A Local’s Guide to Travel in Puglia, Italy
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My home region of Puglia, or Apulia in English, is one of Italy’s 20 regions and is located in the far southeast of the country, bordered by the Adriatic on its east and the Ionian sea to its west. Often referred to as the “heel of the boot”, it has a population of just over 4 million people and is a stunning and fascinating region.
Largely off the tourist map until the last 15-20 years, Puglia contains an unparalleled mix of historic towns and cities, fabulous beaches, terrific nature and outdoor activities, delicious food, and loads of art and culture.
And with 800 kilometers of coastline, a handful of good national parks, fairytale-like countryside, and countless elegant Baroque towns and cities, there’s a lot to explore.
Planning a trip to Puglia requires good organization and a bit of foresight on how to maximize your time and fine tune the logistics. So I’m here to help!
At the bottom of the article, you’ll seem some sample itineraries for trips ranging from 5 to 14 days.
More Puglia travel info:
For more ideas on Puglia travel, check out my 7-day Puglia itinerary and my list of 28 beautiful Puglia towns.
If you could use some one-on-one help planning your itinerary, schedule a Puglia travel consultation with me!
Table of contents
Where is Puglia
A brief history of Puglia
When to visit
How many days to spend
How to get to Puglia
Airports in Puglia
Transportation and getting around
Where to stay
Is Puglia expensive
Guide to Puglia’s regions and the best places to visit
Gargano Peninsula
Terra di Bari
Valle d’Itria
Salento
5, 10, and 14-day Puglia itinerary examples
Local help with your planning
In the article below I’ve shared lots of advice and many tips on how to plan a trip to Puglia. Even so, it’s impossible to mention everything that you might want to know in just one article. Also, no two travelers are alike so not everything I’ve mentioned will be the right fit for everyone.
If you could use some help coming up with a great plan for your visit, schedule a Puglia travel consultation with me!
These are one-hour Zoom calls where we can chat about the trip you’re planning and I’ll share my tips and advice, answer your travel questions, and help you perfect your itinerary.
Where is Puglia
Puglia is a long, thin region located in southeastern Italy. It makes up the “heel” of the Italian boot and contains Italy’s most eastern point. The region’s capital, Bari, is 455 kms (252 miles) away from Rome by road. Southern Italy’s largest city, Naples, is 259 km (160 miles) away from Bari. Getting from Rome to Bari takes a little under 5 hours while Naples to Bari takes about 3.
The eastern side of Puglia is on the Adriatic sea, directly across from the Balkan nation of Albania. The western side is on the Ionian sea, and borders the Italian regions of Basilicata and Campania.
Greece is not far away either, which is apparent from the frequent ferry connections to Greek islands like Corfu that are available from the ports of Brindisi and Bari.
A brief history of Puglia
A 400-year old Masseria outside of Ostuni
Puglia is a land that has been fought over by empires for millennia. Its fertile soil and flat table lands have long made it an ideal place for growing crops and grains, and therefore a coveted region for rulers looking for ways to feed their growing and hungry nations.
So much so that Benito Mussolini saw it as the potential breadbasket for all of Italy and had grand designs for the region. To this day, Puglia produces no less than 30% of all of Italy’s grain and olive oil. That’s no small feat.
Going way back, the ancient Illyrians crossed over from their homeland in the Balkans (now Albania and Montenegro) and settled on the coast near to Savelletri and Monopoli. The ruins of Egnazia bear witness to this ancient colonization.
During the Hellenic period, Greeks would colonize much of Salento and southern Puglia. During this time, huge swaths of southern Italy became part of Magna Graecia (Greater Greece), and the Pugliese port city of Taranto, its unofficial capital on the Italian peninsula, became one of the largest cities in the world with an estimated population of 300,000 people by 500 B.C.
Later, the Romans would come to vanquish the Greeks and fold Puglia into their ever-expanding empire. The Romans ruled here for almost 700 years before their empire collapsed.
Following the fall of Rome, the Byzantines, Normans, and Swabians all held sway for different periods of time. Finally, Puglia fell under the control of the Angevins (the Kingdom of Aragon in Spain) around the 1500s and remained theirs, as part of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, until Italian unification in 1860.
For most of its modern history, Puglia was largely ignored by the state. Tourists barely came here until the early 2000’s, when the region began to experience a tourism boom.
