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Hotel Grotta Palazzese, Puglia

Things to do guide

The best things to do in Puglia

Updated 1 October 2026 · 18 things to do

Pictured: Hotel Grotta Palazzese

Puglia is the heel of Italy's boot: a long, flat, sunburnt peninsula of olive groves, dry-stone walls and whitewashed hill towns, wrapped in the Adriatic on one side and the Ionian on the other. It has the food of Italy without the queues, and a landscape that feels old and unhurried, studded with beach towns, baroque churches and strange conical houses.

It's a place to wander and eat. Pick a few towns, drive between them on empty country roads, stop at a masseria for lunch and swim from a cliff. Few places in Italy repay slow travel so well.

Don't miss

  1. 1Alberobello
  2. 2Lecce
  3. 3Polignano a Mare
  4. 4Ostuni
  5. 5Matera

Whitewashed towns of the Itria Valley

Hilltop villages, trulli and a lot of white paint.

  1. Alberobello

    Neighbourhood

    A street of conical-roofed trulli houses in Alberobello
    Photo: MPhernambucq, CC BY-SA 4.0

    Alberobello is the home of the trulli, the round dry-stone houses with conical grey roofs that dot the Puglian countryside. Here hundreds of them climb two hillsides in the Rione Monti and Aia Piccola quarters, and the whole town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It looks like a fairytale and is very popular, so come early or stay the night after the day-trippers leave.

    Tip: The Rione Monti side is the busiest and most photographed; the quieter Aia Piccola is worth a wander too.

  2. Ostuni

    Neighbourhood

    The white walls of Ostuni seen from the north-west
    Photo: Benjamin Smith, CC BY-SA 4.0

    Known as the White City, Ostuni spills down a hilltop in a tumble of whitewashed houses, arches and stairways, with the sea shining in the distance beyond the olive groves. It's a maze for an evening stroll, with a cathedral at the top and plenty of restaurants and bars along the way.

  3. Locorotondo

    Neighbourhood

    The whitewashed historic centre of Locorotondo
    Photo: Benjamin Smith, CC BY-SA 4.0

    The name means round place, and the old centre is indeed a spiral of white lanes around a church, with flower-filled balconies and views over the Itria Valley's patchwork of vines and trulli. It's smaller and calmer than Alberobello, and it gives its name to a crisp local white wine.

  4. Cisternino

    Food

    Another pretty white town, Cisternino is famous for its butcher-restaurants: choose your cuts from the display, have them grilled over charcoal and eat at long tables with wine and bread. It's a bit chaotic and entirely delicious.

Baroque Salento

  1. Lecce

    Landmark

    The baroque facade of the Basilica di Santa Croce in Lecce
    Photo: acediscovery, CC BY 4.0

    Often called the Florence of the South, Lecce is a city of honey-coloured limestone carved into baroque fantasies. The Basilica di Santa Croce has a facade crowded with animals, flowers and figures, and the Roman amphitheatre sits half-excavated in the main square, Piazza Sant'Oronzo.

    Wander the old centre in the evening, when the stone glows, and stop for a coffee and a pasticciotto at a café.

  2. Otranto

    Neighbourhood

    Otranto Cathedral
    Photo: Bernard Gagnon, CC0

    Right on the eastern tip of the heel, Otranto is a walled harbour town with a clear turquoise sea. Its cathedral has a huge floor mosaic of the tree of life, made in the 12th century, and its old town is a fine place to wander before swimming off the rocks.

  3. Gallipoli

    Neighbourhood

    The old town of Gallipoli sits on a small limestone island joined to the mainland by a bridge, ringed by walls, with a fishing harbour, a baroque cathedral and a lively waterfront. Beaches stretch along the coast on either side, and the town is at its liveliest on summer evenings.

Coast and sea

  1. Polignano a Mare

    Neighbourhood

    Polignano a Mare on its cliff above the Adriatic
    Photo: acediscovery, CC BY 4.0

    A whitewashed old town balanced on a limestone cliff above the Adriatic, with sea caves below and a tiny pebble beach, Lama Monachile, tucked between the rocks beneath an old bridge. It's dramatic and photogenic, and the home of a famous statue of singer Domenico Modugno, who wrote Volare.

    Walk the lanes to the clifftop belvederes, then swim off the rocks or take a boat trip to the caves.

