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Puglia, an enchanting setting with some of the most beautiful places in Italy. The region of Puglia is located in the heel of the boot of Italy. It is known for its beautiful and picturesque coastal towns. It is then a part of Italy that is still fairly authentic. Besides the surprising places I got to discover, the hospitality of the Pugliese people and the delicious food and drink here have pleasantly surprised me. The delicious cuisine and wines are probably familiar to many people, but did you know that Puglia is Italy's largest olive producer? Two of them are even among the top 10 best olive producers in the world. So plenty to discover and taste in Puglia. So I share my tips and the most beautiful places in Puglia that we visited!
Lecce
Lecce is a cozy, old and especially beautiful town. There are many terraces where you can taste the best wines and ice creams. Lecce is mainly known for its baroque architecture, beautiful monuments and white streets. Piazzo Sant Oronzo, Piazzo del Duomo and Basilica di Sante Croce are just a few of the sights in Lecce, but also worth mentioning are the fantastic restaurants where we ate.
The best restaurants in Lecce, Puglia
Lodging in Lecce, Puglia
We stayed in the delightful Palazzo Lecce. A fine, cozy and cozy B&B in Lecce, the ideal base for our plans during our 5-day trip. The B&B has a lovely roof terrace with pool and lounge sofas, ideal for a sunny day.
Otranto
Otranto is Italy's easternmost city. A cozy coastal town where you enter the old town through an imposing castle, incidentally good for a spot on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The old town has many narrow alleys with the cutest stores and wine bars. My favorite: L'Ortale Otranto Di.
Are you traveling from Lecce to Otranto? Then a stop at Poetry Cave is definitely recommended. There is a parking lot a little further away, about a 5-minute walk. When the weather is good and warm, it is enormously crowded with people who come here to swim and sunbathe, but because we were there just before the high season, it was an oasis of calm. Not only is Poetry Cave itself beautiful, the area around it with the clear blue sea is also breathtakingly beautiful.
Ostuni
The "white town" of Ostuni, centrally located in the Puglia region, can be easily seen from afar because it is located on a hill. It is characterized by its white streets white, variegated doors and beautiful flowers. Due to our tight schedule when we were there and partly because of the heavy rain at the time, we chose to explore the city with a private tour in a tuk-tuk. A unique experience and definitely recommended if you ask me!
Alberobello
About a 45-minute drive from Ostuni is Alberobello, a picturesque town that should not be missing from the list of the most beautiful places in Puglia. It is one of the most famous towns in Puglia, known for its trulli. Absolutely worth a visit. It is also one of the most touristy places we have visited, but that is mainly because of the famous trulli that everyone wants to have a nice picture of. The trulli (singular trullo) are limestone houses with cone-shaped roofs. We had a delicious lunch at a pizzeria in Alberobello after which we went up the narrow streets to see the trulli.
Polignano A Mare
Built on steep cliffs, this town is mainly known for its seaside location. If you walk under the Lama Monachile bridge you will reach Cala Port, a beautiful pebble beach that is a popular place to visit all year round. During the summer you will enjoy the sun there, but even if it is not beach weather, it is definitely worth visiting. After walking around this lovely town, we end our visit at yet another too-cute establishment with a great view of the sea: Caffè Dei Serafini.
Bari
Bari is the capital of Puglia and also an important port on the Adriatic coast. It is a large city where you can easily spend several days, year-round. We only had a few hours before driving back to Lecce. We walked around the harbor and the old city center, also called Bari Vecchia. It is a beautiful city with lots to do and where we ended the day at the cocktail bar Mercantile Nove. Here we had a drink after which we got into the car to begin our long road back to Lecce.
Tip: We drove back in the dark with heavy rain and thunderstorms. Given the poor infrastructure in this region, this is not recommended. Personally, I would avoid driving in the dark here.
Gallipoli
From Lecce, we visited the old fishing village of Gallipoli. For a change, we traveled to western Puglia. The nice thing about Gallipoli is that it is located on a peninsula connected to the mainland by an ancient bridge. It used to be one of the most important cities on the Ionian Sea. This is well reflected by the walls of the old village. Also a perfect place for a beach day, although in summer you have to get there early to be sure of a spot! We had a delicious coffee here and walked around the city again, because that's the great thing about all the places we visited: everything is great to explore on foot!
How many days do you need to discover the most beautiful places in Puglia?
We discovered the above mentioned places in Puglia in 5 days. When I told people that I was going to Puglia for 5 days I often heard ''Are you 'only' going for 5 days? We took much longer''. I'm sure this is fun too and can well understand, especially in the summer when you want to schedule some beach days as well. Still, I believe that in 5 days you can taste the atmosphere of Puglia perfectly and we have seen the most special and beautiful places. In my opinion Puglia is perfect for a city trip or a relatively short tour, both from one location as we did and when you sleep at several addresses on transit.
Annemiek Zimmerman
Exploring the world is one of the things I love the most. From a gap year in New York where I studied English to a 6-month exchange in Malaysia, my studies took me to crazy destinations. Not to mention the road trip I took through Australia. I really enjoy traveling, both inside and outside of Europe and love to share my stories and tips with you on Travander!
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