Destinations Europe

Dreamy castles by the sea – Miramare and Duino

July 14, 2016

A trip to Trieste would be incomplete without visiting some of the most stunning landmarks of the area, if not the whole province of Friuli Venezia Giulia: The beautiful coastline has inspired emperors and artists alike, who chose to spend their time frequently near the healing sea breeze. As I’m not a pro with history I’ll spare you with too many details (which can be read on wiki anyway) and take you on a virtual tour through some amazing castles by the sea!

1. Miramare

A little outside the city centre of Trieste, the white fairy-tale castle is definitely a must-see when in town. You can take tours inside the castle for a fee (which I did many years ago), however the more interesting parts are the gardens and terraces, which can be visited for free. And still, the amazing ocean views are priceless! The Habsburg family have used that castle as their summer residency for many years and I can understand too well why…

Miramare castle Trieste
Miramare castle Trieste

2. Duino

It involves a little longer drive along the coast to get to Duino, but it’s totally worth it! The castle itself is quite nice, but actually the location and – again – the gardens are the main attractions: The castle is built on a cliff next to an old ruin, so the gorgeous ocean view pays up for the admission fee. Flowers and Mediterranean plants cover most of the castle grounds and there are lots of paths to wander around as well as a few spots to take a dip in the sea. Aristocrats, writers, musicians and scientists have called that place as their temporary home, until it turned into a museum for visitors to that day. Btw the coastal road strada costiera between Duino and Trieste is one of the most scenic drives I’ve seen in a long time!

Duino castle
Duino Trieste
Duino Trieste

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44 Comments

  • Reply PinaySkattebasse July 14, 2016 at 6:19 pm

    Beautiful shots. My favourite castle (for now) is found here in Denmark called Rosenborg. 🙂

    • Reply sileas July 18, 2016 at 2:01 pm

      Thank you! I have to google that one, it must be beautiful 🙂

      • Reply PinaySkattebasse July 18, 2016 at 3:03 pm

        It’s rich with history about the royal family & of course Denmark. 🙂

  • Reply shootingvienna July 14, 2016 at 6:56 pm

    Still have to visit Triest and your pictures make me want to go there asap 😀
    Miramare definitely rings a bell but I have never seen pictures of the castle and I can totally agree, great place to get away from grey and boring VIenna for some sunshine 😉

    • Reply sileas July 18, 2016 at 2:05 pm

      You’re right, the weather hasn’t been on the sunny side recently but it’s getting better 😉 Anyways, the sea and the Italian lifestyle was a nice change!

  • Reply Kathi July 14, 2016 at 9:04 pm

    Wow, ich wusste ehrlich gesagt nicht, dass es in Triest so viele schöne Schlösser gibt *.* Romeo und ich möchten ja schön seit längerem nach Triest – jetzt umso mehr!
    Liebe Grüße, Kathi

    • Reply sileas July 18, 2016 at 2:05 pm

      Das wäre doch ein nettes Kontrastprogramm nach eurem Norwegen-Trip 😉

  • Reply jewels July 15, 2016 at 4:38 am

    Stunning…! I want to live there!!!

    • Reply sileas July 18, 2016 at 2:10 pm

      Haha me too!

  • Reply Markus July 15, 2016 at 6:32 am

    Bellissimo!
    My favourite is Miramare, amazing photos!
    Ciao Markus
    http://www.markusjerko.at/photos/100-tage-sommer/

    • Reply sileas July 18, 2016 at 2:19 pm

      Thank you! Miramare indeed is magical!

  • Reply Paleica July 15, 2016 at 6:46 am

    oooh ich muss da hin. unbedingt. bald. das ist ja alles hammertraumhaftwunderschön! <3 gibt es eigentlich rund um triest auch badestrände? das wasser sieht ja zauberhaft aus!

    • Reply sileas July 18, 2016 at 2:09 pm

      Das Wasser sieht zwar schön aus, ist aber trügerisch: Leider gab es eine ziemlich schlimme Quellenplage und ich hoffe das war kein Normalzustand… Triest hat leider keine richtig schönen Strände sondern nur Betonstrände bzw. kleine Kiesbuchten. Wenn man aber ein paar km nach Slowenien oder Kroatien fährt, wird es immer schöner 😉

      • Reply Paleica July 18, 2016 at 3:22 pm

        oh, quallen? brr nein danke! ja, davon, dass es in slowenien sehr schön sein soll hab ich auch schon gehört und kroatien sowieso 🙂

  • Reply Jacintº July 15, 2016 at 11:33 am

    Espectaculares y bellas imagenes …..

