How to spend a weekend in Treviso, Italy

Treviso, is in Northern Italy, in the Veneto province. It has a population of approximately 85,000 and is known as the City of Art and Water. While it is a relatively small city, it is the home to several global brands including Benetton, De’Longhi, Sisley and Stefanel. Like most places in Italy, it has a history with a particular food and beverage. Treviso lays claim to being the home of Tiramisu, the famous Italian desert. It also is famous for its Prosecco and red chicory.  

Treviso was the setting for the 60’s film “Signore et Signore” which shared the Best Film award, at the Cannes film festival in 1966. The films English title was “The Birds, the Bees and the Italians”

I visited Treviso twice in January 2023 due to another of its famous associations. Treviso is the home to the professional rugby union team Treviso Benetton. Along with Zebre Parma, they play in the United Rugby Championship (along with teams from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and South Africa).

I saw them play against Ulster and Munster, two of the four professional teams from my home country of Ireland. While neither is my home province, it was great to see them play and to support them here in Italy.

In an interview during the 6 Nations Josh van der Flier said that Italy is his favourite country to play away at, due to the food. While he was talking about Ireland’s away match in Rome, I am sure he also remembers some great trips to Parma and Treviso with Leinster.

How do you get to Treviso ?

Train Stations (Treviso Centrale)

I travelled to Treviso by train from Milan, which took 2 hours 47 mins. It cost €82.40 for a first class return ticket. Trains are very reliable in Northern Italy. It is worth purchasing a first class ticket for long journeys as the price differential often isn’t much. You get an assigned seat, there is always room for luggage and there is a complementary beverage service at your seat.  When you travel by train to Treviso, you change trains in Venice. The trains from Milan stopped at the same platform as the train going to Treviso and the wait time was less than 20 minutes.

The journey from Venice (Venezia Mestre), takes 20 mins on a local standard class train with unassigned seating. The cost (which was included in my return ticket quoted above) was €3.80 each way.

You can also get a train to Treviso Centrale from Rome and Bologna.

The train station is a 15 minute walk from the main square “Piazza Signori”. You walk through a commercial area with lots of shops, cafes and restaurants.

Airports

Treviso has a small airport also called Venice Treviso airport and it’s 3km outside of the city. It is mainly serviced by low cost airlines such as WizzAir and RyanAir.

For Irish rugby fans, RyanAir has a service direct from Cork Airport.

RyanAir also operates flights from several Spanish Islands, Poland, Estonia, Germany and Austria. WizzAir operates flights from Estonia, Hungary and Albania.

Marco Polo Airport is the main International airport serving Venice and is 30km away. It also has services provided by RyanAir and WizzAir. Other major airlines operate flights to and from MP also, including EasyJet and Volotea. During the Summer Season, it has long haul flights to the US, Canada, South Korea and the Middle East.

Note to Rugby Fans

AerLingus operates from Dublin to Venice Marco Polo

EasyJet operates from Edinburgh to Venice Marco Polo

RyanAir operates from Bristol to Venice Marco Polo

South African fans can get connections from several European cities including London, Paris and Amsterdam

Zebre fans can travel the 260km journey by car (2.5 hrs), bus (5 hrs) train (3.5hrs)

Driving 

As Treviso is situated in the North Eastern part of Italy it is close to Austria, Croatia and Slovenia. Approximate drive times from cities in those countries are shown below

Vienna in Austria : 5 hrs and 10 minutes

Pula in Croatia : 3 hrs 20 mins

Ljubljana in Slovenia : 2 hrs and 30 mins

You could also take a bus or train from several places in the above countries although some routes may require multiple changes.

Accommodation

There are lots of hotels in Treviso including the Intercontinental and the Carlton. I understand from Twitter threads that these are popular with visiting Irish fans. 

The Intercontinental’s website quotes single rooms starting at €65 and doubles at €95. It is close to the train station.

The Carltons website doesn’t provide as much information on rates. I did a search for the weekend of October 27 to October 30th. B&B for 2 people would be €440.60 per room. 

There are also lots of Italian and boutique hotels. I stayed at a small hotel in the center of Treviso. On both occasions I stayed for 3 nights. In my research, it doesn’t appear that the rates increase much when rugby matches are on. Due to the size of the stadium, it doesn’t get a huge influx of fans.

