ItalyField Guide
Puglia

Region

Puglia

The heel of the boot — white hill towns (Ostuni, Locorotondo), trulli in Alberobello, Baroque Lecce, and the longest coastline of any mainland Italian region. Cheaper and less discovered than the northwest, and eating very well.

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The verdict

Puglia is the best-value region in southern Italy right now: warm, flat, easy to drive, full of white towns and olive groves, and with a coast on two seas. Base in Lecce for the Baroque and the food, drive out to Ostuni and Alberobello, and get to the coast at Salento. It's quieter than Tuscany and Amalfi in peak season, but the secret is out — go before it's fully discovered.

Why go

White hill towns, Baroque Lecce, trulli, and a long, warm coast — the best-value southern Italy.

Skip if

You want mountains or major art cities; Puglia's pleasures are smaller and more rural.

Where to go in Puglia

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Otranto
01

Town · Puglia

Otranto

Otranto is worth a night as a Salento coast base from Lecce. The cathedral mosaic floor is the surprise — a 12th-century tree of life in tile. The coast south of town is the Salento's best.

Ostuni
02

Town · Puglia

Ostuni

Ostuni is worth a half-day or a night. The all-white old town is striking from a distance and atmospheric up close. It is a good base for the Valle d'Itria between Bari and Lecce.

Lecce
03

Town · Puglia

Lecce

Lecce is worth two nights and is the best base for southern Puglia. It is the most beautiful Baroque city in Italy that isn't on the standard circuit. Pair it with Otranto and Gallipoli.

Things to do in Puglia

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