Think sunshine, aqua blue waters, and beautiful narrow streets. Puglia, or Apulia, is the perfect European summer destination. Puglia will give you an authentic taste of life in Italy, without the crowds. This guide will take you through some of the best places to visit in Puglia, including where to stay, what to eat, and my favourite things to do!
TOP TOWNS TO VISIT IN PUGLIA
BARI
Bari, the capital of Puglia, is rich in history. If you’re arriving in Puglia by Plane, you’ll most likely arrive in Bari, which makes this the perfect place to start our trip. With a bustling center, nearby beaches, and incredible architecture, you definitely want to spend some time exploring this vibrant city. Furthermore, we are going to use Bari as a base for visiting the nearby town of Alberobello.
Cattedrale di San Sabino 
Strada Delle Orecchiette 
Direzione regionale Museum
WHERE TO STAY IN BARI
You want to stay as close to Bari Vecchia, or Bari Old Town, as possible. This is where all the best tourist hotspots, restaurants, and bars are located. Accommodation in Bari is extremely reasonable, and you can find a private room in the center of the Old Town for as little as €20 per person per night on Airbnb.
If you are looking for more social accommodation, Olive Tree Hostel is rated at number 7 in the Best Hostels in Europe on Hostelworld, making it ideal for your trip to Bari! The location is perfect, right in the center of the Old Town. The hostel also features a large outdoor terrace to meet other travelers. If you are looking to visit Alberobello or Polignano A Mare (you will be!), they organise trips for residents.
Cost for 1 bed in 10 bedroom dorm: €20
WHERE TO EAT IN BARI
Bakery Santa Rita serves some of the best Focaccia in all of Italy. If you take a walk around the Old Town, no matter what time of day or night, you’ll always find a queue at their doors.
The specialty here is Focaccia Barese, bread with garlic and tomatoes. Each Focaccia is made fresh to order and is best eaten just from the oven. One focaccia is definitely enough to share between two people, and this is the perfect lunchtime treat.
If you’re looking for the Italian favorite, Panzerotti, then you have to check out Venezia 40. If you’ve never had Panzerotti, imagine a light pasty with very fresh ingredients. It’s almost like a small calzone!
Like Bakery Santa Rita, Venezia 40 is extremely popular with both locals and tourists. If you’re looking for food in a hurry, this isn’t the place. But if you’re willing to wait, this will definitely be a highlight of our trip to Puglia. With a wide range of fillings available, there is something for everyone to try here!
The best way to experience authentic Puglian cuisine is to learn from a local. We booked this cooking class through Cesarine, and it was one of the best things we did while in Bari.
The class starts with a lesson on how to make authentic Puglian pasta from scratch, including the famous Orecchiette! We also made some delicious Tiramisu and sampled Italian wines in our host’s home.
Possibly the best reason to do this class is all of the recommendations that come from it! By meeting a local, you get a good insight into the best things to do and places to eat in Puglia!
Our amazing teacher also has her own cooking blog with traditional Puglian recipes!
BEST BARS IN BARI
There were two bars in Bari which we really loved, Speakeasy Bari and La Bitta.
Speakeasy is a really nice cocktail bar close to the pier. Their cocktails are delicious, and the menu is so fun! They have specialty cocktails for all your favourite Netflix shows. I’d recommend coming here for a quiet drink or two before heading to La Bitta.
La Bitta is located in the Old Town, and they serve a wide range of craft beers (including Guinness!). The location is great, and this is the perfect place to sit out and people watch. The atmosphere is really good, a nice, cosy bar with great music!
WHAT TO DO IN BARI
WALK AROUND THE OLD TOWN
One of the best things to do in any town in Italy is to wander around the narrow streets. Bari’s old town is full of history and culture, and you can easily spend hours getting lost down the little alleyways.
Some highlights in the Old Town include:
- Strada delle Orecchiette – a narrow street in the old town where you’ll find women making Orecchiette pasta!
- Cattedrale di San Sabino – 13th Century Romanesque church
- Basilica San Nicola – visit the crypt and relics of St.Nicholas (father Christmas!)
- Walk along the Promenade
Whenever I visit a new city, I love to join a Free Walking tour to get my bearings and get a better understanding of the history of the area. This tour, for example, will give you a great history of the city, and you only pay what you think the tour is worth.
VISIT DIREZIONE REGIONALE MUSEI
This 13th Century fortress was once a prison, before being transformed into the Art Museum that we have today. Spend some time walking around the fortress and admiring the exhibitions. Entry for a young person (18-25 years old) is about €2, and for over 25’s it is €6.
HOW TO GET AROUND BARI
You can get a bus or a train to pretty much anywhere from Bari Centrale. If you need to get a taxi in Bari, you should download the IT Taxi app. As Uber and Free Now don’t work in Bari, this is your best way to book a taxi when you’re in the city.
