Torre Guaceto is one of the best places in Puglia for travellers who want more than a conventional day at the beach. Stretching along the Adriatic coast between Carovigno and Brindisi, this protected landscape combines sandy beaches, low rocky coves, Mediterranean scrub, wetlands, farmland and clear sea around a 16th-century coastal watchtower. What makes Torre … 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
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
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
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
The stretch of Adriatic coast between Polignano a Mare and Monopoli is one of the easiest places in Puglia to combine swimming with sightseeing. In barely 15 kilometres, the coastline changes repeatedly: limestone cliffs around Polignano, tiny pebble coves, rocky swimming platforms, urban beaches beneath Monopoli’s old walls and, farther south, increasingly sandy bays around … Read more