Udine

Udine is a quiet and stately provincial capital - and also the unofficial capital of Friuli (Forum Iulii-Cividale del Friuli)
, which comprises the largest part of the Region of Friuli-Venezia-Giuli. While the once-great seaport of Trieste is the regional capital and reigns over the coast, Udine presides over the region's inland plains and its Alpine peaks. For centuries Udine was a Venetian city - in contrast to Trieste, which was part of the Austrian Empire.
Today, Friuli is known as a region of wines, prosciutto di San Daniele and Montasio cheese. Udine is an excellent location to taste these products and to start a visit to this less traveled part of Italy.

By plane

Udine is 40 km from Trieste Airport, which has daily flights to London Stansted, Milan, Munich and Rome, and less regular flights to Birmingham, Brussels, Valencia and other locations in Europe. Other popular nearby airports include Venice Marco Polo, Treviso (Venice) - both about an hour away by car or train - and Ljubljana, Slovenia less than two hours drive from Udine.

By train

From rest of Italy. The train from Venice/Mestre takes just over an hour and a half (unless you catch one of the locals that makes all the stops for a two-hour ride). Trieste is just over an hour away. Trains to Venice and Trieste run almost every hour. One train a day goes direct to Milan, and another to Rome (otherwise, change in Venice/Mestre).
From Austria: Venice-bound daytime (2 per day) and night trains from Vienna have a stop at Udine. There also exist two regional trains per day from Villach, and buses from Villach and Klagenfurt.
From Slovenia: The most convenient and frequent method may be to take a train to Nova Gorica, walk across the border to Gorizia and onwards to the city's train station and take one of the frequent trains coming from Trieste to Udine. Also, from September 2018 you'll be able to take a train ride from Ljubljana to Udine for €15,6 one way. The train leaves Ljubljana just before 6 am and arrives after almost four hours to Udine. You can return on the same day from Udine at 17:54 and be in Ljubljana before 22:00. This way you have 8 hours of sightseeing in Udine, perfect for a day trip. Of course you can stop in Trieste instead on the way.

By car

By highway (A4/A55), Udine is about an hour from Trieste, an hour and a half from Venice and from Villach, Austria, and under two hours from Ljubljana, Slovenia.

By bus

• Castello di UdineFrom the monumental staircase of Udine's Castle, which rises on a low hill about the city, you can admire the Julian Alps rising above the Friuli Plains. The Castle hosts the City Museums of art and archeology. In the map rooms on the top floor, you can see how Udine and surrounding Friuli shifted from being part of the medieval Patriarch of Aquilea to the Venetian Republic, then the Austrian Empire and finally, Italy.

• Santa Maria di CastelloA church next to the Castle coloured by beautiful frescoes.

• Piazza Liberta'At the foot of the Castle hill is Piazza Liberta', which the tourist office calls the "most beautiful square in Venetian style on earth". Here you find the Loggia del Lionello, built in the 1400s, and across the street, the Tower of the Two Moors, giant statues (similar to those in St Mark's Square in Venice) on either side of a huge bell. They ring the hours.

• CathedralDates from the 1200s, and contains works by Tiepolo and others.

• More. The newly re-opened Ethnographic Museum, on Borgo Grazzano, has a fascinating collection that illustrate rural life in Friuli. (Here and elsewhere, however, few captions are in English.) Udine also has two photographic collections.

• Museo Diocesano e Gallerie del TiepoloThe museum is located in the former residence of the Patriarchs of Aquileia. It contains frescoes by the artist Giambattista Tiepolo.

• Un tajut. Udine lies in the centre of a rich plain, known for its wine, prosciutto (from San Daniele) and cheese (Montasio and more). Piazza San Giacomo is a beautiful square and the ideal place for a glass of wine (un tajut, in Furlan, the language of Friuli) or a coffee. The Piazza lies at the centre of the pedestrian area of town - which has become the sort of open-air shopping centre common in northern Italy.

• Caffè Contarena

  address: Via Cavour, 1, 33100 Udine
  A nice Cafe with wonderful Art Nouveau interior close to Piazza Libertà.

Budget

• B&B ElmAgos Udine

  phone: +39 0432523888
  address: via Lauzacco 78
  Independent B&B or self-catering holiday apartment not far from city centre but in quiet area. Accommodation with separate entrance and private bathroom, perfect for couples, families, groups.

Mid-range

• Art Hotel Udine

  phone: +39 0432 600061
  address: Via Paparotti, 11 - Udine
  3 Star business hotel strategically located at a short distance from Udine city center. The hotel provides a capable meeting room (up to 60 persons) and private parking.

• Albergo Al Vecchio Tram

  phone: +39 0432 507164
  address: Via Brenari, 28, 33100 Udine
  Nice, family managed hotel in perfect location to explore down town. Clean, very modern rooms. Rich breakfast, which you can also enjoy in the small garden. Perfect service.

Splurge

• Trieste - the multicultural and multi-heritage capital of Friuli-Venezia Giulia region (1-1.5 hours by train)
• Venice and the venetian coast - about 1.5-2 hours by train
• Cividale del Friuli with its Lombard Temple (UNESCO heritage site)
• Villach (2-2.5 hours by train) and Klagenfurt in Austria's Carinthia - the region of many lakes
• Other FVG UNESCO places: Aquileia, Palmanova, Palù di Livenza and the Friulan Dolomites
• Gorizia, Pordenone
• The FVG sea resorts: Lignano, Grado, Monfalcone, Trieste riviera
• The FVG international ski resorts : Piancavallo, Tarvisio, Sella Nevea, Ravascletto-Zoncolan, Forni di Sopra.
• The slovenian coast.