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Lecce, Italy
DAY 1 || HEAD TO LECCE AND DISCOVER THE CITY We flew from Amsterdam to Brindisi,
where we rented our car and started our trip. Lecce, was the first stop and what
a great first stop this was. I quite fell in love with Lecce, and after the
whole holiday, we dare to say this was our favorite city. There is an
opportunity for quite some day trips, but it is the perfect base to spend your
evening due to the many restaurants and bars in Lecce. Next to that, there are
many pretty places to visit, so don’t forget to also spend one of your days
discovering Lecce itself. The south of Puglia is also home to many beaches and
my favourite, the Grotta della Poessia. We spend a day driving south along the
coast. Unfortunately, the weather turned bad and hence we couldn’t visit all
sights we planned for. This article, on the south of Puglia, covers a full
overview of what places to visit from Lecce.
- Piazza Sant'Oronzo
- Anfiteatro Romano
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Gallipoli, Italy
DAY 2 || DISCOVER GALLIPOLI FROM LECCE (+ CORIGLIANO D'OTRANTO) Gallipoli is a
cute little beach town worth visiting. We loved walking along the sea front,
while crossing through the cute alleys in the city center on our way back to the
car. Unfortunately, no nice restaurant recommendations from our side, as the
restaurant we ate wasn’t too good. I would recommend heading into town for a
restaurant instead of going for a beach view. On our way to Gallipoli from
Lecce, we also crossed Corigliano d’Otranto. The place is not really special,
but it is fun to see some smaller and less touristic places around as well.
After our day trip, we returned to Lecce to spend the evening and head out for
drinks and dinner.
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Matera, Italy
Even though Matera isn’t officially part of Puglia, but belongs to the
Basilicata province, it’s often combined and added to a Puglia itinerary; and
for a reason. The city is beautiful and worth discovering. The most striking
thing about Matera is that it consists out of two Sassi. The first day in
Matera, we did focus on exploring one of them named Sassi Barisano. Read
everything you need to know about Matera in this specific Matera City Guide.
- Sassi di Matera
- Chiesa di San Francesco d'Assisi
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Polignano a Mare, Italy
DAY 6 || POLIGNANO A MARE (VIA ALTAMURA, CASTEL DEL MONTE AND BARI) Day 6 was a
packed day. We departed from Matera early in the morning and had a quick stop in
Altamura to stroll around and head for a coffee. Afterwards, we continued our
journey to the more famous Castel del Monte. I have to admit, the outside is
pretty but it’s not necessarily worth it to visit the inside, especially
unguided as you just walk through empty rooms. After our visit to the castle, we
continued to Bari for a stroll around town and some lunch. Want to know more
about this little road trip? Check out everything about our day tour past
Altamura, the castle and Bari here. The last stop of the day and our place to
stay the night was Polignano a Mare, a cute coastal town with one of the most
iconic views of Puglia. Stopping at Polignano a Mare? Make sure to check out
this full guide.
- Ponte Lama Monachile
- Lido San Giovanni
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Monopoli, Italy
DAY 7 || MONOPOLI AND STAYING IN A MASSERIA We started our day with a breakfast
in Polignano a Mare before checking out of our great appartement and starting
the next day. Visiting Monopoli was next on our list, where we strolled around
and enjoyed some take-away lunch from a cute bakery. Afterwards, we continued
our journey to Masseria Montenapoleone to relax by the pool for the remainder of
the afternoon and to fully soak in the experience of staying in a Masseria. Do
you want to learn more about staying the night in a Masseria? Click here.
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Valle d'Itria, Italy
DAY 8 || VALLE D'ITRIA (CISTERNINO, LOCOROTONDO AND MARTINA FRANCA) Day 8 of
this 10 day Puglia itinerary was marked by exploring the first villages of the
Valle d’Itria, the beautiful area famous for some cute little towns and the
trulli’s. We decided to leave Alberobello to the next day, to be able to go
early in the morning and escape the crowds. Unfortunately, the weather turned
bad this day which meant that walking around and sitting on a terrace wasn’t
possible this day. Still we had a great time exploring these villages. Learn
more about them and check out my favourite snapshots here. We even spend the
night in a trulli (or well, unfortunately the house connected to it).
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Alberobello, Italy
DAY 9 || ALBEROBELLO & OSTUNI As mentioned, we wanted to visit Alberobello early
in the morning as this might be the most famous place of Puglia because of the
Trulli houses. We mentioned to beat the crowds, probably also due to visiting
during COVID, and enjoy Alberobello to the fullest. There is not too much to do,
but it’s a great place for photo’s! After our visit to Alberobello in the
morning, we continued our journey to the final destination of the trip: Ostuni.
We enjoyed lunch, soaked up the sun and went for dinner to leave exploring the
city in more detail to the next day.
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Ostuni, Italy
DAY 10 || OSTUNI The final day of this 10 day Puglia itinerary, we’ve spend in
the beautiful town Ostuni. We wandered around, made loads of pictures, visited a
great view point, visited a very famous bar and enjoyed the last rays of sun as
well as the stunning Italian food. Learn more about what to do, see, eat and
where to stay in Ostuni here.