It may seem impossible to believe, but cities like Lecce, now often referred to as a Baroque masterpiece, were practically deserted. The capital city, Bari, was regarded as a place too dangerous to even visit. Times change!
Today’s Puglia is a dynamic region in which agriculture, tourism, and shipbuilding form the backbone of the economy. With its lovely towns, huge coastline, rugged hills, bucolic countryside, and primeval forest, there are countless places to explore.
Money is now flowing into the region and things are changing rapidly. Towns and cities are renovating and restoring their faded glory, residents are starting to return to places that were once long forgotten, and hotels and resorts are popping up in ever-increasing numbers.
My advice? Come now before it changes too much!
Otranto’s elegant seaside esplanade
The southern Salento coastline near to Castro Marina
Best time to visit Puglia
The sea by Torre Sant’Andrea in Salento
Best time to visit: spring or fall
The best time to visit Puglia is in shoulder season: spring and fall. Almost all tourism-related businesses in Puglia are open by May and stay open until at least the end of October, so in both periods you don’t have to worry about services being closed or things not being available.
The weather is great in both periods and prices and crowds are much better than in the summer.
Visiting in spring
In spring, visiting in March is hit or miss; it can be grey, rainy, and cold. April is better, but still has some of the same issues. By mid-to-late May, the threat of rain recedes, skies clear, and the temperature is warm enough for swimming while still being pleasant for urban exploring, hiking, biking, and more.
Visiting in the fall
In the fall, you get the absolute best of both worlds. By late September, parents are back to work and kids across Europe and North America are back at school, so the crowds are practically gone.
Prices have fallen back to normal and the weather is ideal. Clear, warm days allow for swimming and other outdoor activities, while crisp evenings mean that you can sleep without needing air conditioning.
Visiting in summer (high season)
High season, which in Puglia runs from June through early September, is best avoided for many reasons. The summer months are hot and crowded.
Temperatures in July and August routinely run into the high 90s and it can be pretty scorching. Along with the packed crowds, prices for hotels and car rentals also go through the roof in this period, doubling or more.
How long to spend in Puglia
A bucolic scene in the Valle d’Itria countryside
I’ve already said it, but it bears repeating: Puglia is big! Lots of guides tell you that you can visit the whole region in only 5 days, but that’s just not true.
For a visit to Puglia, you need a minimum of 7 days. And for an ideal trip that lets you relax instead of rushing, you really want 7-14.
If you have a week, you should try to focus on 2 areas and pick a base in each. A good idea could be to spend 3-4 days in the area around Ostuni, Savelletri, and the Valle d’Itria, and then 3 days in Salento, either in Lecce or a nice town on the coast like Otranto or Gallipoli.
By organizing your trip this way, each base puts you within easy driving distance of the main places to see in that region (and plenty of beaches) and lets you see everything without having to pack and unpack your bags 5 times in a week.
If you want to see the Itria valley and Salento, but also include Matera, the area around Bari, or the Gargano peninsula in your itinerary, you need more than a week.
You can’t cover all of Puglia in just 7 days, so don’t even try it. You’ll just wind up regretting all the time in the car.
For a little help on how to plan a good Puglia road trip, check out my one-week Puglia itinerary.
A country lane in the Valle d’Itria outside Alberobello
Connect with Paolo, our Puglia-based local expert, for help perfecting your itinerary, answers to all your travel questions, and fabulous local tips for a better visit!
How to get to Puglia
Photo: Chris0693, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Getting to Puglia from within Italy is much easier now than even just a few years ago. You can arrive without much hassle via plane, train, bus, or car. International arrivals will almost all be via plane. If coming via plane from outside of Europe, you’ll have to make a connection in Rome or Milan or other European cities like London, Paris, or Zurich.
Plane
Puglia has two international airports, in Bari and Brindisi, and both have direct connections to cities all over Italy and many European capitals. Both airports are served by national carriers like Alitalia, AirFrance, and Lufthansa as well as low cost airlines such as RyanAir, WizzAir, and EasyJet.
Within Italy, you have many direct flights each day into both Bari and Brindisi airports from Milan, Rome, Venice, Bologna, and Pisa.
