Travel tips for the northern Italian port city of Trieste

DW (English)

The port city of Trieste on the Adriatic Sea is known for its many cafés and specialty coffees. Yet pork with sauerkraut and potatoes also counts among the city’s culinary classics.

Transcript

00:00 Imposing castles on the sea, Roman ruins in the center of town, and sauerkraut

00:05 instead of pasta, that's what's in store for me today. I'm here in Trieste in the

00:10 northeastern corner of Italy. Now it's not on everyone's bucket list when

00:14 visiting Italy, but should it be? That's what I want to find out. But first, coffee!

00:21 Trieste is the unofficial espresso capital of Europe. It's home to the

00:26 Mediterranean's biggest coffee port. There are cafes on every corner in the city

00:31 center and endless amounts of coffee varieties. So here you order an espresso

00:37 for about a euro thirty.

00:41 It packs a pretty strong punch, but it is a good way to start the day. Which begins

00:48 on the Piazza dell'Unità d'Italia, the main square in Trieste. It faces the

00:53 Adriatic Sea and is also where City Hall is located. Tiziana Zamae is my guide.

01:00 Thank you. Where should we start today? Let's go to Roman Theatre. All right, the

01:05 Roman Theatre. Let's go. It's about a five-minute walk from our starting point.

01:10 All roads lead to Rome, but the Romans certainly left traces behind when they

01:16 came to Trieste. This Roman Theatre dates back to the first century and could seat

01:21 up to 6,000 spectators. It's still used today to host special events. What do

01:28 some people who walk by here, what do they not realize or know about this

01:32 ruin? They don't know that this Roman Theatre was discovered only in the 1930s

01:41 because when they built the building in front of it, that should be the seat of

01:46 the fascist party, Casa del Fascio. Today it is the police headquarter. They found

01:52 the remains of this Roman Theatre. Trieste isn't big, so you can reach all

01:57 the sights on foot. We're taking a little stroll now through the old town to the

02:02 Arc of Ricardo. The Arc of Ricardo is also a relic of Roman times, built into

02:09 the modern buildings. Its original purpose is disputed, but archaeologists

02:14 say it was an arch that divided the city into two parts. Throughout Trieste you

02:20 will find a mix of architectural styles from eclectic to neoclassical. It's just

02:27 past noon now and our stomachs are starting to rumble, so we head back down

02:31 to the city center for lunch to the popular Buffet de Pepe restaurant. It's

02:36 been around since 1897 and while it's owned and run by an Italian family, it

02:42 serves only traditional Hungarian and Austrian dishes. The owner's son, Andrea

02:48 Pola, joins us for lunch. So, Andrea, we're in the middle of Trieste. Where's the pasta?

02:57 There isn't pasta here. This is a traditional place for pork boil.

03:04 Our use is to make the mixed plate like this in the middle. You can share with

03:09 some sauerkraut, potatoes on the side. It's very typical here. It's a historic place for Trieste.

03:14 Okay, but typical for here? Yeah. I mean, sauerkraut! It's funny! Yeah, it's funny because in 1887 it was the

03:24 Austrian government here and this is so traditional.

03:30 So, we finished with our lunch and our sightseeing tour continues with the

03:36 Grand Canal. So, I heard this area has given Trieste the nickname Venice's

03:44 little sister. Maybe, but it has nothing to do with Venice. This is the Grand

03:51 Canal, but we don't have any gondolas and it was built by the command of Maria

03:57 Teresa of Austria, the Empress. It was a part of the seaport of Trieste. It was

04:03 very important for the commerce. Not far from the Grand Canal is the pastry shop

04:08 Bombaniera, which is a good place to satisfy your sweet tooth.

04:14 So, here we have a mix of the different traditions that met here in this

04:21 territory. We have quite a representation here. For example, the

04:26 Esterházy cake from Hungary or the Slovenian gibanica or the Austrian

04:32 linzer pastry. We try the presnitz cake, which has fruit, nuts and chocolate in it.

04:39 It's very sweet. Our final stop of the day is the Miramar castle. It was built

04:51 for Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian of Habsburg. He lived here for four years

04:55 with his wife Charlotte of Belgium. A visit to the gardens is free, unlike other

05:01 Italian cities, Trieste is not overrun by tourists, so you don't have to rush

05:06 when you take in the sights.

05:09 Ciao from Miramar!

05:11 Ciao, ciao!

05:13 I think I chose the hottest day of the year to visit Trieste. So, if you're sensitive to heat, you might want to wait

05:18 till the spring or the fall. But Trieste is relatively inexpensive and it's

05:22 extremely easy to get around. So, it's worth a visit, even if you only have one

05:27 day.

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