Highlights the best Puglia has to offer, from art and culture to fun-packed activities; we've even found the most inspiring place to enjoy the views from.
Worth getting out of bed for
Viewpoint
The hilltop mediaeval town of Locorotondo on the Murge plateau gives panoramic views of the surrounding Itria Valley.
Arts and culture
Don’t go to Puglia without seeing the trulli. The Itria Valley is home to thousands of these circular dwellings, with beehive-shaped roofs and whitewashed walls, particularly around Alberobello.
Something for nothing
The shopkeepers in the trulli-town of Alberobello pride themselves on their hospitality and their wares. Many offer free wine tasting in their shops.
Shopping
Bari’s Via Sparano is the place to go for fashionable boutiques. Bari also has some excellent delicatessens. De Carne, on Via Calefati, is popular for local meats and cheeses. Almost every town in Puglia has its market day where, in addition to the fruit and vegetables, you can find handicrafts, such as terracotta and embroidery. Ostuni’s market is on Saturday.
Daytripper
The Parco Nazionale del Gargano, in the north of Puglia, contains the Foresta Umbra (Forest of Shadows). The 1,000 hectares of pine, oak and beech is the last remnant of an ancient forest, which once spread over most of Puglia.
Best beach
The fishing village of Torre Canne has a long stretch of soft sand and shallow water for cooling off your toes after working on the tan.
Activities
The region’s flat terrain is ideal for cycling. The gentle coastal route from Bari to Monopoli offers a taste of Puglia’s varied scenery. In the fishing village Polignano a Mare, which sits on the clifftop, stop for an ice cream at Il Super Mago del Gelo on Piazza Garibaldi.
And...
Puglia was once a Greek colony, and nowhere suggests this heritage better than Ostuni’s gorgeous whitewashed houses. Go along later to join the locals on their evening passeggiata – the see-and-be-seen stroll.
Diary
June One of the oldest motorcar races in the world, the Rally del Salento, takes place in Lecce – a nail-biting event characterised by its sharp turns (www.rallydelsalento.com). 20 July The start of the Festival della Valle d’Itria – a three-week event in the town of Martina Franca, with opera, classical and jazz performances (www.festivaldellavalleditria.it).