Milan has far and away the most flights to Puglia; usually over 20 direct flights each day. From Milan, flights to Bari and Brindisi take 1.5 hours. Tickets can cost from 20-150 euros. Most flights are offered via low cost carriers and flights depart from all 3 of Milan’s airports: Linate, Malpensa, and Orio al Serio.
From Rome, you have 5-8 direct flights daily to Brindisi or Bari. Flights take 1 hour and tickets can cost anywhere from 25 euros to 150, depending on when you purchase them and if you fly with a legacy carrier or a low cost airline.
Train
High-speed trains from Rome connect with the Pugliese cities of Bari, Brindisi, and Lecce. All trains headed to Brindisi and Lecce will first pass through Bari.
Trenitalia’s high-speed Frecciarossa trains run from Rome to Bari (and Brindisi and Lecce) about 6 times per day, with the first departure usually at 8:00 am and the final run leaving at 6:00 pm. Trains depart from Roma’s Termini train station and the journey takes about 4 hours.
If purchased in advance, tickets can cost as little as 13.90 euros. Getting to Brindisi takes an additional hour (5 hours total) while getting to Lecce adds 1.5 hours (5.5 hours total).
The cheapest tickets are usually with slow Regionale or Intercity trains, but the journey can take 6-10 hours and typically requires making a change.
You can also buy tickets with the private company ItaloTreno, which offers additional daily departures from Rome to Bari with similar travel times and similar prices.
Oddly, getting to Bari from Naples by train, only 3 hours away by car, almost always takes almost as long as coming from Rome due to most trains being slower Regionale trains and requiring a change.
If taking the train from somewhere like Venice, Milan, or Florence, you will most likely have to make a change in Rome.
Where to book train tickets
Your best bet is to purchase your tickets online on either train company’s official website: https://www.trenitalia.com/ and https://www.italotreno.it/en. However, you can also purchase tickets directly at any train station at a ticket window or on the electronic ticketing machines located just before the tracks.
Keep in mind that tickets become more expensive as you get closer to the departure date.
Omio is also a convenient website/app to use if you want to compare options from Trenitalia and Italo at the same time. It’s a 3rd party aggregator so tickets cost a bit more than booking direct, but comparing prices is easy, the site has a great design, and you can keep all your bookings in one place.
Bus
Direct buses are available from Rome, Naples, and the neighboring regions of Basilicata and Molise. From Basilicata and Molise, your transport hubs into Puglia are Matera, Potenza, and Termoli.
Taking the bus to Bari from Rome takes about 6 hours. It’s 3.5 hours if coming from Naples. Bus tickets from Rome, purchased via Flixbus, can cost as little as 4 euros.
Car
By car, the drive takes a little under 5 hours from Rome and 3 hours from Naples. Road conditions are good and driving is a breeze.
Coming from Rome, you’ll take the A1 superhighway south to the outskirts of Naples (near the city of Caserta), where you’ll exit and switch to the A30 and E842. You’ll take the E842 all the way across the Campania region, through Basilicata, and into Puglia. Your last leg of the journey to Bari (or beyond) will be a quick stretch on the E55 highway.
Airports in Puglia
Puglia has two cities with international airports: Bari and Brindisi. The airport in Bari is called Bari International Airport-Karol Wojtyla (BRI). In Brindisi, the airport is named Papola Casale Airport (BDS), though it’s sometimes also referred to as Salento Airport.
Both airports offer direct connections with the rest of Italy and much of Europe. Bari airport also has non-stop flights to Egypt and Israel. Neither airport in Puglia has direct connections with the United States or Canada, so most flights from North America will first stop in Rome or Milan.
As Bari and Brindisi are just an hour apart, which airport you fly into doesn’t make much difference for your trip.
Transportation and how to get around
By car
Puglia is firmly road trip territory, so you really need to have a car when visiting.
Public transport does exist and it can get you to most of the places that you’ll want to go, but connections are limited and travel times are long. The only real exception to this is around Bari, where train service is pretty good and you can actually visit many of the towns to the city’s north without much hassle.
As you go south, things change and train service drops off, leaving you mostly reliant on buses. While getting from Lecce to Ostuni might be fairly easy, if you want to explore further to places like Alberobello, Locorotondo, or Martina Franca, suddenly you’re stuck spending half your day switching buses.
If you have only a week, you just can’t afford to lose the time in public transit.
