You’ll find Il Giardino Grande in a rural pocket of Puglia’s Salento peninsula, a stone’s throw from the charming old towns of Parabita and Matino and a short bike ride to Gallipoli’s best beaches.
Planes
Brindisi Airport is closest to the hotel, just one hour away by car. Transfers can be arranged for €150 each way. Alternatively, Bari’s Karol Wojtyla hub is a two-hour drive from the hotel. From here, transfers will set you back €250.
Trains
Lecce Railway station is around a 40-minute drive from the hotel with direct links to Bari, Rome, Milan, Bologna, Venice, and Turin. Il Giardino Grande can arrange transfers from here for €100 one way.
Automobiles
Public transport is notoriously slow at this end of the boot, so wheels will allow you to speed things up when day-tripping, and with a cluster of picturesque Puglian towns to choose from in the area, you won’t want to miss out. There’s a covered carpark 100 metres from the hotel, which is free for guests, and two electric charging stations, too.
Worth getting out of bed for
Puglia’s sun-kissed peninsula has more than its fair share of pretty little towns, and Il Giardino Grande is perfectly placed to explore them. Parabita and Matino are closest, where you can watch slow, southern life unfold from your perch outside the local cafè. Gallipoli and its many beaches are a 10-minute drive from the hotel, too; book a sun-bed on Baia Verde or grab a gelato for a stroll around the centro storico. The hotel can arrange bikes to borrow should you fancy riding there (through old country roads, no less) instead. Next, swing by Nardò, where Baroque arches, ornate balconies, neoclassical colonnades and Rococo portals crowd round the central piazza. Here, you’ll find Chiesa di San Trifone, a 19th-century church, built in gratitude to the titular martyr, revered for saving the peninsula from a plague of – wait for it – caterpillars. Hey, not all heroes wear capes… And then there’s Chiesa di San Domenico, Nardò’s architectural jewel which is adorned, inside and out, with Baroque decoration. And, if you like that, you’ll love Lecce, the ‘Florence of the South’, for its stupefying architectural medley of honey-hued churches and dizzying columns. A stop at Basilica di Santa Croce will exceed your cherub quota for the year, while a sampling of the local delicacies like pasticciotto Leccese – a small pastry filled with ricotta or egg custard – will make a generous contribution to your weekly calorie quota, too. The wider province has a rugged kind of beauty, full of wild beaches, turquoise waters and acres of olive trees. Head to Porto Selvaggio to catch a glimpse of it in full swing; this protected oasis consists of a coastal enclave where you can bathe in crystal-clear waters (often in total privacy), miles of pinewood parkland sprinkled with archeological ruins, three ancient towers (Torre dell’Alto, Torre dell’Inserraglio, Torre Uluzzo), and well-preserved fortified farms.
Local restaurants
For romantic, atmospheric evenings, Il Contenitore is just the ticket. This tiny Parabita trattoria is tucked away in a hidden piazza with moonlit, alfresco seating and hearty Salentini cuisine. Try the risotto with gorgonzola, saffron sauce, purple cabbage and nuts, or the steamed cod with Jerusalem artichoke and turmeric mayonnaise. You’ll find Trattoria La Puritate, meanwhile, overlooking Gallipoli’s Spiaggia della purità; it’s loved by locals for its fresh-off-the-boat seafood. Start with the ‘gulf of Gallipoli’: raw appetisers of tuna tartare, seared shrimp and cuttlefish fillets with a trio of cooked bites like octopus meatballs, small squids in balsamic vinegar, and breaded mussels – lead with the linguine alla Puritate (served with datterini tomatoes, julienne-cut zucchini from the garden and oven-seared prawns), and finish with a hazelnut spumone, a moulded ice-cream layered with different flavours and filled with almonds, fruit and caramel.
Local cafés
Nardó’s Caffé Parisi is the place to go for local delicacies, from almonds-and-chocolate-stuffed sfogliatelle di canosa to piping-hot, creamy pasticciotti or sugar-dusted bocconotti tartlets. This elegant Parisian-style, hang-out has been doing its thing for over 100 years, so you can bet whatever you order will be tippy-top tier, not least the gelato which deserves special mention.
Local bars
Foscolo cocktail bar is shaking (and stirring) up a riot along the cobbled alleys of sleepy Matino, where head mixologist Giancarlo wins hearts and tastebuds with his homemade syrups and extracts. Further out, the coast is littered with beach clubs but Solatio is a particular highlight, with a cool, canvas-shaded deck, lovely local wines and excellent cocktails.