What to do in Trieste in the winter season

Every season in Trieste has its own magic: if in summer the beaches and the sea are protagonists, winter brings out the best atmospheres of the city and of its historic buildings. Winter days can be quite pleasant in the Trieste gulf, with clear skies and mild temperatures – unless the bora blows, which becomes an additional attraction.

Visiting Trieste in winter also offers the ideal excuse to warm up in the historic cafes or enjoy all the art exhibitions scheduled in the city: here are some ideas on what to do on a weekend during the cold season.

Visit the Christmas markets and ice skating

Winter is first of all the Christmas season: in Trieste the markets and various related activities start in early December, to celebrate San Nicolò, and continue normally until January. The areas to visit are mainly Piazza Borsa and surroundings, with dozens of wooden houses offering gastronomic specialties, gift ideas and handicrafts from all over Europe. In addition, at the same time in Piazza Ponterosso is also set up a beautiful ice skating rink.

Warm up in the historic cafes of Trieste

The historic cafes of Trieste, not to be missed in any season, in winter become the ideal refuge where to warm up with a “capo in b” – for the complete guide to how to order a coffee in Trieste, you can find here an article from our blog. Always a meeting place for intellectuals and writers, the historic cafes of Trieste are still today places full of charm where time seems to have stopped. The choice of addresses to try is really wide, but a good starting point is the Caffè Tommaseo: the oldest café in the city is active since 1830 and keeps all its elegance intact.

To accompany the coffee cup try a slice of presnitz, a typical recipe of Trieste similar to strudel.

Discover the museums of Trieste

Trieste is also a city of art, able to offer a great variety of museums and a rich calendar of temporary exhibitions. In addition to discovering the modern art collections of the Revoltella Museum, you can broaden your knowledge about theatre at the Carlo Schmidl Museum, literature at the new LETS Museum, science at the Scientific Imaginary. Not to mention the Museum of the Bora, useful to deepen the relationship of the city with its famous wind, or the Museum of Natural History that will drive children crazy thanks to dinosaurs Antonio and Bruno.

For temporary exhibitions, the main expositions spaces to keep an eye on are the great Salone degli Incanti and the Magazzino delle Idee. During your stay, do not hesitate to ask for up-to-date information at the reception of the DoubleTree by Hilton Trieste, who will advise you about the exhibitions not to be missed.