    • Reply sileas July 18, 2016 at 2:20 pm

      Muchos gracias 🙂

  • Reply Chiara Pannozzo (@wine_and_olives) July 15, 2016 at 1:28 pm

    Wow to Trieste! I’ve not been there for years, but you’ve reminded me of how beautiful it is. My favourite castle has to be Edinburgh. I love that it’s right in the centre of the city and has so much history 🙂

    • Reply sileas July 18, 2016 at 2:32 pm

      Oh I’d love to see Edinburgh and the castle! It looks so majestic and grand!

  • Reply Carina July 16, 2016 at 2:22 pm

    Both locations are breathtaking! Marvellous pictures.

    xo
    http://www.carinavardie.com

    • Reply sileas July 19, 2016 at 12:30 pm

      Thanks a lot!

  • Reply Richel V. July 16, 2016 at 2:45 pm

    I love reading about the places you’ve been to! They’re all lovely. This post has got to be my favorite yet!

    xx, Richel Goes Places

    • Reply sileas July 19, 2016 at 12:32 pm

      Awww haha, that’s very sweet of you ❤️

  • Reply annie lee July 16, 2016 at 4:02 pm

    how beautiful… love that shot on the road! makes me wanna drop everything and go travel.. 🙁

    • Reply sileas July 19, 2016 at 12:34 pm

      Right?! That feeling of freedom is irresistible 😉

  • Reply SueT唐 梦 琇 July 18, 2016 at 12:29 am

    Just gorgeous…wish I was there now!!

    • Reply sileas July 19, 2016 at 12:35 pm

      Me too right now 😉

  • Reply Sofia July 18, 2016 at 10:33 pm

    What gorgeous scenes. Castles by the sea have more romance to them then castles just in the middle of “nowhere” 😉

    • Reply sileas July 19, 2016 at 12:41 pm

      Castles in general are fascinating already, the sea view is just a bonus 😉

  • Reply Vicky T. July 19, 2016 at 5:01 am

    It’s like straight out of a storybook! It’s so beautiful.

    Vicky
    http://vickysscrapbook.com/

    • Reply sileas July 19, 2016 at 12:41 pm

      Storybook, you named it! Thanks 🙂

  • Reply mintnoti July 19, 2016 at 8:42 pm

    Wow, what an incredible location for a castle, it looks beautiful there! I haven’t been to many castles before, but I really enjoyed Edinburgh Castle in Scotland. Have a nice Tuesday 🙂

    Eden | Mint Notion

    • Reply sileas July 20, 2016 at 10:51 am

      Thank you Eden! Edinburgh castle seems to be really popular, I so badly wanna go there now!

  • Reply Mindglitched (@anissamarieb) July 20, 2016 at 10:36 am

    Castles are some of my favourite sights, too! To imagine who used to stroll the courtyard and all those well kept secrets in the chambers 😉
    Stunning photographs! I think my favourite one is where the car is about to drive into the tunnel, makes me want to go on a roadtrip ❤️

    I am SO glad I found your blog (through the lovely Episodenfilm 🙂 )
    Xxx

    • Reply sileas July 20, 2016 at 11:00 am

      Oh hi and welcome! Thanks so much for your lovely comment ❤️ I like that photo a lot too, the road was really beautiful!

  • Reply fromdreamtoplan July 20, 2016 at 8:43 pm

    These pics are stunning! And thank you for sharing these wonderful places, I will definitely check them out next time I’m in Friuli! 🙂

    Lisa | http://www.fromdreamtoplan.net/

    • Reply sileas July 29, 2016 at 4:02 pm

      You should, thank you Lisa!

  • Reply wazwu July 22, 2016 at 4:40 am

    Oh my goodness, these photos look like they’re straight out of a fairytale! Take me there with you. 😉 Thanks so much for sharing!

    • Reply sileas July 29, 2016 at 4:04 pm

      Hehe thank you Waz! Those castles definitely were kind of surreal 🙂

  • Reply Christina July 25, 2016 at 3:58 pm

    wow, great pictures! now I really wanna go there and explore the places! 😀

    • Reply sileas July 29, 2016 at 4:04 pm

      It’s really nice and luckily not too far away!

  • Reply Anna July 27, 2016 at 10:30 pm

    Wunderbar! Ich bin ja sowieso ein Fan von Burgen und in Kombination mit Meer sind sie noch viel toller. 🙂

    Herzlich,
    Anna

    • Reply sileas July 29, 2016 at 4:06 pm

      Das setzt dem ganzen noch ein Krönchen drauf, finde ich 😉

  • Reply The Wayfarer September 11, 2016 at 10:20 am

    I was in Trieste/Duino this summer… unfortunately I didn’t have time to see the Miramare castle. Guess I’ll have to do that next time!

    • Reply sileas September 15, 2016 at 1:39 pm

      Sure, I hope you’ll get the opportunity soon 🙂

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