ALBEROBELLO
The second town on our tour is Alberobello, a UNESCO world heritage site made famous by the Trulli houses. These are small, white-washed houses with distinctive pointy roofs. In the 14th Century, the Counts of Conversano D’Acquaviva D’Aragona (Owner of Alberobello) demanded that residents would make their homes without mortar, as these homes could easily be demolished if necessary. This would allow the counts to lie about the number of people living in Alberobello, and give them a nice tax cut if the King visited the town!
The Trulli houses are Trulli (lol) iconic and look like something out of a fairytale. This is a really unique experience in Italy, and an absolute must do when visiting Puglia.
HOW TO GET TO ALBEROBELLO FROM BARI
From Bari Centrale you can get a bus directly to Alberobello. The drive takes about an hour, and costs €10 return. You can find tickets and more information here. The busses run at pretty specific times, for example they depart at 8am and 10am, and there is a return bus at 5pm. You will need to book your ticket in advance on the TreinItalia site.
Really important note: If you are getting the bus back from Alberobello to Bari and you’re using Google Maps, be warned that the departure bus stop from Alberobello is wrong. We arrived at the stop, wondering where everyone else was, and almost missed the last bus home with all the confusion! To leave Alberobello for Bari, you need to go to Viale Bari, 15, opposite the petrol station. We visited in November, and there was a queue of people trying to get the bus. If you see lots of people, you’re in the right place.
WHERE TO STAY IN ALBEROBELLO
Should I stay in Alberobello? In all honesty, this is a really small town that can be seen in a few hours. We arrived here at 11am, and by 5pm we were ready to leave.
In saying that, staying in a Trulli house would be an incredible experience. If you’re interested in the history of the town and these homes, then you should definitely look in to booking accommodation at a trulli here. Prices range from €30 to €50 per person per night.
WHAT TO DO IN ALBEROBELLO
Be a tourist. That’s the best thing to do here. Walk around, take in the views, snap some photos! Enjoy the viewpoint beside the steps here, and make sure to visit some of the Trulli homes that are free to enter.
For lunch, you have to try a Pasqualino. This is the typical sandwich of Alberobello, and contains tuna fish, capers, salami and cheese, specifically in that order. I’d recommend getting one at La Lira, a delicious Focacceria in the town center. You can read more about the famous Pasqualino here!
If you have some time to kill, I’d recommend getting a gelato here, and heading to this bar for €5 Aperol Spritz!
POLIGNANO A MARE
Polignano A Mare really is the gem of Puglia. Beautiful sandy beaches, incredible food, and again, gorgeous narrow streets. This is the most popular tourist destination in Puglia for both tourists and locals. For this reason, it’s another absolutely must do when visiting the region.
HOW TO GET TO POLIGNANO A MARE FROM BARI
Polignano a Mare is easily accessible by train. The train from Bari Centrale takes about 30 minutes, and runs very frequently. And the best part, it’ll only cost you €2!
WHERE TO STAY IN POLIGNANO A MARE
Polignano A Mare is a very small town, which means that most attractions can be reached on foot. When looking for a place to stay, make sure it is within walking distance to Arco Marchesale. This is the entrance to the historic town, where all the best bars and restaurants can be found.
We stayed in Casa Kairos, a small apartment in the center of Polignano a Mare. The apartment was perfect. Spacious, clean, good location! It costs us €50 per person per night, which is slightly more expensive than Bari. If you book in advance, you’ll find a wide range of accommodations with prices starting from €35 per person.
WHERE TO EAT IN POLIGNANO A MARE
PESCARIA
To be honest, I was in two minds about whether or not to include this. If you ask any local where to eat in Polignano a Mare, they’ll direct you straight to Pescaria. This is a seafood restaurant, which is famous for its grilled octopus. Our food here was pretty good, but if you read the reviews they’re all the same.
The food is good, but not good enough to put up with the rude staff. When we tried to speak Italian, they laughed at us. When we ordered in English, they said they couldn’t understand (we were pointing at a menu). The cashier didn’t give us our drinks when she should have and based on her general vibe, I think it was to annoy us. The food is good, but not good enough to ever go back.
(Later on in this blog I have an alternative in Monopoli which was incredible).
IL QUADRIFOGLIO
We spent three weeks travelling around the south of Italy, and out of every pizzeria we tried, this is hands down my favourite. Rated 4.8/5 on google maps, you know the food is going to be good! I got a pizza with zucchini, and Seamus got one with Pistacchio. They were both incredible. Two pizzas, a bottle of wine, and a tiramisu cost us €44, which is pretty good for the area.