  2. Monopoli

    Neighbourhood

    The old harbour of Monopoli
    Photo: MPhernambucq, CC BY-SA 4.0

    A working fishing town with a handsome old harbour full of painted boats, a sea castle and a labyrinth of lanes behind the waterfront. It's less polished than Polignano and a good deal calmer, with some of the area's best seafood.

  3. Torre Guaceto

    Nature

    A protected nature reserve and marine area on the coast near Brindisi, with sandy beaches, dunes, scrub and a watchtower looking over the sea. Clear water makes it a good spot for swimming and snorkelling, and the shore is quieter than the resort coast.

  4. Vieste and the Gargano

    Day trip

    The Pizzomunno limestone monolith rising from the beach at Vieste
    Photo: Einaz80, CC BY-SA 4.0

    Far up on the spur of Italy's boot, Vieste is a whitewashed old town on a headland above the sea. A beach below it's dominated by Pizzomunno, a tall white limestone monolith, and the surrounding Gargano coast is lined with cliffs, caves and forest.

Eat and drink

  1. Orecchiette con cime di rapa

    Food

    Orecchiette with turnip tops, the classic Puglian pasta
    Photo: Florixc, CC0

    Little ear-shaped pasta tossed with turnip tops, garlic, anchovy and chilli is the dish of Puglia. Often made by hand, it's simple, bitter and savoury, and exactly right with a glass of local red.

  2. Burrata

    Food

    Burrata, a fresh cheese with a mozzarella shell and a creamy centre of cream and shreds, comes from Puglia, and eating it here, fresh and with ripe tomatoes and good olive oil, is a revelation. Order it as a starter almost anywhere.

  3. Pasticciotto

    Food

    Pasticciotti, the custard-filled pastries of Lecce and the Salento
    Photo: Renano, CC BY-SA 3.0

    A little pastry of buttery shortcrust filled with custard, the pasticciotto is the pride of Lecce and the Salento. Eat it warm at breakfast with a coffee, and sample versions filled with cherry jam or almond.

  4. Focaccia barese

    Food

    Bari's own focaccia is a thick, soft, olive-oil-rich bread, topped with cherry tomatoes and olives, with a crisp base. Eat it hot from a bakery as a snack, and you'll understand why people queue.

Days out

  1. Matera

    Day trip

    The Sassi cave districts of Matera
    Photo: Jules Verne Times Two, CC BY-SA 4.0

    Just over the border in Basilicata, Matera is a UNESCO-listed town of cave dwellings and churches carved into a ravine, known as the Sassi. It's one of Italy's most extraordinary townscapes, and it can be visited in a day from the Itria Valley or Bari.

    Tip: Walk the Sassi in the late afternoon and wait for the lights to come on.

  2. Castel del Monte

    Landmark

    The octagonal Castel del Monte near Andria
    Photo: ParisTaras, CC BY-SA 4.0

    A 13th-century hilltop castle built by Emperor Frederick II, a perfect octagon with eight octagonal towers, standing alone above the plain near Andria. Nobody knows exactly what it was for, which only adds to the mystery. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

  3. Bari Vecchia

    Neighbourhood

    Puglia's capital has a tangled old town where women still make orecchiette by hand on tables in the street, and the Basilica di San Nicola, the shrine of Saint Nicholas, rises in the middle. Bari is also a major transport hub, so it's an easy stop on the way in or out.

Where to stay in Puglia

Not sure which area suits you? Read our guide: Where to stay in Puglia →

Getting around

A hire car is the best way to see Puglia: distances are modest and the roads are mostly flat and quiet, but public transport between small towns is limited. Trains link Bari, Monopoli, Lecce and some of the main towns. Park outside old centres, as many have restricted traffic zones.

When to go

Late spring and early autumn are ideal, with warm weather, swimmable sea and quieter towns. July and August are hot and busy, and many beach restaurants close in winter.

Questions about visiting Puglia

What is Puglia best known for?
Its whitewashed hill towns, the trulli houses of Alberobello, baroque Lecce, a long Adriatic and Ionian coastline, olive groves and rustic food such as orecchiette and burrata.
How many days do you need in Puglia?
A week lets you see Alberobello, Ostuni, Lecce and a coastal town at an easy pace. Ten days adds Matera, the far south and some beach time.
Do you need a car in Puglia?
It's strongly recommended. Trains serve the main cities, but the countryside, beaches and smaller towns are much easier to reach with your own car.
Is Puglia good for beaches?
Yes. There are sandy beaches around Gallipoli and Torre Guaceto, rocky coves and sea caves around Polignano a Mare and Otranto, and long beaches on the Gargano coast.

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