You could also stay in Venice and attend a match in Treviso as trains are frequent and matches are usually in the afternoon or early evening. Alternatively as accommodation is probably cheaper in Treviso than Venice, you could do the opposite. Stay in Treviso, go to a match and then go to Venice for a sightseeing trip !

Rugby Stadium

Benetton Treviso play at the Stadio Comunale di Mongio. It is to the West of the city and approximately a 45 minute walk from the Piazza Signore and about 50 minutes from the train station. There are lots of cafes and restaurants in the first 35 minutes of the walk. Once you get closer to the stadium, there are fewer commercial establishments. 

The current capacity is 5,000 in the two stands. The capacity has been doubled in the past when hosting international matches. It has also hosted 6 Nations under 20 matches, the Pro14 Rainbow Cup Final and Ladies 6 Nations matches. There are two stands at the East and West side of the pitch.

It has a lot of car spaces as most locals travel by car (over 1,000 spaces). Buses go to the stadium from the main station in Treviso (bus route 9) a 15 minute journey.

There is a large fan shop at the stadium selling 6 nations and URC team merchandise. Food trucks are situated in the car park and there are several places to purchase food and beverages in the grounds. A glass of Processo cost €2.50 when I attended. Processo also sponsors the rugby team.

I thought the atmosphere at the stadium was excellent. Both matches I saw were extremely competitive, with lots of tries and one had a nail biting finish ! The hosts won the match when scoring a last minute penalty. The Benetton fans were vocal and very supportive of their team. They have their own song and chant “Leoni” constantly. The teams motto is “We are lions”. The chorus of the song will be in your head for hours afterwards ! People from all ages attend the matches. The visiting team does its warm up on the Southside of the pitch (where you enter) allowing for great photo opportunities.

On both occasions, the players from Benetton, walked around the pitch afterwards talking to fans, signing autographs and taking selfies. The South side just has a hedge so it is easy for fans to get close to players from here.

Purchasing Match Tickets

I purchased my tickets online on sport.ticketone.it. Both cost me €30 which was on the higher end of the prices. I was sitting in the stand, right in the center behind the visiting subs (they sit in the stand to see the match as opposed to in the dugouts).

Digital and paper tickets are accepted to access the stadium. There are security checks but people bring in small backpacks and bags. You were also allowed to bring in liquids purchased outside.

Match programmes were complementary and given to you when you arrive at the ground.

Photographs from Benetton Treviso v Ulster

Photographs from Benetton Treviso v Munster

Restaurants and Cafes

There are lots of cafes and restaurants in Treviso with seating inside and outside. Even though I was there in January, it was lovely sitting out during the day, evening and night. Most bars had heaters placed near tables if you wanted to be near one. Piazza Signori is a lovely area to eat and has several excellent restaurants. All the restaurants there used digital menus accessed via QR codes.

I ate at Da Pino at Signori on several occasions. My hotel receptionist had told me they served the best pizza in Treviso and I agree it was delicious. Pizzas cost between €9 to €12 and are available round and square. Pasta dishes are all in the €9 to €14 range. A glass of wine will cost €4 (bottles range from €15 to €45). Beers are served in 20 cl to 75 cl glasses. They cost €3.50 for the smallest and €16 for the largest. 

I also ate at Del Prefetto twice and I appreciated on both occasions that they found me a table quickly, even though I was dining alone and it was very busy. The menu here is varied with lots of fish, pasta, risotto and meat dishes. It did have some lovely vegetarian dishes also. The prices were reasonable. Wine cost €3 to €5 per glass and beer €3 (33cl) to €6 (50cl). Main courses averaged €16 and sides and appetizers were available from €2.50 to €4.50.

I did notice on both my visits that it was extremely difficult to find a restaurant serving meals in the evenings. This really surprised me as it’s normal in Italy (where I live) and in other cities I have visited to eat in the evenings. There were lost of bars and cafes open serving aperitivo type snacks and drinks. But there was limited choice of places to have a full meal in the evenings (after 8pm).

Some Ulster fans (management and subs) were in cafes around the center of Treviso (the largest group at Soffioni at Piazza Signori) but Munster fans seem to socialise in hotels on the outskirts of the city.

