The perfect holiday in Puglia, the quiet corner of Italy with Europe's best beaches
Puglia's 800km-long coastline (Italy 's longest) is brimming with endless olive groves, sun-bleached villages and elderly men shooting the breeze in village squares. Its heritage is a mix of Baroque churches, Norman castles, fishing harbours and cucina povera (humble dishes). Much of it feels like rewinding the clock – to a time when people tanned without concern and cash was the default currency.
Most overseas visitors gravitate to the Valle d'Itria, an area of olives, orchards, trulli (pointed roof houses) and gleaming white towns, while Italians from the north come in their thousands to pack Puglia 's long beaches in summer. The Gargano juts into the Adriatic, with forested hills and fine beaches. South lies Salento, the heel proper, where cliffs drop into the Adriatic on one side, and powdery Ionian sands beckon on the other.
For more Puglia inspiration, see our guides to the region's best hotels, restaurants, bars, things to do and beaches. Plan your 10-day trip with our ultimate itinerary.
In this guide:
How to spend the perfect day in Puglia
How to spend the perfect week in Puglia
When to go
Where to stay
How to get there and how to get around
Know before you go
How to spend the perfect day
The perfect day: morning
Arrive in the early morning. From the airport, stretch your legs on the streets of Bari's Old Town – seeing the nonne making Puglian speciality orecchiette pasta, with tables and drying racks set out on the narrow streets – before travelling on to your base, in Valle d'Itria, an area of olive groves and hilltop towns. Staying at one of Puglia's masserie (grand fortified farmhouses) turned rustic-chic hotels, such as Masseria le Torri. Its chalky façade gleams under the southern sun, with gardens shaded by fig, olive, mulberry and cherry trees.
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