The beach, the promenade and the pine forest of Barcola, all classic resorts of the Trieste, are particularly busy in summer. Claudio Magris bathed here as a child with his mother. The extensive redesign of the waterfront with the paving made of porphyry stones and sandstone slabs took place in the years 2000 to 2001. The ten popular semicircular building blocks on the shore, consisting of a viewing platform, sanitary facilities and changing rooms, are popularly known as Topolini (plural of the Walt Disney character "Mickey Mouse"- because of the characteristic shape from above). There is a wide range of restaurants and extensive parking spaces. The bronze sculpture Mula di Trieste ("The Girl from Trieste") by Nino Spagnoli has stood in the small marina of Barcola since 2005 and is supposed to symbolize the Trieste youth, colloquially referred to as mula. In the pine forest of Barcola there is the bronze sculpture la Nuotatrice, especially known as la Sirenetta ("The Little Mermaid") by the sculptor Ugo Cara as a homage to the Trieste swimmers. In 2020 there are plans to solve the traffic and parking problems in the summer through structural measures and the creation of an original beach, corresponding to the time before the road was built in the 19th century.