You can get paid to visit this beautiful region in Italy – but here’s the catch

Friuli Venezia Giulia is a border region in northeast Italy (Image: friuliveneziagiulia.turismo/Facebook)

One of the most beautiful regions of Italy is wooing tourists by offering free transportation.

Friuli-Venezia Giulia is a region in northeast Italy that borders Austria, Slovenia and the Adriatic Sea. With its rich history, stunning views, ski resorts and a buzzing food scene, this region should be on every tourist’s itinerary, but often gets overlooked in favour of Italy’s more popular destinations.

Now, the local tourist board wants to change that.

According to CNBC, Friuli-Venezia Giulia has launched a scheme covering the train fare of anyone visiting the region. The promotional offer will run till May 23 next year and will also provide tourists with free entry to museums, free local transport and other discounts.

The catch – tourists must stay in Friuli Venezia Giulia for at least two nights. Anyone who wants to avail the offer will have to book a two-night package in any hotel that is participating in the initiative.

After booking the package on the tourism website, the train fare will be deducted from the total. Tourists will effectively have to pay just for their hotel stay, while getting free transportation to the lesser-visited region of Italy.

Visitors who want free train tickets should be travelling from anywhere in Italy to any one of these five stations in Friuli Venezia Giulia: Latisana-Lignano-Bibione, Cervignano-Aquileia-Grado, Trieste Airport, Trieste Centrale, or Udine. They can travel on the state-run Trenitalia trains, the high-speed Frecce lines or intercity lines, according to the Lonely Planet website.

You can check out the list of hotels participating in the initiative here.

The promotion will run till May 23 but not on all dates – Tourists will not be able to avail free transport on public holidays, Christmas or Easter.