The perfect holiday in Puglia, Italy’s mysteriously well-kept secret

This land of beautiful baroque architecture and Maldives-like beaches is where Italians like to holiday – here’s how to explore it on a 10-day trip
Puglia, the stiletto heel of the Italian boot, has long been the destination of choice for its countrymen. They come in their thousands in July and August to bask on white-sand beaches, wander fortified towns, and tuck into the region’s famous rustic cuisine. Nevertheless, Puglia still feels off the beaten track for foreign tourists. At a time when Europe is suffering from overtourism, Puglia feels like a mysteriously well-kept secret, especially in autumn, when the roads are quiet, the sea has warmed and the peak crowds have packed up their beachwear and returned north. 
The region is long and narrow, with the northern part bordering Molise, Campania and Basilicata. The southern area of Puglia is called Salento, and here there are two coasts: the powder-blue Ionian sea to the south, and the rockier Adriatic to the north. When British tourists come to Puglia, they usually stay north of Lecce; in Salento it’s rare enough to hear foreign voices that you’re looked upon as a novelty. 
However, you will hear lots of dialects, including “Griko”, a form of Greek (used in a collection of villages south of Lecce). In the 8th century BC, the region was part of Magna Graecia, and you can still feel the Greek influence – after all, it’s just a hop and a skip across the Adriatic. The Romans marched in later, connecting the port of Brundisium (modern-day Brindisi) with Rome via the Appian Way. Tarentum (now Taranto) was another major Roman settlement, and the province formed a first line of defence against attacks from Carthage. 
After the fall of the empire, the Byzantines and then the Normans arrived, the latter under Frederick II, who built, among churches and forts, the mysterious Castel del Monte, so perfect-looking you might think it was AI-generated. From the 13th century, Puglia was absorbed by the Kingdom of Naples, until the Spanish arrived a century later. During this period, much of the region’s grandest architecture was constructed, including Lecce’s baroque buildings, made with local stone especially suited to ornate carving. 
The region joined the rest of Italy at unification in 1861, after which it was seen as the country’s breadbasket, though its agricultural riches did not translate to economic prosperity. 
Despite its much-conquested history, Puglia’s charms are undoubtedly its rusticity – sea and small towns, rather than big-ticket sights. Go before everyone else decides to.
Fly into Bari, the small city that is northern Puglia’s unofficial capital (the other Puglian airport for passenger flights is in the south, in Brindisi). This itinerary requires a car, which is the best way to explore the region in depth. You could do a shorter version using trains and buses, but you wouldn’t be able to reach the remote places.  
From Bari, drive north for half an hour (24 miles) along the coast to the graceful coastal town of Trani. Stay at San Paolo Al Convento (doubles from £98 per night, including breakfast), a converted monastery with sea views, and visit the town’s awe-inspiring seafront cathedral. You can eat fantastically well here, choosing from two Michelin-starred restaurants, Quintessenza and Casa Sgarra, a magnificent restaurant housed in a church-turned-fort, Le Lampare al Fortino, or simpler, creative seafood at Osteria Frangipane. 
It’s a short, scenic drive northwards, hugging the coast, to explore the Gargano peninsula. This is the spur of the boot, which has a different topography to the rest of Puglia. Its limestone cliffs and thick pine forests and maquis more closely resemble Croatia, just across the sea. It’s usually Italians who holiday here, cognisant of its sandy beaches backed by glossy greenery and ochre-hued seacliffs. En route, those interested in mystical Catholicism could stop at Monte Sant’Angelo (55 miles from Trani), famous as the pilgrimage centre for those paying tribute to the more recent saint, Padre Pio, whose bearded face smiles out from many a local shrine.
Your base in Gargano could be the Hotel Baia Delle Zagare (doubles from £160), amid tropical-feeling greenery and overlooking one of the most beautiful beaches of the peninsula, with a limestone arch in the sea. On your way along the coast you will have noticed the curious fishing contraptions, like boats with spidery arms clinging to the rockface – you can dine at one (Al Trabucco) close to Peschici. 
While in Gargano, you should also explore the Unesco-listed “Forest Umbra” (of shadows) inland, which has 15 marked walking and biking trails. You can hire a bike or e-bike or take a tour with Dove Andiamo sul Gargano. On your way back south, stop at Castel del Monte, Frederick II’s extraordinary fortress in the middle of nowhere that appears on the Euro 1 cent coin.
On your third day, head back towards Bari, a two-hour drive along the scenic coastal road. You could make a stop after about an hour at Torre Pietra, a medieval tower overlooking a wild beach in a nature reserve. From here it’s just over an hour to Bari, where it’s worth breaking your journey to explore the old walled city, where local elderly women sit outside houses in Strada Arco Basso, making the region’s traditional durum wheat pasta, orecchiette (meaning little ears), by hand, rolling it out and creating shapes with deft fingers, then letting them dry on racks.
