7 Days in Puglia, Italy

Puglia is a region of Italy which you can’t truly settle in one place. You need to move. It is the perfect location for a roadtrip and should be! The beauty of Puglia is it's many different towns. We recommend having a rental car for the enter time and spending a week-/week and a half town hopping with two nights per place.

Below are some of the favourite towns we visited which we would recommend if you are in Puglia!

Day 1 & 2: Pogliano-a-Mare

This is a little coastal town which is absolutely stunning. The streets are beautiful and everywhere you turn there is a magnificent view. We’d recommend skipping Pogliano a mare on weekends. It get’s very crowded and is not as nice with so many people. In your week itinerary come here during the week days it will be worth it!

Go to the famous Beach. We have to laugh a bit that Italians call this a beach, but it is what i would call a beautiful “cove” and worth going to and getting some rays one of the days you are there. Also, if you are adventurous, go cliff diving! This is where Cliff Diving competitions happen yearly and it is quite impressive!

2. Explore the town both by day and by night. When you do both they truly feel very different and there is something so romantic about this town at night. There are tons of little streets all over, so simply getting lost will do you some good.

Our Favourite Spots for a sunset drink, dinner and after dinner drinks!

MYLÓ - Coffee & Lounge Bar: This was our favourite spot to come get a drink and watch the sunset over Pogliano. They give you a blanket and it is a unique experience. — **MYLÓ - Coffee & Lounge Bar:** This was our favourite spot to come get a drink and watch the sunset over Pogliano. They give you a blanket and it is a unique experience.

Pizza E Fichi: Our best meal in pogliano a mare hands down! and we tried a lot of places! Go here and make a reservation beforehand for sure. Very casual place but oh so delicious — **Pizza E Fichi:** Our best meal in pogliano a mare hands down! and we tried a lot of places! Go here and make a reservation beforehand for sure. Very casual place but oh so delicious

Pescaria: A delicious seafood place. You order at the counter and then grab a table outside if you can! Very fresh seafood and great vibe. — **Pescaria:** A delicious seafood place. You order at the counter and then grab a table outside if you can! Very fresh seafood and great vibe.

La Casa Del Mojito: Late night, after dinner drinks. Very hip place where the locals go and it is adorable. They make amazing Mojito’s so don’t try to order anything else (you’ll be drinking so much wine anyways, it will be a nice break!) — **La Casa Del Mojito:** Late night, after dinner drinks. Very hip place where the locals go and it is adorable. They make amazing Mojito’s so don’t try to order anything else (you’ll be drinking so much wine anyways, it will be a nice break!)

Day 3: Monopoli

Monopoli is the type of town which you can do in one day no problem and see everything you need to see. It is another adorable town which we did in 1/2 a day by train from Pogliano a Mare and highly recommend.

The thing we recommend here is like all Italian towns get lost and visit. Here are some pictures to get you excited to see this adorable town! in half a day we don’t have food or drinks recommendations but everything was so cute you can’t go wrong!

Day 4 & 5: A Weekend in Lecce

Lecce is an awesome town! After visiting it, we wished this had been our base for the 2 weeks we were in Puglia. A weekend here would be a perfect time to visit since there is also quite a bit of nightlife in the streets so it is entertaining! We only spent a weekend here, so not a ton of recommendations but here would be one thing we recommend.

Basically like all Italian cities you just need to walk around and get lost! Here are some of the sites you should cross of your list in Lecce and it will make for a good walking tour of the city. This is the order which makes the most sense to visit :-)

Food and Drinks:

We don’t have a ton of recommendations since we were not there very long. However, this one place we loved (out of our two dinners) and would definitely recommend!

La Cucina di Mamma Elvira: A gem of a place. the food was spectacular and the vibe as well. Great for lunch or dinner.

Day 6 & 7 : Matera

Matera was such an interesting city and so worthwhile to go to. You can do matera in one day, but two would probably be ideal. We loved it and truly was a day filled with culture. We’d recommend reading up a bit on this city before you go so you have some understanding of the history you are looking at.

Go see the view of the old town from above and take a ton of pictures because it truly is so cool!

Have lunch at Trattoria Paolangelo! It was authentic Italian cuisine away from the main street and it was to die for. You must make a reservation!

After lunch, go explore the old town itself and walk to the museum “Sassi di Matera”. This old town is such a fun time to walk through and the museum itself is tiny (an old cave dwelling) and is really interesting to see how people lived in the Paleolithic era. and then keep walking towards Chiesa di San Pietro Caveoso. Just explore this whole area

At night, wonder around the old town a bit more since many times there are live musicians playing in the streets and it is wonderful to sit and listen to. Then go have dinner and drinks at one of the many piazza’s in the town. You can’t miss them and finish with a Cocktail at “Area 8”