What to do

City Sightseeing

• Udine → a 35min drive from Castello di Spessa, where Jess called home for 6 years! A beautiful Venetian style town, with a lovely historic city centre and a castle on the hill with a great view of the city and neighbouring Alps.

• Cividale → 25min drive from Castello di Spessa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for its rich Lombard heritage and beautiful Natisone River

• Trieste → located 1hr by car from Castello di Spessa on the Adriatic sea, home to the largest sea-facing piazza in Europe, Piazza Unità d’Italia.

• Venice → 1h20min away by car (accessible also with the train) Venice is one of the most beautiful cities in the world! We suggest more than one day to properly visit the city.

• Ljubljana → 1h30min drive from Castello di Spessa, it is the capital of Slovenia. A young and vibrant city, with a great Food Market every Friday from 10AM-9PM

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Beaches

• Grado → an old fishing village, with great fish restaurants. Head to Grado Pineta for white sandy beaches.

• Lignano Sabbiadoro → more touristic beach spot

• Sistiana → a small picturesque hotspot, with pebbles

• Barcola, Trieste → no sand, rather pavement and rocks, but a popular spot for locals

 

Shopping

• Palmanova Outlet Village → featuring many major brands, cafés and a nice playground for kids

 

Kids

• Playground for small kids → “Parco di Via degli Alpini” 10min walk from Castello di Spessa

• Pool → the venue has a swimming pool, as part of their wellness center

• Bike riding → the venue can provide a map for bike trails through the vineyards

• Themeparks Lignano → Parco Junior, Gulliverlandia or Aquasplash water park

• Trieste Adventure Park → high ropes course, open Sat-Sun only

 

Wineries

Castello di Spessa is a winery itself, with a wine shop open for tastings. You can also book a tour of the winery. Immediately surrounding the Castello and along the “strada del vino” there are countless wineries you can visit. Many wineries are small, family‑run, and staff is limited; so even if they technically allow walk‑ins, they may prefer or require notice.

 

Tourism

For more information, you can consult the Friuli Venezia Giulia tourism site: https://www.turismofvg.it/en?LangSetCMS=en. Here you can find more information on mountain hikes, museums nearby historic villages and wellness centers, and more.

 

Other Activities

• Rent a Vespa → from  Zorgniotti in Cormòns, to explore the picturesque wine region

• Castello di Miramare → on the sea. Nice for a walk around the gardens, a coffee or lunch. From here you can walk along the sea to swimming spots at Barcola

• Caves → Grotta Gigante near Trieste, or Postojna Cave in Slovenia, for impressive stalactites and stalagmites

• Croatia → head for a few days to Istria, the northern tip of Croatia. Some highlights are the towns of Poreč, Rovinj, Pula or Kamenjak National Park (Premantura) for beaches