Patty Puglia is one of those regions where food is not a separate part of the trip. It is woven into almost everything you do. A morning walk through Bari Vecchia can lead past women shaping orecchiette outside their homes; a drive through the Valle d’Itria may end at a butcher shop that turns into a … Read more
The best beaches in Gargano are not concentrated around a single resort or along one uniform stretch of coast. This mountainous promontory in northern Puglia has two remarkably different seaside personalities: long, sandy beaches around Vieste and the northern coast, and a far more dramatic southern coastline where white limestone cliffs plunge into the Adriatic … Read more
Salento is one of the few places in Italy where choosing a beach is not simply a matter of deciding which stretch of sand looks prettiest. The peninsula is bordered by two very different coastlines: the Adriatic to the east and the Ionian to the west, with Santa Maria di Leuca marking the transition at … Read more
Puglia does not have one single type of coastline. That is the first thing worth understanding before choosing where to spend your beach days. Along roughly 800 kilometres of coast, the region moves from the pale limestone cliffs and pebble coves of the Gargano to the small rocky inlets around Polignano a Mare and Monopoli, … Read more
Puglia is one of the easiest regions of southern Italy to enjoy as a family, but it rewards a little planning. The region is long, summer temperatures can be intense, many historic centres have uneven stone streets, and some of the most beautiful beaches are far easier to reach by car than by public transport. … Read more
Gargano National Park is one of the places that most clearly challenges the usual image of Puglia. Instead of endless olive groves and flat countryside, this corner of northern Puglia rises dramatically from the Adriatic, combining limestone cliffs, dense forests, mountain villages, pilgrimage routes, wetlands, sea caves and some of the region’s most striking beaches. … Read more
Rising alone above the rolling countryside of the Alta Murgia, Castel del Monte is one of those buildings that looks almost too geometrically perfect to belong to the Middle Ages. Eight sides, eight towers, an eight-sided courtyard and a position chosen to dominate an enormous sweep of inland Puglia give Frederick II’s castle an appearance … Read more
Puglia rewards travellers who resist the temptation to treat it as a checklist of white villages and famous beaches. The region is long, geographically varied and surprisingly diverse: Romanesque cathedrals face the Adriatic in the north, trulli and olive-covered countryside fill the Valle d’Itria, Baroque streets dominate Lecce, while the Salento peninsula alternates between rocky … Read more
Trani is one of the most elegant and atmospheric seaside towns in Puglia. Set along the Adriatic coast north of Bari, it combines a beautiful historic centre, an active fishing harbour, medieval streets, excellent seafood and one of the most spectacular seaside cathedrals in Italy. Unlike some of Puglia’s better-known coastal destinations, Trani does not … Read more
Perched on the dramatic eastern coast of the Gargano Peninsula, Vieste is one of the most rewarding places to visit in northern Puglia. Its appeal goes far beyond the classic combination of sun and sea. Here you can spend the morning swimming beside a towering white limestone monolith, wander through a maze of narrow streets … Read more