Address: Piazza della Libertà, 11, 34132 Trieste TS, Italy

Trieste Centrale is a main railway station with a ticket office and multiple ticket machines.

The trip from Trieste Centrale to Miramare is a short 9 minutes.

Tickets cost €1.70 each way. There is no ticket office or ticket vending machine at the Miramare station. So, you should buy return tickets before you leave Trieste Centrale.

At the time of writing, the direct trains to Miramare leave Trieste Centrale at:

11:28 am
12:32 pm
1:32 pm
2:28 pm
3:58 pm
4:28 pm
5:28 pm
6:28 pm
7:28 pm

Check with Trenitalia for up-to-date information.

Once down on the road, you will see a small sign directing you to the right. Take a right and follow the road. The road will curve to the left and lead you to a large iron gate. This is the gate to the garden behind the castle.

You must walk through the garden to reach the castle. So, enter the gate and follow the path straight through the garden.

You will encounter a small tunnel and steps down.

Miramare was conceived as a private garden and not as a park. It has no monumental entrance or a driveway up to the castle. It was a garden of wonders, not intended for public use, even though the archduke opened it to the public a few days per week.

Castello di Miramare

Architect: Carl Junker
Style: Eclectic
Built: 1856 to 1860
Address: V.le Miramare, 34151 Trieste TS, Italy

Tickets to the Museum allow for a visit to the ground and second floors of the Castle. Full-priced adult tickets cost 12€.

Miramare Castle was built by order of Ferdinand Maximilian, younger brother of Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria.

In 1852 Maximilian was appointed an officer, and in 1854 he became Commander in Chief of the Imperial Navy. He decided to move to Trieste and to have a home built facing the sea and surrounded by a park worthy of his name and rank.

Miramare was designed by Carl Junker, an Austrian architect, in 1856. The style reflects the artistic interests of the archduke, who was acquainted with the eclectic architectural styles of Austria, Germany, and England. The architectural structure of Miramare was finished in 1860.

The craftsman Franz Hofmann and his son, Julius, were entrusted with the furnishing and decorations. The work, supervised by Maximilian, was finished only after he departed for Mexico in 1864. He briefly reigned as Emperor in Mexico before being executed in June 1867.

Miramare Park, which once had no vegetation and now has a surface area of 22 hectares (54 acres), stands on a rocky promontory overlooking the Adriatic Sea. The site was planned and arranged by Carl Junker, according to the wishes of Archduke Maximilian, who carefully followed the building of his residence.

Regarding the botanical aspect, a gardener, Josef Laube, was called in but was replaced in 1859 by Anton Jelinek, a Bohemian who had taken part in the frigate Novara’s expedition around the world.

The park, on which work began in 1856, represents a classic example of mixed, artificial implantation of ligneous forest trees and bushes, and it succeeds in blending the charm of a typically Northern environment and a Mediterranean context.

Before 1856, the park area was bare, with only some shrubs and thorny bushes. Today, on the other hand, there is a group of different species of trees that are primarily of non-European origin or, in any case, not native to the area. Within ten years, cedars from Lebanon, North Africa, and the Himalayas were planted, along with firs and spruces from Spain, cypresses from California and Mexico, various species of pine from Asia and America, to which some exotic specimens, such as the giant sequoia and the ginkgo biloba, were added.

The park is also characterized by the presence of some buildings included in Junker’s project: the Castelletto – inhabited off and on by Maximilian and Charlotte – on which work began at the same time as work on the castle; the greenhouses, intended for the growing of the plants to be placed in the park; the ruins of the chapel dedicated to Saint Canciano, in whose apse is preserved a cross made from the wood of the frigate Novara, which was laid up in 1899; and lastly a little house, used nowadays as a coffee-shop, the “Swiss house,” placed at the edge of the swans’ lake.

The return trip from Miramare to Trieste Centrale is a short 10 minutes.

At the time of writing, the direct trains from Miramare to Trieste Centrale depart at:

2:04 pm
3:29 pm
5:29 pm
6:22 pm
7:29 pm

Check with Trenitalia for up-to-date information.

Would you like transport and a guide to Miramare Castle? Book a tour below!

There are many great places to stay in Trieste. For the best experience, we recommend staying near the Piazza Unita d’ Italia (the castle marker on the map below). Northeast of the castle marker is a great area with historic churches, cafes, the canal, and many restaurants.  Southwest of the castle marker is a beautiful area with older churches and buildings, small shops, restaurants, and cafes.

Here’s an interactive map with hotel and apartment options that can be filtered to meet your needs. Select your travel dates to get specific availability and prices.

Book your stay now!

Do you need cellular data during your trip and don’t want to pay for roaming? We use eSIMs from Airalo during our travel and highly recommend them. They are cheap, easy to set up, and allow you to leave your primary sim card in your phone (so you don’t lose it). Click below for more info.

Every first Sunday of the month, admission to the Castle is free for all thanks to the initiative of the Italian Ministry of Culture Domenica al Museo (Sunday at the Museum).

Miramare Castle is located six kilometers outside Trieste, the capital of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region.

The seaside castle in Trieste, Italy is known as the Miramare Castle. It was built in the mid-19th century for Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian of Austria and his wife Charlotte of Belgium. The castle is located on a rocky promontory overlooking the Adriatic Sea and features a mix of architectural styles, including Gothic, Renaissance, and Byzantine elements.

Today, Miramare Castle is open to the public as a museum, showcasing the lavish furnishings, artwork, and collections of its royal owners. Visitors can explore the castle’s ornate rooms and gardens and learn about the history of this beautiful landmark. If you’re ever in Trieste, be sure to add Miramare Castle to your must-visit list!

Legend has it that the ghost of Archduke Maximilian’s wife, Charlotte, still resides at Miramare Castle.