OESTERIA PIGA
This restaurant is the perfect location for a lil romantic pasta date! It’s located just outside of the main town, about 10 minutes from the center. Because of this, it’s the perfect, quiet spot to enjoy some delicious Italian cuisine. The prices are also extremely reasonable, at about €10 for a plate of pasta. For dessert, we got delicious pistachio and white chocolate mousse, so good!
GET A COFFEE SPECIALE
Our lovely cooking teacher in Bari told us that we had to try a coffee Speciale, so of course we did. This is a coffee with amaretto, and a touch of lemon. The queue for Il Supermago del Gelo was out the door when we arrived, and I can see why. Definitely have to check this place out if you’re a coffee lover in Polignano a Mare!
THE BEST PLACE FOR COCKTAILS
Both nights before dinner, we went to the Appian Way cocktail bar. We loved their wide range of cocktails, and the bar staff couldn’t have been friendlier. It’s also located on the main street, making it an ideal spot for some people watching!
WHERE TO GET GELATO
To be honest, anywhere that you get Gelato in Italy is going to be good. Especially in Polignano a Mare! With that being said, we really enjoyed our gelato from Martinucci Laboratory. In particular, their Pistachio gelato is divine.
WHAT TO DO IN POLIGNANO A MARE
GO SWIMMING AT LAMA MONACHILE
By far the most popular thing to do in Polignano a Mare is to visit Lama Monachile, a small, pebble-stoned beach located in a small cove. The beach is surrounded by high cliffs, and the water is crystal clear. Unfortunately, since this spot is so incredibly popular, it is also incredibly busy. If you’re hoping to grab a spot to lie out, I’d recommend coming early!
If you’re looking for something more adventurous, you can also go cliff jumping at Grotta Piana!
The beach is also beautiful at night when the place comes alive with music!
GO ON A BOAT TOUR AROUND THE CAVES
Your first option to see the caves up close and personal is to rent a paddleboat from Lida Cala Paura. It costs €15 per hour, and you should arrive early in the morning to book your slot for the day.
If paddling isn’t your scene, you can book a skipper/guide for €30. You get to see Polignano a Mare from a completely different perspective and the guide will tell you all about the cave formations and history.
STROLL AROUND THE OLD TOWN
At this stage, a walk around an old town is a given no matter where you are in Italy. Make sure to head to one of the many viewpoints (you can find one of many here) on your wander!
MONOPOLI
Monopoli is our last stop on our Puglia guide. This is a beautiful seaside city located just one train stop from Polignano a Mare. This city is rich in history and is protected by large fortress walls. Since Monopoli is so close to Polignano a Mare, I’m not going to recommend that you stay here. Instead, we will spend a morning exploring the white-washed houses and paddling in the turquoise waters.
WHERE TO EAT IN MONOPOLI
Earlier in the blog, I told you not to be too disappointed by Pescaria, and that’s because “The King Street Food” restaurant completely made up for it. We got delicious smoked salmon and scrambled egg sandwiches, and you can add a coffee and a fruit juice for a total of €10! I’d recommend spending one day in Monopoli, and making this your first stop.
Another great restaurant if you’re looking for something more substantial is Sottocoperta. There is a gorgeous view of the pier here, and as the town is famous for seafood, I’d recommend getting the shared plate with prawns and tuna steak!
WHAT TO DO IN MONOPOLI
STROLL AROUND THE OLD TOWN
You get the memo. If you walk from the train station towards the Castle of Carlo V, you’ll find the old town. Go for a stroll, take in the sights, grab a coffee… you get it.
TAKE IT ALL IN AT THE CASTLE OF CARLO V
This is an amazing example of a seaside fortress in Italy. From here, you get an amazing view of the sea and the nearby harbor. Once a safeguard from pirates trying to invade Monopoli, the fortress has now been converted to an exhibition center where you can marvel at the art on display.
RELAX ON THE BEACH
If you’re looking to go out for a swim or simply up your tan, you should visit Cala Porta. I recommend this beach in particular as it is a little out of the way, and therefore will be a bit quieter and more relaxed.
MARVEL AT THE CHIESA DI SAN SALVATORE
On the edge of town, almost by the sea, there lies a beautiful Baroque-style church. This church dates back to 313 AD and is said to be facing the sea because it was built by pirates who survived a shipwreck. If you’re a history lover, or simply want to see a more raw, simple side to Italian churches, this is the perfect place for you.
And that’s it for Puglia, for now! There’s so much to see and do here, so much so that I’m already planning my next trip back! We completed this trip in 4 days, so we didn’t really get to see everything we wanted in Puglia. If you have a few extra days, I’d recommend heading to Lecce or Matera, as both are high up on our list for next time!
Love, Niamh x