Another thing to consider is that much of the pleasure of a visit to Puglia is exploring the countryside and the coast. To experience the bucolic country lanes in the Itria valley and the gorgeous stretches of coastal road in Salento and the Gargano, you need your own car.
If you’re relying on public transit, you are entirely confined to visiting Puglia’s cities and large towns.
Where to find a car rental
If you choose to rent a car, there are lots of companies to choose from, with widely varying prices and car conditions. You’ll find all the big international companies here, as well as a host of smaller, locally owned ones.
The easiest places to get a car rental are Bari and Brindisi. Lecce has some selection, but because the airports are in Bari and Brindisi, they’re also where the majority of rental agencies are.
To check prices and book, I recommend using the following two car rental websites:
DiscoverCars includes offerings from all the major international rental companies as well as lots of smaller local agencies, which often have much better pricing. You can often find great deals.
AutoEurope tends to be more expensive, but they only list options from large, well-reviewed companies and their customer service is excellent. Their deals often include “zero deductible” (i.e. full coverage) rental insurance.
Where to stay
Le Capase hotel and restaurant near to Otranto
Torre Maizza hotel near Savelletri
Puglia offers a near perfect trifecta for visitors: beautiful towns and cities, fabulous beaches, and unspoiled nature. Whether you’re looking for culture, seaside relaxation, or outdoor adventure, Puglia has it all.
If you want sandy beaches, the area around Savelettri in eastern Puglia or Gallipoli in the west are probably your best bets.
If you want charming countryside and cute towns, the Valle d’Itria is your obvious choice.
For urban exploring, art, and culture, Lecce and Bari are the two most interesting metropolitan areas.
If you’re interested in hiking and unspoiled nature, the Gargano peninsula offers both in droves, as does the area around the town of Altamura and the Parco Nazionale dell'Alta Murgia national park.
For wine lovers, the area around Manduria produces some of the best Primitivo wine in Puglia.
How much you can fit into your trip will just depend on how much time you have!
For more info on great places to visit and base yourself in Puglia, check out my guide to 28 fantastic Puglia towns.
Is Puglia expensive?
Ten years ago the answer to that question would have been a definite “no”. Not anymore.
Puglia is not a cheap destination. You should expect prices to be fairly similar to elsewhere in Italy, especially over the summer time when cities and towns are packed, hotels are sold out, and restaurants require advance reservations. Puglia is now a major tourist destination, and the prices reflect that.
Now, there are still great deals to be found in Puglia, but they require some work. If you want to save on hotels, you’ll probably have to stay in the countryside outside of main towns and cities or book outside of major booking platforms like Booking, Expedia, and Airbnb. Using Google Maps to find hotels and B&Bs and then calling them to book directly can often save you 30% or more. If you pay cash, expect to get even better discounts.
Another good way to save money is to avoid coming in high season. Hotel prices can double or triple in the summer months of June, July, and August (and even early September is still high season), but prices drop dramatically if you come in the spring or fall.
Food prices here are still much more reasonable than in big cities and hotspots like Rome, Florence, Venice, and the Amalfi Coast. If you eat at good local restaurants (and don’t exaggerate with the wine), you can expect to pay around 50 euros for a very nice meal, for two people. You can, of course, also spend much more.
For more things to know about travel in Puglia, check out my 27 Puglia travel tips.
Best places to visit in Puglia
North Puglia & the Gargano Peninsula
Tucked away in the far north of Puglia, the Gargano peninsula is a large forested region, mostly hilly, and sparsely populated. It starts a bit south of the town of Vieste and runs until the border with the neighboring region of Molise.
The peninsula is almost entirely contained within a national park, the Parco Nazionale del Gargano, and has rocky limestone beaches with deep emerald waters, dense primeval forest, excellent hiking trails, and charming medieval towns.
The Gargano is one of the least explored parts of Puglia, which only adds to its allure. Although visitors do now make their way here during the summertime, there are not nearly the same numbers as further south. Most of the other tourists you’ll come across are Italians and Germans as very few North Americans know of the area.
If you’re a fan of wilder beaches with no beach clubs, loungers, or big umbrellas in your way, you’ll probably like what you find. For outdoor enthusiasts, you have hiking, biking, boating, diving, and rock climbing all nearby.
