Trieste Christmas Markets

Trieste dresses up for the holidays

Every winter, the center of Trieste transforms into a large Advent village. The Trieste Christmas Markets, promoted by the Municipality of Trieste together with the CAT Terziaria Venezia Giulia of Confcommercio, line up dozens of wooden huts along the most elegant streets and squares of the city, lighting up from the Immaculate Conception period until January 6th.

Among the huts, from Ponterosso to Borsa

The 71 huts are distributed between via delle Torri, via Ponchielli, via Bellini, piazza del Ponterosso, and piazza della Borsa, Trieste's commercial heart and main square. Some exhibitors offer food from all over Europe, while others showcase crafts and gift ideas. Alongside local producers, who represent about a quarter of the participants, there are operators from other Italian regions and eight foreign countries (Austria, Croatia, France, Lithuania, Serbia, Slovenia, Hungary, and others), testifying to the city's Mitteleuropean crossroads vocation.

Ice skating, nativity scenes, and coffee

The most beloved symbol remains the ice-skating rink set up in piazza del Ponterosso, overlooking the Grand Canal, open from late November to mid-January. The program is enriched with costumed entertainment, street artists, nativity scene exhibitions by the Friends of the Nativity Scene, and the unmissable Trieste Coffee Festival, dedicated to the city that has made coffee an institution. Neighborhood markets in Roiano, San Giacomo, and Servola complete the widespread Christmas offerings.

A border Christmas

Strolling among the huts with a cup of mulled wine, leaving the imposing Borsa building behind and facing the reflection of the lights on the Grand Canal, is the best way to savor a Trieste Christmas: elegant, international, and overlooking the Adriatic.