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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.