1. Vieste
The town of Vieste is a lovely medieval village with a stunning location. It sits on a slim promontory of karstic rock that juts out into the emerald sea. T
The city is surrounded on both sides by long sandy beaches and bears a certain resemblance to Dubrovnik in Croatia, with which it is often compared.
2. Monte Sant’Angelo
High on a hill overlooking the sea just south of Vieste sits the quiet village of Monte Sant’Angelo. While it might not seem like it at first, the town holds enormous religious significance to Christians and has been a sight of pilgrimage for well over a thousand years.
The main draw here is the Sanctuary of Saint Michael the Archangel, a fascinating underground chapel literally carved out of the rock. There’s also a very well-preserved Aragonese castle that is entirely worth an hour of your time.
3. Foresta Umbra/Umbra Forest
The Umbra Forest is a protected area of one of Europe’s best preserved ancient woodlands. It is home to thousands of species of plants and animals (including the beautiful local deer), and contains over 100 km of hiking and biking trails.
4. Strada Provinciale 53 (SP53)
SP53 is a winding stretch of coastal road between Vieste and Mattinata that has forested cliffs on one side and a steep drop into the sea on the other. This road is now mostly out of use as a new super highway was built that tunnels through the cliff and shaves about 30 minutes off the drive.
The drive is great, but biking it gives you more time to enjoy the views.
5. Isole Tremiti (Tremiti Islands)
The Tremiti islands are an archipelago of 5 small islands located about 20 kilometers off the coast of the Gargano. Little known and even less visited, they’re quite wonderful.
Small enough to explore on foot and close enough to each other that you can rent your own zodiac boat and visit all of them in a weekend, a 2-day trip here is one of the coolest things you can do in Puglia.
For those with less time, they can be visited as a day trip from the Gargano towns of Vieste, Peschici, Manfredonia, and Rodi Garganico, all of which offer ferry services, as well as from the city of Termoli in Molise.
Terra di Bari - Greater Bari Region
The Terra di Bari (land of Bari) is the greater metropolitan region around Bari, Puglia’s capital. This has long been Puglia’s wealthiest region, and its most densely populated. The port towns and cities that dot the cost are cosmopolitan and rich in architecture, art, and culture. The food here is also some of the best in Puglia.
For those without a car, it’s also the easiest part of Puglia to get around via public transport.
The region’s center is around Bari and stretches north to Barletta and south to Monopoli. With a metro population of a little over 1.5 million people, more than 1/3 of Puglia’s residents live here.
If you’re more interested in exploring cities than lounging on the beach or meandering around the countryside, you’ll definitely want to spend some time here.
6. Bari
I can’t talk about the Bari region and not mention Bari! Puglia’s capital gets pretty shortchanged by most Puglia guides, but it shouldn’t.
With about 315,000 residents, it’s the second largest city in southern Italy (after Naples) and has a lot to offer. The food scene is fantastic, the old town is a maze of tight alleyways with lots to see, and the city’s seaside promenade and wide boulevards are gorgeous.
You probably don’t want to base yourself here, but you should certainly visit for at least a day.
7. Trani
Trani is one Puglia’s most elegant cities and far more cosmopolitan than you would think judging by its small population of 60,000. It has the best seafood restaurants of anywhere in Puglia, a charming old town by the port, a terrific Aragonese castle, and one of the most beautiful cathedrals in southern Italy.
Trani is one of my absolute favorite places in Puglia.
8. Barletta
Barletta is a city of almost 95,000 about an hour north of Bari. As soon as you arrive, the many large monuments all over town indicate that this is an important place.
The main sight is the fabulously preserved castle from the 1200s which is very much worth entering. Barletta also boats a lovely cathedral, the excellent Palazzo della Marra museum, and the famous Colossus of Barletta, an enormous bronze monument to a Roman emperor that was accidentally dragged out of the sea by a local fisherman.
9. Giovinazzo
Giovinazzo is undergoing a major facelift and residents are starting to move back into the historic quarter. That’s good news for visitors as the town is an absolute gem.
The cobblestoned streets of the old town are pedestrianized and lined by lovely whitewashed buildings and the lungomare (boardwalk) is a fabulous place for a stroll.
Even better, almost no one visits outside of the peak of high season, so for much of the year it feels like you have the town all to yourself!
