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Top 7 Places to Visit in Puglia, Italy

August 23, 2022

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While it is impossible to decide what towns to visit in Puglia and not feel like you are missing out on others, here is a list of my favorite places that made the cut for me. If you want more information on the cities, click on the name and it will take you to the destination page that has more material on that particular place.

1. Vieste

I loved this town! It is a light and airy village located on top of iconic white cliffs. The beaches here are beautiful and if you are wanting to spend a day soaking up the sun, check out Pizzomunno Beach Club where you can rent sun beds, umbrellas, and towels.

A great place to stay during your time in this lovely town is Residence B&B Maresol

2. Alberobello

No doubt you have seen numerous photos of this town on Instagram.

This small village features the round, stone buildings with a conical type of roof known as trulli.

You will not need a lot of time to explore this community, but it is worth visiting.

You definitely need to stay the night in a trulli such as Trulli D’Angiò.

3. Locorotondo

This is a great stop! Locorotondo is a whitewashed town with alleys filled with flowering plants. Cactus leaves (I guess they are called leaves) are hung up over the streets and adds to the quaintness of this location. I enjoyed a slow stroll and a great Aperitivo here before continuing my journey through Puglia.

A great place to stay while in this town is Il Balcone di Giulietta.

4. Polignano A Mare

Surely you have seen photos of this location. Its beach is in the middle of town and stretches under a bridge and out into the water.

The city is located on top of the cliffs and honestly, there is no bad view of the beach. The town itself is nice, and filled with great cafes and shops.

There are some great places to stay but my favorite was B&B Prestige that I booked through Hotels.com

5. Monopoli

I pictured the board game, but thankfully that is not at all what this town looked like. White painted alleys lead the visitor to the ocean for an incredible view. I had one of the best lunches of my trip here in Monopoli at Komera.

A wonderful place to stay while in this town is Corte Sant’Angelo.

6. Trani

I love old fishing villages and this one ticked all the boxes. Fresh seafood being brought up to market each day, fresh sea air, and ancient buildings make this town a must see. Wander around and take in all the incredible architecture and amazing views.

If you want a great place to stay, check out Palazzo Marina.

7. Matera

This town is AWESOME! I would have loved to spend a few days in this town to be able to explore everything in the area but alas, I only had about 24 hours.

There are so many reasons to visit this town! Definitely add this one to your list!

I freaking love this town and the place I stayed was Thymus Residence nei Sassi and it was perfect!

Other Towns

Now, if you have done any research at all on this area, I am sure you would have seen the towns of Lecce and Bari pop up. Let me tell you my opinion on these two towns and you can decide whether or not you want to add them to your own itinerary.

Leece

This town is a bit gritty and honestly not worth the visit. There are a few streets that are really cool, but the overall vibe is rundown. I had wanted to visit a few of the attractions such as the amphitheater and cathedral. However, upon arrival I found that the amphitheater is closed for renovations until 2023. The cathedral was also closed. The highlight of our visit was our lunch at a little place called Mosti E Misture.

Honestly, in my opinion, there isn’t enough there to warrant a visit or maybe make a stop for an hour to grab lunch and see whatever you were wanting to visit.

Bari

Let me share some honesty with you: this was a sketchy town. I was really looking forward to visiting this seaside town; and then I arrived. As a female, I can tell you this place made me very uncomfortable. There were large groups of males blocking alleys and hanging around frequently glancing and making comments to me and my 17-year-old daughter. We frequently had to endure catcalls in Italian and men walking up to us unprovoked. Thankfully my husband was traveling with us and intercepted a lot. We stayed near him during our time here.

To be fair, we didn’t find very many people, male or female, to be very friendly or helpful. I don’t have a large Italian vocabulary, but I try to always communicate in the native language when I can. In this town, it seemed to be a very large frustration for workers. My family’s presence also seemed to be an imposition for most of the individuals in the service industry; restaurants, attractions and even while walking around the city.

Now, if that didn’t dissuade you then you are in for a very unique visit. I have some very strong feelings about this town, and most are not good. For me, it had a dark energy. I have included an information page and a city guide on Bari on this site but I don’t recommend it, especially if you are a solo female traveler. I have spoken to a few other travelers that have been to Bari and the reviews seem to be 50/50. So, do your own research and decide for yourself.