Trieste's location near the Slovenian border, and a rich history which has seen periods of Roman, Byzantine, Venetian and Austro-Hungarian rule, have resulted in a fascinating mix of cultures which has served to attract traders and artists to the north-eastern city over the centuries. Even its climate is unusual. The sharp winds known as the Bora can get dangerously fast, and are said to be the reason the locals are so passionate.

The city is best known for its cafe culture and literary history, and in fact the two are intertwined. There's a museum dedicated to James Joyce, who spent a decade here and you can visit the Caffè Stella Polare where he supposedly started writing Dubliners. Over at the elegant Caffè San Marco, local writer Italo Svevo created perhaps his best known novel, The Conscience of Zeno and where he, Joyce, and other writers and intellectuals would meet during the early 20th century.