10. Bitonto
Bitonto is rough around the edges and it’s not always the prettiest place in Puglia. However, it’s totally authentic and a very interesting place to stop for a few hours while exploring the towns and cities north of Bari.
The star of the show is the Duomo di Bitonto, a Norman cathedral built in the 1100s that is probably the finest example of Romanesque architecture anywhere in Puglia.
11. Polignano a Mare
If you’ve typed “Puglia” into Google, you’ve almost certainly seen a photo of cliffside Polignano a Mare.
The location of the town is truly stunning - houses and businesses crowd a tiny cliffside, practically tumbling into the sea. Turquoise waters and a sliver of beach lie beneath the cliffs and complete what is probably the most picturesque spot in the region.
Do be aware, it’s one of Puglia’s most popular places to visit and is completely overrun throughout most of the year.
12. Monopoli
Monopoli is a pleasant port city and fishing town just 8 kilometers south of Polignano. It’s a lively place all throughout the summer and strikes a nice balance between offering good tourism amenities and still being an authentic place.
Valle d’Itria - The Itria Valley
The Itria valley is a patch of bucolic countryside that stretches from the town of Ostuni in the east of Puglia towards Taranto in the west.
Its charming whitewashed towns are surrounded by orchards, wineries, and farmland, and its dotted all throughout with the iconic trulli houses, lending the entire area a dreamy, fairytale-like aura.
With the exception of Ostuni and Martina Franca, most of the towns in the Valle d’Itria are small and are not necessarily places you’d want to base yourself in for a few days. They’re fantastic to explore, but you can usually combine visits to 3-4 towns into a single day.
Most accommodation options are in nearby Ostuni or at Masseria-style accommodation in the countryside or along the Savelletri coast.
If you plan to stay in the region and will have a car, we generally recommend staying somewhere outside of Locorotondo, Cisternino, or Alberobello that gives you access to the quiet country lanes and charming rural area.
Another good option is to stay near Savelletri (outside of Ostuni), where you’re just a few minutes from the beach, but also no more than a half hour to Alberobello, Locorotondo, etc.
If you won’t have a car, I run private guided tours of the Valle d’Itria and would love to show you around.
13. Martina Franca
Martina Franca is not quite a hidden gem anymore, but it doesn’t see nearly the same number of visitors as other towns in the Itria valley. It’s a bit perplexing, as it may be the nicest of them all.
Like all the villages of the Valle d’Itria, Martina Franca boasts a white-washed historic core, but with the addition of intricate Rococo touches all around. The town is also home to the famed capocollo di Martina Franca, a local type of salami that is the most prized of Puglia.
14. Ostuni
The pearl of Puglia, as Ostuni is often called, is genuinely one of the prettiest towns in the region. It’s not actually in the Itria valley, but it’s close enough that it gets lumped in.
The city sits high on a hill with olive groves surrounding it on all sides and the Savelletri and Monopoli coastline just beyond. Its duomo (cathedral) is beautiful and features a stunning rose window.
The whole town is elegant and refined with pleasant pedestrianized streets, and it makes for an excellent base for exploring the Itria valley and hitting the nearby beaches.
15. Locorotondo
Locorotondo is a small hilltop town about 30 minutes from Ostuni. Its name, which literally translates as “round place” is because the town, surrounded by its original city walls, is shaped like a small oval.
It offers many of the same charms as Ostuni or Martina Franca, but in smaller size. While a definite must-visit, it’s not somewhere you need multiple days to explore and I wouldn’t recommend it as your base.
If you’re planning to base yourself in the Valle d’Itria for a few days and want to be in a town, I always recommend Martina Franca. It’s a real little city and has more to do. It’s also less touristy.
16. Cisternino
Cisternino is a tiny little town 10 minutes from Locorotondo whose centro storico was awarded a prize as one of the most charming borghi (small towns) in all of Italy.
You don’t need much time to visit, so can cover most of town in an hour or two.
Aside from being pretty, the town has long been famous for its excellent butcher shops which double as restaurants in the evening. If you find yourself here at dinnertime, be sure to order some bombette.
17. Ceglie Messapica
Though just 15 minutes from Ostuni, Ceglie Messapica somehow remains completely off visitors’ radars. While not fair to the town’s ego, you should take advantage of this odd fact and enjoy it before it becomes more discovered!
