You would think if there was only one thing you just gotta do if you were the mayor of Trieste then that would be to keep the fantastic, unique, antique tram service running from the cliff tops at Opicina (Italian version), Opcine (Slovenian version), directly down into the sprawling old city by the sea, cos it is simply tourist gold dust..

We were so excited to go try this tram when we first landed in Green Slovenia, with just a 25 min drive from the Lodge to the cute little old Slovenian town of Opcine, now in Italy, sitting on top of the highest cliffs in Mediterranean, with epic views down to the bubbling melting pot of Roman, Venetian, Hapsburg, Slovenian and Italian culture that is Trieste, far below..

But guess what.. The tram broke down and took several long years to repair and we thought we might never get to use it, but finally, 12 years into our residence here, the Number 2 Blue Tram was put back into service and we couldn't wait to get those San Francisco vibes, baby!

Time to leave the city and go back up to Opcina..

The magnificent seaside city of Trieste might be in a different country nowadays, but offers Lodge guests a serious dilemma if you want to get some city & culture time into your Green Slovenian hollibubbles.. 

Coming to Slovenia, you might have thought that the cute capital city of Ljubljana would be your automatic "city day out" choice, a little over half an hour from the Lodge, but Trieste is actually a bit closer and we will do a whole separate blog to help you decide the answer to that question.. Trieste or Ljubljana?

Of course a strong Venetian influence here too, can you see the Venetian Lion on the side of this building..

You can drive from the Lodge to Trieste from various angles, but the best approach is whizzing down the motorway, directly to Opcine and then driving down the wiggly main road, literally dropping into the city centre..

But there is a much better way to do it, leaving your car behind in Opcina and travelling in style down the sheer cliff streets into the heart of the city in a beautiful antique tram.. What about that!

Views down to the sea and that is the Slovenia coast in the distance too..

Yes, just a 25 min drive from the Lodge gets you over the paper border into the Italian village of Opcine, which sits directly above Trieste on top of that high Adriatic cliff.

Just taking the second turn off the central village roundabout will weave you to a free car park with just a 5 min stroll to a nearby café back on the high street, where you buy your ticket, drink a coffee Italian style in the sunshine and wait for the tram to trundle in!

Here is the little csfe where you can buy tickets, have a capuccino and catch the tram..

Trams run pretty much every 30 mins and roll out of Opcine following the main road for a bit before zig zagging onto a vertical set of rails down the cliff and right into the city centre in 30 mins of bone jangling joy!

This is a really fantastic, fun and unexpected journey to add a little spice to what will probably be your one day Italian experience sandwiched into the middle of your Green Slovenian adventures!

Arriving in the tutti frutti centre of Trieste..

You will arrive car free in a bustling, busy city and get to have a wander around, have some lunch, do a bit of shopping and then you get to do the whole trip back in reverse, including the option of a Slovene style Italian meal in Opicina on the high street before you head home to the Lodge! 

Now & then we pop over to Trieste to pick up guests, but have to warn you the city is such a maze of narrow, tight, one way streets and wide boulevards that it is very easy to get lost if you drive around in a car and googlemaps just doesn't seem to help.. So nowadays we only pick up from the train station.. Easy to find, easy to park, easy to get away from!!

Ladies & Gentlemen, Boys & Girls, the Grand Canal..

So dumping the car in one of the big multi story parking houses on the sea front or taking the tram instead are really good options for visiting Trieste!       

Trieste was the last city to join modern day Italy, annexed from Slovenia after WW2 and offers a truely unique mix of Slovenian, Austrian & Italian culture & history and might well be the surprise addition to you holiday to do list..

Huge concrete pier out from the harbour..

Back when Queen Victoria and her extended family were ruling the waves and painting the world map pink, Trieste was just a small coastal town in the Slovenian speaking region of the extended Austro Hungarian empire, with just 10,000 inhabitants. 

The emperor decided he needed a proper port to compete with his British and French cousins and he needed it fast, so Trieste was transformed into a city of 250,000 in just 10 years and became the naval base of the grand Austrian empire! 

A Slovenian town that became an Austrian city, now in Italy, but with a strong Austrian look..

So if you expect to find a "Little Vienna by the Sea" you will not be disappointed with plenty of large grand Hapsburg buildings, but add the Roman & Venetian influences, with even a small Roman ampitheatre in the centre and you start to get quite a unique cocktail of history in just one place..

Then consider the little Slovenian churches you can find, (all public signs here must still be in Slovene as well as Italian, by the way) and add in the modern day "tutti Frutti" Italian city experience, with mopeds whizzing around the narrow streets, lots of specialist little shops and a hot high tempo to life with still a nice cappuccino break on offer at every corner and you can see why Trieste may well be the daytrip for you!

Down a side street..

We spent the broken tram years using the excellent replacement bus service that shadowed the route from Opcine on the main road..

But it was only when we got to ride the sparkly blue tram that we got to see "behind the scenes" Trieste along that narrow vertical train line that leads directly into the city and even has a little station stop on the way down, where you might need to stand on one leg to keep your balance!

Good shot to see the gradient..

