Trieste

In the Customs port at the heart of Trieste, the Trieste Maritime Station serves as both a congress center and the cruise terminal and ticket office. It handles international cruises as well as short-distance car and passenger ferries between the gulf and the nearby Slovenian and Croatian coastline.

Cross the street to arrive immediately in Trieste's elegant, well cared for center.

Getting to Trieste.

From the airport, Trieste itself is 20 miles away. The easiest route to or from the city is number 51 bus, which travels near the coast to Trieste bus station beside the railway station. A single ticket is €3; buses are normally half-hourly on weekdays, and the trip takes approximately 50 minutes. As you travel along the coast, look right for Castello Miramare. Tickets are sold at city bus/coach stations or at the airport, in the Arrivals Hall, using an automatic self ticketing machine at the Post Office.

Most cruise lines, i.e. Costa and MSC, provide shuttles from Venice Marco Polo airport. The journey is about a two hour ride, with a stunning final stretch passing the Adriatic from great heights.

Outside the Arrivals hall, taxis operate from 08.00 to 24.00.

Take along a printable map.

Surrounded by rugged countryside and a beautiful coastline, this lively city occupies a prominent hillside location. The vast Piazza Unità d'Italia, just a block from the cruise terminal, is a popular meeting place with sidewalk cafés and a number of architecturally interesting buildings. Trieste is considered one of the world's most famous coffee towns (Illy), so enjoy a cup of coffee in a local cafe. Highlights include the Cathedral of San Giusto, with beautiful Byzantine mosaics and medieval frescoes. The neoclassical former stock exchange stands at Piazza della Borsa and now serves as the…

An expansive open-air museum, Trieste brings together beautiful eighteenth-century buildings, ancient Roman structures, Austrian-style landscapes, churches of all denominations, Art Nouveau facades, and rural towns and villages including Muggia and those on the upland plains.

Trieste tourist office.

Villa Opicina Tram Line: Its terminus in Piazza Oberdan is in the center of town, around a 20 minute walk from the cruise terminal. The tram climbs from the city to the beautiful natural surroundings of the Carso plateau, 348 m above sea level. Nicely restored tram cars provide this original transport, a cross between an regular tram and a cable railway. Services run every 20 minutes from early morning until early evening. Return fare is about €3, for a ride of 20 or so minutes.

Often described as a "small compendium of the universe", Friuli Venezia Giulia truly is one. Within a relatively limited surface, it is easy in a short time to travel from mountains to sea, across gentle hills and green plains that become rocky coastlines or sandy beaches. Countless opportunities reveal the essence of this small, untouched paradise: walking traditional-village streets or crossing the region in search of aristocratic residences makes clear that this is an area still partly unknown.

Colourful surroundings and a look at local cuisine await at Trieste's two food markets. The covered market is at the Via Carducci and Via della Majolica corner, opening Monday 8am to 2pm and Tuesday through Saturday 8am to 7pm. The open-air market operates Tuesday through Saturday from 8am to 5:30pm at Ponte Ponterosso, beside the canal running from the harbor into the center of the city.

An elegant centre and a great range of upscale stores are found in Trieste.

The currency is the Euro.

Italian is the language.

WIFI: On leaving the ship, walk right towards the Aquario (Aquarium), then cross the street to find many sidewalk cafes and restaurants with WIFI. Note: some restaurants close during daytime but leave tables and chairs outside, creating a quiet spot to read your email.

Opening Hours and Holidays: In Italy, most shops and businesses operate Monday to Saturday from around 8am until 1pm, then from about 4pm until 7pm. Many close on Saturday afternoons and Monday mornings, though quite a few Trieste stores are open on Sundays.