The joy of a visit to Ceglie is getting lost in the maze of alleyways and narrow streets that contain almost none of the tourist trappings of all the nearby towns. Locally, the town is also regarded as a gastronomic powerhouse.
If you get hungry, Cibus, one of the best restaurants in the region, is located here and you should also try the local specialty, a panino cegliese, which is a sandwich with some rather curious ingredients.
18. Putignano
If you look on Google Maps or Booking, you’ll immediately notice that Putignano has barely any accommodation options. That’s because almost no one knows it exists! I don’t have the slightest clue why.
While it doesn’t boast any major sites, its circular old town is incredibly atmospheric, especially after dinner when there’s barely a soul around. And speaking of dinner, for foodies with a budget, the first restaurant anywhere in Puglia to be awarded a Michelin star is here: Angelo Sabatelli Ristorante.
In Puglia, the city is famous for the enormous, colorful, and eclectic floats that feature in the local carnival celebration.
19. Alberobello
I’ve included Alberobello on this list because it’s probably Puglia’s most well known place and somewhere you’re all but certain to visit during your trip here. That said, it’s definitely not our favorite destination in Puglia.
Alberobello became famous because of the town’s incredible number of canonical, stone roof houses known as trulli. While they are quite a site to see, Alberobello has completely given over to mass tourism and the town is always overcrowded and is full of souvenir shops and tourist traps.
Additionally, you’ll find plenty of trulli houses all throughout the countryside here, so you won’t miss them if you don’t go to Alberobello. You’re probably going to visit anyways, so, when you do, go early in the morning before the tour buses arrive or late in the evening after they’ve left. Thank me later.
Salento
The Salento peninsula, anchored by the stunning Baroque city of Lecce, is what put Puglia squarely on the map for tourism. Interestingly, this isn’t actually an official geographic region and there is no “Salento province” in Puglia. It’s more of a cultural definition than a well-defined geographic one.
That said, the region is typically defined as starting where the hills of the Itria valley end, basically just after Ostuni, and extending until the southern tip of Puglia.
With everything from rocky coves to long stretches of sandy beach, this arid and coastal area is an art and beach lovers’ paradise.
Here, where the Adriatic and Ionian seas meet, and where civilizations have crossed paths for thousands of years, there is no shortage of ways to spend your time.
20. Lecce
Lecce really needs no introduction. It is Puglia at its most decadent and the jewel of the Salento peninsula.
The city is steeped in Baroque and Rococo style and has countless fabulous churches, elegant streets, sophisticated eateries, stylish hotels, and just enough chaos outside the historic center to remind you that you’re still in southern Italy!
A few things not to miss: the recently restored Basilica di Santa Croce, the Duomo, and three of the city’s original gates: Porta Rudiae, Porta San Biagio, and Porta Napoli.
For more info on Lecce, check out my Lecce city guide.
21. Otranto
Otranto is little port town of 5,000 just 30 minutes south of Lecce. The entire town is beautiful, especially the lungomare, but the cathedral, with its mosaic-coated crypt and macabre altar to the martyrs of an Ottoman sacking of the city, is the main reason to visit.
Just north of the city you also have some fantastic beaches at Torre dell’Orso, Torre Sant’Andrea, Roca Vecchia, and San Foca.
22. Santa Maria di Leuca
Italy’s southeastern most point, Santa Maria di Leuca is located at the very tip of the Salento peninsula right where the Adriatic and Ionian seas meet.
The sweeping piazza here with views to both seas is reason enough to go, but in the summertime you also have good beaches nearby, sea caves to explore, and boat trips that offer jaw-dropping views of the rocky coast.
23. Gallipoli
Gallipoli is a historic fishing village with a beautiful town center. The town makes a good base for exploring the nearby coast and beach hopping.
Unlike most of the Salento peninsula, the beaches to both the north and south of Gallipoli are sandy, with long stretches of beach and shallow waters ideal for families with kids.
24. Nardò
Nardò is still almost totally off the map for tourism, but that is sure to change soon.
The city has invested heavily in restoring the historic core and the main square is one of the best of the entire province, with lovely rococo designs.
The church of San Domenico is a terrific example of the local Baroque style and city hall is housed in a gorgeous palazzo that you can actually enter and visit.
