The Miramare estate

This is a stunning castle with surrounding estate close to the northern Italian city of Trieste , close to border with Slovenia .

The Miramare Castle is a stunning Carl Junker designed 19th century castle near the northeastern Italian city of Trieste and was built from 1856 to 1860 for Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian and his wife, Charlotte of Belgium, later Emperor Maximilian I and Empress Carlota of Mexico.

The castle itself is very interesting and worth the charged visit, but be prepared to be charged first for the visit, then for the audio guide that you rent and then by a huge parking fee on your way out. The gardens are worth a walk but when I was there (June 2011) they were extremely unkempt, there were signs of the paths not being cleared for months if not years