a "small compendium of the universe", which it actually is. On a relatively limited surface you can very easily go from the mountains to the sea in a short time, crossing gentle hills and green plains turning into rocky coastlines or sandy beaches. There are countless chances to discover the real essence of this small, untouched paradise: walking on the streets of traditional villages or crossing the region while looking for aristocratic residences is enough to understand that we are in an area which is partly still unknown.
Food and shopping
Trieste's two food markets provide colorful surroundings and a chance to eye the local cuisine. The covered market, at the corner of Via Carducci and Via della Majolica, is open Monday from 8am to 2pm and Tuesday through Saturday from 8am to 7pm. The open-air market is on Ponte Ponterosso, alongside the canal that cuts into the center of the city from the harbor, and it operates Tuesday through Saturday from 8am to 5:30pm.
Trieste has an elegant center and a great selection of upscale stores.
Money
Euro
Staying connected
Language: Italian
WIFI: walk to the right as you come off the ship towards the Aquario (Aquarium), cross the street there and you will find many sidewalk cafes and restaurants with WIFI. Note: some restaurants are closed during daytime, but leave tables and chairs outside: a quiet spot to read your email.
Opening Hours and
Opening Hours and Holidays: Most shops and businesses in Italy open from Monday to Saturday from around 8am until 1pm, and from about 4pm until 7pm, though many shops close on Saturday afternoons and Monday mornings. Quite a few stores in Trieste are open on Sundays.