25. Galatina
Galatina’s main claim to fame is that it is the capital of Puglia’s regional dance, la pizzica.
Outside of this, the major attraction is the church of Santa Caterina and its stunning frescoes from the 1300s.
For a sweet treat, all visitors should also make time for a pit stop at a local pastry shop called “Ascalone” which has been open since 1745! It is practically obligatory that you try one of their pasticciotto, a local short bread pastry filled with custard.
26. Castro Marina, Santa Cesaria Terme, Tricase
I’ve included all three of these towns together because it’s not really the towns themselves that I recommend. Rather, it’s the route of Strada Provinciale 358 (SP 358), which runs through all 3 towns, that I suggest you “visit”.
This stretch of road is, beyond any doubt, one the most beautiful drives anywhere in Italy. For almost 60 kilometers between Otranto and Santa Maria di Leuca, the road hugs the rocky coast, passing through sleepy towns whose marinas and beaches fill with visitors in the summer, and offers mind-boggling views over the Adriatic.
On clear days, you can even make out the mountains of Albania across the water. For those up for something a little more active, I think the best way to experience the road is on a bicycle!
5, 7, 10, and 14-day Puglia itinerary ideas
Here are a few sample itineraries to help you envision what you could do with anything from 5 days to two weeks in Puglia.
5-day itinerary - Bari & around, Savelletri coast, Valle d’Itria
Day 1 - Bari
Day 2 - Trani, Bitonto, & Giovinazzo
Day 2 - Polignano a Mare, Monopoli, & beach time by Savelletrii
Day 3 - Ostuni, Martina Franca, & Cisternino
Day 5 - Alberobello, Locorotondo, & Ceglie Messapica
5-day itinerary - Savelletri coast, Valle d’Itria, Lecce & Salento
Day 1 - Polignano a Mare, Monopoli, & beach time in Savelletri
Day 2 - Ostuni, Martina Franca, & Cisternino
Day 3 - Alberobello, Locorotondo, & Ceglie Messapica
Day 4 - Lecce
Day 5 - Gallipoli, Santa Maria di Leuca, & Otranto
7-day itinerary - Bari, Matera, Valle d’Itria, Salento, & Savelletri coast
Day 1 - Bari
Day 2 - Bari to Matera
Day 3 - Matera
Day 4 - Matera to Lecce via the Valle d’Itria
Day 5 - Lecce
Day 6 - Gallipoli, Santa Maria di Leuca, & Otranto
Day 7 - Savelletri coast, Monopoli, & Polignano a Mare
10-day itinerary - Bari, Matera, Valle d’Itria, Lecce, & Otranto
Day 1 - Bari
Day 2 - Bari - visit Trani, Bitonto, and Giovinazzo
Day 3 - Bari to Matera with a stop in Altamura
Day 4 - Matera
Day 5 - Matera to Martina Franca
Day 6 - Martina Franca, Alberobello, Locortondo, Cisternino
Day 7 - Martina Franca to Lecce with a stop in Ostuni
Day 8 - Lecce
Day 9 - Lecce, Otranto, coastal drive on SP358 to Santa Maria di Leuca
Day 10 - Lecce, Nardò, Galatina, Gallipoli
14-day itinerary - Bari & Terra di Bari, Gargano peninsula, Matera, Valle d’Itria, Lecce, Otranto, Savelletri coast
Day 1 - Bari
Day 2 - Bari with visits to Trani, Bitonto, and Giovinazzo
Day 3 - Bari to Vieste in the Gargano peninsula with a stop in Monte Sant’Angelo
Day 4 - Vieste - explore town and hit the nearby beaches
Day 5 - Vieste to Matera with a stop in Altamura
Day 6 - Matera
Day 7 - Matera to Martina Franca with visits to Alberobello, Locorotondo, Cisternino.
Day 8 - Martina Franca to Lecce with a stop in Ostuni
Day 9 - Lecce
Day 10 - Lecce, Otranto, coastal drive on SP358 to Santa Maria di Leuca
Day 11 - Lecce, Nardò, Galatina, Gallipoli
Day 12 - Lecce to Savelletri with beach time
Day 13 - Savelletri, Monopoli, Polignano a Mare
Day 14 - Savelletri with beach time
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