PUGLIA – LECCE AND SURROUNDINGS
- 4 days
- couples
- spring, summer, fall
A relaxing few days in beautiful Puglia. Ideal for relaxing or taking a break from everyday worries. Spend three nights in the beautiful city of Lecce, full of Baroque monuments. Make short excursions to the surrounding towns, cities or villages. See the shores of two seas, the Adriatic and the Ionian. And taste lots of local food! You will visit many sights, especially beautiful churches and majestic cathedrals, but also several castles! You can take a short trip to the countryside along the seashore. Puglia is simply a place where you can slow down and let time pass. The ideal time to travel to Puglia is spring and autumn.
A walk in the Riserva Naturale Torre Guaceto. Tour of the cave churches of the Parco rupestre Lama d'Antico and the Parco Archeologico di Egnazia. Sightseeing tour of the town of Polignano a Mare. Transfer to the airport.
The last day's programme depends on your departure time. Ideally, you should choose to depart as late as possible in the afternoon or evening. In the morning you will start your journey to Bari. Make your first stop at the Riserva Naturale Torre Guaceto. The route is here. Here you will find some of the most beautiful beaches in the region. During the summer there is an incredible amount of people here, but in the off season you will be almost alone. Parking is available here, for example. Coordinates of the parking lot: 40.7172139N, 17.7708956E. It's the perfect place for a walk on the beach or a picnic.
The next crossing to Fasano is not long (route). In the town of Fasano, visit the Parco rupestre Lama d'Antico. This is a rock park with the remains of a 10-16th century settlement. You will find beautiful rock churches here. Then continue just a short distance to the Parco Archeologico di Egnazia (route). Along the way, you can admire the magnificent olive trees, whose age is estimated at hundreds of years. Olive groves spread all over the area. In the Parco Archeologico di Egnazia you can visit a museum, the beautiful and somewhat mysterious underground tomb of Tomba delle Melagrane and the ruins of an antique Roman city.
The drive to Polignano a Mare takes just 20 minutes (route). Narrow streets, cliff-edge houses and a promenade around the coast await you. Parking is a bit tricky here, but you can find a spot on Via Martiri di Dogali – there are parking zones with coin-operated machines. Walk through the old town to the viewpoint at Lama Monachile beach. The centre is full of cafés, bars, and restaurants. The transfer to the airport from Polignano a Mare is roughly 45 minutes, but you'd better allow a bit more just to be sure – take the route here.
Alternatives: if you missed it on the first day, you can stop today on your way back to Bari in the beautiful town of Alberobello, or on a tour of the very nice Grotte di Castellana. If you want to take a dip, the last option near the airport is the town beach in Bari, Pane e Pomodoro Beach.
Here you will find some of the most beautiful beaches in the region. During the summer there is an incredible amount of people here, but in the low season you will be almost alone. Our GPS coordinates point directly to the parking lot. It's the perfect place to walk the beach, especially in the off-season.
A natural park where you can find cave churches, olive trees, beautiful landscape. A very nice place where there are not so many tourists. If you can, opt for a guided tour, you will learn everything there is to know about this place.
If you are interested in the history of the settlement of Puglia, then you will like it here. Very nice museum and wonderful outdoor remains of the settlement. A small museum full of artefacts. The outdoor area is large, full of building foundations.
A pretty little town perched on a cliff above the sea. Beautiful tiny streets, beautiful views. Lots of little restaurants and cafés. Pebble beach.
The airport is about 10 km from Bari. Smaller, easily navigable airport. Here you will find rail and bus services to the centre of Bari.
Our experience of a week in July on the Greek island of Rhodes