I had a great time roaming around Comune di Grado in Italy for a couple of days but am also happy that I ventured out of town for a day trip as there are several interesting things to do and places to visit within a short driving distance. One of them is the town of Gorizia.
Crossing the border
The Comune di Gorizia or town of Gorizia in the province of Gorizia is quite special: it’s located in two countries! That’s right, there’s a place in Gorizia where you can have one foot in Italy and one in Slovenia. That place is the Nova Gorica train station.
In 1947, this train station and a few other parts of Gorizia were given to Yugoslavia during the “redistribution” of territory after World War II. The Slovenians called their part of town Nova Gorica (“New Gorizia”) and a border fence was put up between both sides of the town.
Although Slovenia is now part of the European Union and the fence is now gone and replaced by a roundabout with a symbolic plaque marking where the fence used to be, there is still no direct train route between Italy and Slovenia.
Climbing up to the Gorizia castle
Gorizia’s main attraction is its castle. It had many different owners and dates back to the 11th century. Throughout the centuries, it underwent several updates and expansions. The castle suffered severe damage during World War I, but was restored thereafter.
You can park at the bottom of the castle and already from there have a great view of Gorizia. The views from the walls are just one of the reasons I love castles! The entrance to the inner parts of the castle isn’t free, but you can access some of the castle walls without paying and get more nice views. Inside you can visit several exhibitions and right outside the castle there are some museums as well, such as the First World War Museum and the Museum of Fashion and Arts.
Wandering through the city center
The city center of Gorizia is small and can easily be visited on foot. There are a few cute pedestrian streets, but you won’t find that many sights – or other tourists – for that matter. It can be different when you visit some of the more popular Umbrian towns, for example.
Visiting a palace
There are actually two palaces in Gorizia: the Palazzo Attems Pezenstein and the Palazzo Coroni Cronberg. I visited the latter.
The Palazzo Coroni Cronberg was built in the 16th century on the outskirts of Gorizia. It knew different owners until it was purchased by Count Michele Coronini Cronberg in 1820, after whom the palace is named today. The palace stayed in possession of the Coronini family, but was rented by the Italian army after World War I and occupied by the Germans during World War II. The Coronini’s returned to the palace in the 1950’s, when Count Guglielmo Coronini crafted the plan to turn the palace into a museum, which it is today. The different halls show us what life in the palace used to be like throughout the different time periods.
Having aperitivo at the Piazza San Antonio
When you’re facing the beautiful Piazza San Antonio in the center of Gorizia, there’s a bar to the complete right of the square. It has a little terrace under the collonade. I forgot the name, but it’s easy to spot. It’s a pretty cool place. Somewhat more trendy than I’d expected to find there. It’s the perfect spot for an aperitivo with a view of the square.
Enjoying a lovely lunch
There are several bars in the center of Gorizia, but if you happen to pass during lunchtime, I strongly recommend you drive to Rosenbar Ristorante on Via Duca d’Aosta 96. We had lunch there and it was fabulous.
The lady of the house spoke perfect English and presented the menu of the day to us: pea soup followed by specially prepared anchovies, pasta and then fish, with as a dessert cake covered in cream and wild strawberries. The portions were just right, the flavors were amazing and you could tell a lot of love went into every single dish.
Tip: there’s a large garden in the back.
If you combine all of the above, you can easily spend a morning in Gorizia and explore another part of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region after lunch.
Where to stay in Gorizia?
I visited Gorizia from Grado, where I stayed at an apartment at the edge of the city center. If you’d like to stay in an apartment as well, either in Grado or in Gorizia I recommend using airbnb. Sign up through my link and get a discount on your first stay!
If you already have an account and found this post helpful, please consider booking your next Airbnb through my link. I’ll earn a small commission while the price for you stays exactly the same. Income like this helps me travel independently and create new content.
If you prefer a hotel, Booking.com has an extensive list of options for all budgets and needs.
How to get to Gorizia
Gorizia is a border town touching Slovenia. The easiest way to get there from Italy is by flying to Venice and then taking the train to Gorizia. Coming from Slovenia, you can take the train to Nova Gorica, which used to form one town together with Gorizia before the town was split up after the Second World War.
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I was a guest of Comune di Grado for their #followgrado project when I visited Gorizia. The choice to enjoy my visit was entirely my own.