castello di duino

Just a few minutes from Trieste, this castle, that could have easily come from some fantasy novel, takes you back in time and provides amazing scenic views of the Trieste

This is a beautiful castle, in the little town of Duino, close to the seafront. When you're visiting Trieste make sure to make a stop in Duino and visit this ancient roman tower. The castle stands on a cliff with an amazing breath taking view over the sea.

from the ancient Roman tower to the ruins of the former castle, from Dante to Rilke's elegies, from the imposing castle right in the cliffs to the sad story of the White Lady turned into stone...just let yourself go and centuries will be in your hands

The castle stands on a cliff, and it has the most amazing view to the sea and the surrounding hills. It has a museum on 3 different levels, showing rooms furniture and memorabilia from the life of the Thurn-und-Taxis family on 3 floors. There is also a bunker in the rocks, and a beautiful garden, with flowerbeds and a pond.Stand on the terrace where Rilke wrote his Elegies, or where Liszt played the piano!

Castel Duino is beautifully and spectacularly located on the great Karst cliffs above Trieste. As such not to be missed. The rooms were a bit of a let down ... Somehow. The Palladian staircase is a highlight, as are the views around

The gardens are gorgeous and the walk through them is charming. The castle has rear artifacts and the views from the windows are amazing

The town of Duino is quite small but still very nice. The caste is absolutely beautiful, both the interior and exterior look great and some places offer amazing views of the sea.

A beautiful castle with great views over the ocean. The bunker built by the Nazis during WW2 was very interesting and had some old items from that time. The castle itself has been taken good care of and you get access to almost every part of it. Very unlimited access and the entrance fee was appropriate. There is a restaurant inside but we didn't try it.

Lovely castle in a good shape, there are some lovely views from the terraces. The entrance could be cheaper for what is has to offer, though.

I actually prefer this castle over Maxamillion's in Trieste. There is an old WWII bunker, the old castle ruins, a nice cafe and you can see Maxamillion's from the windows of Duino. The gardens are small and quaint, unlike Maxamillion's, but still very pretty. If you are in the area, see both, but DO NOT skip Duino!!

Proud castle over Trieste bay of proud Thur Taxis family which invented and organised post service in Europe.

If you've read Rilke's Duino Elegies, you have to visit Castello di Duino. Still owned by the Thurn und Taxis family, the castle is in much better shape and much more appealing as a residence than its neighbor, Miramare. It's filled with photos and memorabilia of the family and their illustrious guests - artists, royalty, political figures. There's also a notable collection of instruments, including a piano played by Liszt. Stand on the terrace where Rilke wrote the first elegies, look up and down the spectacular coast, and you, too, will be inspired to write poetry.

I have been here with the school some years ago and I really enjoyed visiting this castle. Part of the inside is a museum where you can see the furniture and how it used to be when people lived there. The family who owns the castle still lives there in another part of it which is private. The view of the sea is breathtaking, there is a small private beach next to it which really looks beautiful. I would suggest to visit it on a sunny day, you can see the Croatian and Slovenian shore on the other side of the water. Very close to it there is Rilke Path, overlooking the sea and surrounded by local vegetation.

By early afternoon the rain had stopped so we went to the marvellous Duino Castle, taking Bus 44 from the terminus at Piazza Oberdan in central Trieste. It wasn’t immediately obvious where the Duino stop was but a friendly passenger told us. The entrance walkway lined with attractive statuary gives a sense of the attractions ahead. In the grounds we had a great view of the old ruined castle jutting into the Gulf. Preparations for a gala dinner and event that evening were busily underway with film crews etc but the atmosphere was very relaxed and busily informal with no restrictions whatsoever on the visitors. We thoroughly enjoyed our leisurely walk around the new castle. The library is quite large and lined with attractive dark wooden bookcases full of publications and manuscripts. We paused for a while in the small family chapel. There is a very strong musical heritage associated with the castle. This is reflected in the many exhibits of musical instruments along the corridors and elsewhere. A quartet was actually practising in a space at the end of a corridor. Downstairs the cool grotto with its gorgeous vaulted ceiling has some lovely displays including large colourful crystals. We were intrigued to see the family trees showing the interweaving of European royal and titled families over nearly a millennium. The many historical documents on view are most impressive. One of the most fascinating is a letter hand written by Queen Elizabeth in February 1952 on Clarence House headed paper to her Aunt Mari about the death of her father King George VI. On the way out we visited the adjoining WW II bunker that is evocatively dark and dank. All in all a marvellous outing to a absorbing historical castle.

Not far from its grander cousin, Miramare, not that many people have actually heard of this castle, tucked away in the centre of Duino, a small town just north of Trieste. As a result, it's rarely crowded and there is no problem parking, unlike Miramare where in the high season they often run out of parking spaces... which you don't find out until you've spent 20 minutes queuing to get in :( There are actually two castles at Duino - the old ruined one and the new one. The old one is worth spending twenty to 30 minutes on.The new castle has an interesting history, some fascinating nooks and crannies and a superb collection of old musical instruments, including, in some cases, old paintings of the very instrument being played. There is a relaxed, rather laid-back atmosphere and this carries on into the small cafe/bar.A climb to the top of the tower is rewarded with interesting views, as is a descent into the WWII bunker - the belvedere (beware - the latter requires negotiating a lot of stairs, some damp and slippery; also the floors at the bottom are uneven).We spent most of a day in Duino and thoroughly enjoyed it. Oh, and just down the road from the car park for the castle (which is a few minutes walk away) there's a small supermarket which does good food very cheapl, if you want to picnic.