Udine is the main city of the Friuli region, set on the plain between the Alps and the Adriatic with views of both on a clear day. It is less visited than Venice and less talked about than Trieste, which makes it one of the more pleasant surprises in northeastern Italy. The historic centre is compact and largely car-free, built around the 16th-century Piazza della Libertà — widely considered one of the most harmonious squares in Italy — with its Venetian Gothic Loggia del Lionello and the clock tower modelled on Venice's own.
The city has an unexpected concentration of works by Giambattista Tiepolo, who was commissioned here early in his career. The Palazzo Arcivescovile, the Cathedral, and the Oratorio della Purità all contain frescoes by him, making Udine one of the best places outside Venice to see his work. The hill above the city, crowned by the castle, offers a panorama extending to Slovenia on a good day.