The tram carriage inside is everything you might dream about & more, when riding an antique San Franciscan tram, but the main attraction here is looking through the big windows at the slowly, but steadily approaching city and sea views over the Gulf of Trieste as the wheels rattle along the track and you squeeze your legs tight to try and stay sat on those hard wooden seats..

Once in the city, your key objective is to remember where the tram dropped you off as this is where you come back from, just a little glass box shelter and a timetable..

This little glass shelter is where you catch the tram back..

And now it is time to go explore, but we should warn you, despite being a smallish city crammed in between the sea and the cliffs, you need to like doing a lot of walking to properly get around under the high buildings along the long wide boulevards and narrow shopping streets..

If your head is permanently down looking at a phone all the time, then you won't see anything of the city in any case, but we advise quickly escaping the forest of high buildings first and head directly towards the sea front to look back and get your bearings and then it is easier to kinda do a curvy loop back into the old city, with a much better feeling for which direction you are going! 

Imagine the ships of the Austrian fleet docking here..

There is a very chunky, long seafront promenade (where you can sometimes see big jellyfish) and the largest, main navigational feature in the centre apart from the sea is the beautiful Italian style Grand Canal that leads into the heart of the tourist centre, lined by grand buildings, cafes and restaurants

You can decide to just walk around happily enjoying the atmosphere & architecture, popping in & out of shops and you will almost certainly find the little Roman ampitheatre along your way to the Grand Canal..

Quite a few restaurants and bars to choose from on the Grand Canal..

But Trieste has a lot else to offer with secret underground tunnel tours, lots & lots of different museums and galleries, but all so spread out that it might be worth a bit of pre planning if you wanted to specifically go find one of these..

Trieste is also a centre for coffee brewing, with much of Europe's coffee supplies still landing here, so look out for those cute little old fashioned coffee and tea shops!

A little bit of Roman archaeology too, this small ampitheatre in the centre was a theatre..

If you have the juice, then deffo walk up the steps to the castle that overlooks the city centre for a really fabulous view of everything. But this would only be for the view as the castle itself might not be what you were expecting..

If this is your one day out in the old Slovenian part of new Italy then maybe you will spend the whole day in Trieste and like we suggested, go have a wonderful meal back in Opcine high street to conclude a fab day.

Riding the tram down into the city..

But it is more than possible to do a half day in Trieste and choose from a wide selection of other amazing little Secret Places to Visit in and around the city up on the cliffs or further along the coast in both directions.

If you choose one or two of the attractions up on the cliff then the tram from Opcine is a groovy possibilty and if you choose to explore along the coast, sticking with your car is a better option following a loop back into Slovenia!

Out of all the grand buildings in Trieste, these two little churches were our favourite..

Other Stuff to Combine with a Day out in Trieste..

There is another much better castle just a few km along the coastal promenade from Trieste called Miramare. Built like a fantasy holiday home for an uber rich Emperor's brother, you will get to see an all white castello with stunning views over the Mediterranean and surprisingly wonderful gardens. 

You can do boat trips from Trieste and we really fancy doing the ride to Muggia, the last seaside town in Italy, in the other direction from Miramare right on the Slovenian border, with rocky beaches and another very long seaside promenade..

The artist was wondering where to position this piece and then the Penny dropped..

Instead you might decide to drive to Muggia on the way home to Slovenia from Trieste and have a bit of rocky beach time and a swim too!

Head out along the coast past Miramare and you end up driving on a very good road up onto the massive cliff again and could easily make your way to the seaside settlement of Sistiana..

This is not a seat cushion, it is a fluffy dog..

Up on the Cliff..

There are lots of options on top of the cliffs within a few shakes of a dragon's tale from Opcine, and therefore easily accessible from the Lodge..

You could instead decide to reach Sistiana from the cliffs above following an easy Cliff top walk from Duino castle to Sistiana, with stunning sea views....

Getting closer to the sea..

Duino castle is a fantastic little castle option on it's own, with some excellent surprises inside & out and just down the road from there is yet another massive cave, Grotta Gigante, with an ubermassive chamber and you could do your entire daily steps quota in just one visit there!

The Teran Wine region, one of Slovenia's 7 wine regions, runs all the way through the border directly to these giant cliffs and you could go wine tasting in a little village with a name you might have heard before.. Prosecco! 

The tram leaves the roadside and joins a steep set of tracks into the city..

Here in Prosecco you can try the fruity Slovenian wines grown on the fertile Red Karst rocks AND the Italian wines grown in the very different clay soil terraces on the edge of the cliffs!

One last tip to remember about popping into Italy, especially Trieste is that Italian cities have a siesta, which is perfectly understandabubble when you consider the hot summer middays, so when you might be feeling a bit peckish at your lunchtime, you may find lots of places closed for a nap! 

However over the years we have noticed the locals are getting a little more tuned to the demands of tourists, so you should find something open!

Back to the relaxed Opcina high street, with plenty of restaurants, cafes and gelato parlours..

We much prefer having a snack for lunch anyway and having a larger evening meal out to complete the day's adventure, which is why we love the high St in Opcine so much for a wonderful little Italian / Slovene ristorante experience..

There is a particularly lovely restaurant with a huge tree growing out of the terrace canopy.. if you can find it, (walkable from that central roundabout, direction Slovenia), then have a great meal, which is Dober Tek in Slovenian!