Patty Understanding Puglia’s geography makes planning a trip dramatically easier. On a map the region looks narrow, but it is long enough that a holiday can become inefficient if you treat Bari, Gargano and southern Salento as neighbouring stops. Puglia — Apulia in English — forms the heel of the Italian peninsula. It runs along the … Read more
Gallipoli is one of the most fascinating destinations on the Ionian coast of Puglia, especially if you want to combine beautiful beaches, a historic old town, excellent food and lively summer nightlife in the same trip. Located on the western side of the Salento peninsula, Gallipoli has two very different personalities. There is the historic … Read more
Otranto is one of those places in Puglia where you do not really have to choose between a cultural trip and a beach holiday. Here, a medieval old town rises almost directly above the Adriatic, a castle guards the waterfront, one of southern Italy’s most remarkable cathedral mosaics lies just a few streets away, and … Read more
Golden stone glowing in the afternoon sun, extravagant Baroque façades, Roman ruins appearing unexpectedly between cafés and shops, and narrow streets made for slow wandering: Lecce is one of the most beautiful cities in Puglia and one of the best places to experience the atmosphere of southern Italy. Often nicknamed the “Florence of the South”, … Read more
There are places in Puglia that impress you with famous monuments, and others that win you over simply by making you want to slow down. Locorotondo belongs firmly to the second group. Perched above the Valle d’Itria, surrounded by vineyards, olive groves and scattered trulli, Locorotondo is a compact maze of whitewashed houses, flower-filled balconies, … Read more
There are towns in Puglia that impress you with a famous monument, and others that win you over with their atmosphere. Ostuni belongs firmly to the second group. From a distance, its historic centre looks like a bright white crown rising above a landscape of olive groves, with the blue Adriatic visible on the horizon. … Read more
Whitewashed walls, narrow lanes and hundreds of grey stone cones rising above the rooftops: Alberobello is one of the most distinctive places in Puglia. Even if you have seen photographs of the town before arriving, walking through its historic trulli districts is a completely different experience. Located in the beautiful Valle d’Itria, Alberobello is famous … Read more
Monopoli is one of those places in Puglia that manages to combine several different experiences in a single destination. You can spend the morning wandering through a maze of whitewashed streets, have lunch beside a centuries-old fishing harbour and, a few minutes later, be swimming in clear Adriatic water beneath the walls of the old … Read more
Few places capture the beauty of coastal Puglia quite like Polignano a Mare. White houses rise above dramatic limestone cliffs, narrow streets suddenly open onto panoramic terraces overlooking the Adriatic, and at the bottom of a rocky gorge lies Lama Monachile, one of the most photographed beaches in southern Italy. But Polignano a Mare is … Read more
Puglia is the kind of destination that can completely change character within the space of a short drive. One morning you can be walking between the whitewashed houses and conical trulli of the Valle d’Itria, and by late afternoon you may be swimming in clear turquoise water or watching the sun disappear over the Ionian … Read more