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TRY THE HIKING ROUTE 'THE ALPE ADRIA TRAIL'

You walk right through beautiful sceneries and come by many historical interesting villages with the Adriatic Sea as your final destination.
Alpe Adria Trail door Friuli
For more info about the Alpe Adria Trail, please click on this link:
WHAT IS THE ALPE ADRIA TRAIL?

 

The Alpe Adria Trail is a fully-marked trail of 750 km. long, divided into 43 stages, each about 20 km. that runs through three different countries namely: Austria, Slovenia and Italy. It starts in Austria from the top of the highest mountain in Carinthia, the Grossglockner. Then it runs through Slovenia and enters Friuli in the north-east part of Friuli Venezia Giulia. While hiking you will see and enjoy the most beautiful spots.

 

FACE TO FACE WITH JULIUS CAESAR IN CIVIDALE
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The entire route will not only show the beautiful nature but you also come across very interesting historical villages. For example Cividale, founded by the Celts but subsequently conquered by no one else than the famous Emperor Julius Caesar. It is now part of the UNESCO World Heritage List for its treasures from the Lombards period. Interesting fact: Julius Caesar gave the name "Forum Julii" to this village and it was none other than Charlemagne who decided to use Forum Julii as the name for the whole area around it, indeed Friuli. The city itself was called Civitas Austriae (Town in the East) that became Cividale through the course of centuries.

 

WINE TASTING IN THE WINE REGION COLLIO
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From here, the walk will take you through an area that is famous for its wines and cuisine; il Collio. Many local wine producers offer the opportunity to taste their famous wines thanks to their excellent quality. When you're hungry you can try the local cuisine in the various "agritourism" or "osmize" (see the hint on this page). The most important village in this area is "Cormòns, an idyllic small town built in Habsburg style, where it is worthwhile to stop and visit some churches and wineries.

 

WALK THROUGH THE KARST ROCK LANDSCAPE ENCOUNTERING A REAL CASTLE
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The walk will continue through the rugged and fascinating 'il Carso' - Karst landscape made of limestone rocks. You walk over the Karst hills overlooking the Gulf of Trieste where you run into the village of Duino which has a medieval castle with the same name. Visit it and you will travel into time as you walk into its beautiful halls and its park. It's property of the Princes Della Torre e Tasso, the castle still echoes the steps of the illustrious guests who visited the place, Johann Strauss, Franz Liszt, Rainer Maria Rilke, and is still haunted by a ghost. 

The Prague poet Rainer Maria Rilke's famous work "The elegies of Duino" was written here inspired as he was by all that beauty around him.

 

FINISH YOUR WALK  WITH A DIVE IN THE ADRIATIC SEA
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The endpoint of the trail is the Adriatic Sea where you finish after having crossed over the Val Rosandra Nature Reserve near the village of Muggia. Muggia is a little gem just before the border of Slovenia and built in Venetian style. You can smell here already the salty air of the Adriatic sea and I am sure you want nothing more than to take a dip in it after such a long walk.

 

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE ALPE ADRIA TRAIL?
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You can book me if you want to get a tour of one of the cultural places where the trail comes along. However, I am not a tour operator or travel agent. Need more information about accommodation, luggage capacity while walking, etc.? Please contact the Alpine Travel agency. Read more about it on their site Alpe-Adria-Trail.com

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All the stages in Friuli Venezia Giulia on a row:
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  • Slovenië - Castelmonte

  • Castelmonte - Cividale

  • Cividale - Cormons

  • Cormons - Gradisca d'Isonzo

  • Gradisca d'Isonzo - Duino

  • Duino - Prosecco

  • Prosecco - Lipica (Slovenië)

  • Lipica - Val Rosandra

  • Val Rosandra - Muggia

Idea:  go eating in an Osmize.

 

In the rugged "Carso" area in the province of Trieste you can find several agricultural producers of local products which you can directly eat in their restaurants. The so-called Osmize. The name comes from the number eight in Slovenian. The Habsburg Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria gave permission to the farmers to sell their wines and agricultural products  8 times a year directly to the population. Now Osmize are opened much more often but not always. On this link you will find the opening days.

In the video below you already have a small preview of what you can expect during hiking the Alpe Adria Trail
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