I also understand that the Benetton team do often have a drink after the match at a wooden cottage, just beside the stadium. I didn’t go so don’t know if this is only open to home fans or how you can get access. 

There were lots of cafes open early each day. I had coffee and a brioche (an Italian Croissant) each morning in a lovely small cafe near my hotel. It cost €4.

Attractions in Treviso

Known as the City of Art and Water, Treviso is a lovely city to walk around. The river Sile is well maintained with picturesque waterfalls and bridges. Lots of the areas around it are pedestrianised. 

The most famous bridges are the Porte Dante and the Porte Altina. The Porte Altina is the oldest of the gates (16th Century) and contains the Sphere by local sculpture Toni Benetton (no relation to the clothing company).

Porte Dante, is mentioned in Dante’s Divine Comedy “where the Sile and the Cagnan accompany each other”

There is also a lovely wooden pedestrian bridge made from maple wood. It was designed by the architect Portoghesi, inspired by the original bridge of Santa Marguerite. 

If you walk to the stadium you will walk through the older part of town which now houses the market. It currently operates twice a week (Tuesdays and Saturdays). It has a huge gate named after St. Thomas of Canterbury. Originally there were 12 gates surrounding the city but only 3 are still standing and this is the most famous of them.

Fountain of the Breasts

There are lots of statues and sculptures throughout Treviso. The Fountain of the Breasts is one of the most famous and is a little hard to find. It is situated in a small courtyard just off Strada Romana.

Historically it dispersed red and white wines during the harvesting season. Now it just contains water. 

Piazza Duomo and the Cathedral of Saint Pietro

Like most Italian cities, Treviso has a Piazza Duomo and a Cathedral. The exterior of the cathedral isn’t as impressive as those I have seen elsewhere. Although the dome is lovely and as it is situated with lots of other buildings, it has an interesting backdrop. 

The original Romanesque building was demolished and restored by a neoclassical building. Part of this was damaged during a bombing campaign in 1944 so the building has been renovated and restored on numerous occasions. 

The interior contains lots of paintings, frescos and sculptures. The most famous is the “Annunciation” by Italian artist Titian, dating back to the 16th century. The bell tower renovation remains incomplete and locals say it was stopped so that it wouldn’t be taller than St. Marks in neighbouring Venice.

Streets and Buildings

Treviso has a warren of small streets with a wide array of shops. It has a large number of Italian designer shops as well as independent boutiques. Benetton has a large shop in one of the main piazzas.

The architecture is beautiful with terracotta rooftops, balconies and ornate windows. It is always important to look up when walking in Italian streets so you don’t miss a unique detail.

National Museum Salce Collection

This museum is worth visiting. The admission cost €9. The collection is available at two locations for this price. Both are in the historic centre of Treviso. One is at the Santa Margherita and the other at San Gaetano.

Even if you are not usually a fan of museums, I think you will enjoy this. It contains the largest collection of advertising graphics in Italy. The collection was donated to the state, by local accountant Ferdinando Salce (known as Nando) in his will. The exhibitions change regularly as the collection has over 25,000 pieces . They include film, fashion, cosmetics and household products. The use of graphic and lightning to showcase some of the work is very interesting. Some of the signage is only available in Italian but you can get a pamphlet in English and other languages with your admission ticket. 

So in the 2023 / 2024 calendar two Irish teams, Munster (29th October, KO @ 3pm) and Connacht (March 30th, KO @ 2pm), play in Treviso. The Rugby World Cup final is on the 28th of October so this needs to be considered with any travel plans to ensure your schedule doesn’t clash with the match !!!!

I hope to attend Connacht’s match so that I will have seen another Irish province play here. Benetton Treviso will also welcome The Lions, The Stormers, Ospreys, Glasgow, Zebre Parma, The Dragons and Edinburgh, in the URC. They will play Perpignan and Montpelier in the Challenge Cup at home. 

If fans are looking at the away fixtures and deciding where to go, I strongly suggest you come to Treviso. The atmosphere at the match will be great. You will certainly see some Italian internationals play and you are guaranteed to have a memorable time at this lesser known, but beautiful Italian City !