At the centre of the old town is the grand Norman church dedicated to St Nicholas, whose remains were brought here from Turkey in the 11th century. He is, of course, better known as Father Christmas. Bari is a great place to have lunch: try La Bul, for a fresh catch of the day. 
A 30-minute drive along the coastal road takes you to Polignano, the most dramatically perched town in Puglia, with its whitewashed buildings topping sea cliffs. It has the air of a sleepy fishing village, even more so after the summer crowds have gone. San Michele Suite has doubles from £420 per night, including breakfast.
Quieter than Polignano, Monopoli is a great spot for lunch. This small, historic fishing port is deliciously somnolent. As you approach, the outskirts are unprepossessing, but the golden-stone centre clusters around the deep-blue waters of the port, where fishing boats bob. CarloQuinto on the seafront serves fresh seafood on bright-painted ceramics, or try Osteria San Giovanni for excellent freshly made pasta, again with a seafood focus. 
From the northern coast, now you’re perfectly poised to travel inland to explore the area of Puglia that receives the most publicity. This is the Valle d’Itria, a bucolic landscape of olive trees, drystone walls, and hobbit-like traditional buildings called trulli. The area’s distinctive hilltop towns are all close together, and easy to explore. 
The trullis’ domed roofs, built out of local stone, are said to have been constructed in this way – without mortar – so they could be easily dismantled before tax inspectors came calling. You could stay in the Valle d’Itria, in converted, pointy-topped luxury villas in the countryside, such as Quattro Trulli Hideaway (doubles from £243 per night, including breakfast), or choose one of the local masseria hotels, converted from the region’s grand mansion-like farmhouses such as nearby in Savelletri, Torre Maizza (doubles from £375 per night, including breakfast), a sophisticated choice owned by Rocco Forte and redesigned by Olga Polizzi, or at celebrity favourite Borgo Egnazia (doubles from £290 per night, including breakfast), built from local stone in the style of a traditional village.
The cones reach their literal and figurative apex in Alberobello, a Unesco World Heritage Site, just 13 miles from Monopoli, an entire town built of the beehive houses in the 14th century. It’s said that landowners ordered local peasants to construct the trulli here as a practical way to build on the awkward terrain. Have a wander through the surreal townscape, now full of souvenir shops selling miniature trulli to coachloads of international visitors. You could stay in your own hobbit house here at Trulli Holiday Albergo Diffuso (doubles from £143 per night, not including breakfast), which is the best chance of seeing the town at its most atmospheric, once the crowds have ebbed away.
After Alberobello, choose one of the other nearby hilltop towns to explore: Locorotondo is a gleaming white crown of buildings perched on top of a hill, designated one of the most beautiful villages in Italy. Here, also is a distinct form of architecture,  “cummerse,” steeply pitched rectangular buildings with gabled roofs, unique to the town. Wander the maze of streets, where its balconies and windowsills blaze with geraniums. 
Alternatively, explore Cisternino, the neighbouring whitewashed hilltop town, likewise on the most-beautiful-villages list, and a Slow Food destination for its gastronomy, unique for its “fornelli” (hot plates) served in small butcher’s shops where you can select your meat and have it cooked on the spot; try Al Vecchio Fornelli.
If you’re a fan of ceramics, it’s worth taking a side trip to Grottaglie, around 18 miles from Cisternino. This is the centre for Puglia’s beautiful ceramics, either the simple, traditional patterns seen everywhere locally, or more contemporary works of art featuring en-vogue splatterware and line drawings that recall Roman face pot designs. Check out local designers such as Enza Fasano.
Known as the “White City” for its sun-reflecting whitewashed buildings, Ostuni is visible long before you arrive. Within the city walls there are winding backstreets which offer respite from the blazing heat, while the relative altitude of the town also makes it feel a little cooler.
Wander off the main drag – lined by souvenir, ceramics and olive-oil produce shops – to a bar off the cathedral square for an afternoon drink before you dine at Michelin-starred Già Sotto l’Arco, on the first floor of a baroque townhouse, with soaring, arched ceilings, white walls and tablecloths. It’s a family affair, using glorious local ingredients to creative effect. For something simpler, tuck into a Neapolitan-style pizza at Osteria Pizzeria Sant’Oronzo. There are lots of good gelaterie around the town, and especially delectable are the seasonal scoops at La Dolce Vita Gelateria Artigianale. Bed down at the 16th-century former farm Masseria Salinola (doubles from £155).
Ostuni has some beautiful boutique hotels in graceful antique mansions, such as the frescoed Paragon 700 (doubles from £346 per night, including breakfast), or the 16th-century palace Masseria Cervarolo (doubles from £150 per night, not including breakfast), both with restaurants bringing a fine-dining ethic to the superb local produce.
If you feel like you want to escape to the beach during your stay, Torre Guaceto is a natural park, and a haven for turtles; this pristine beach, overlooked by its eponymous tower, is usually empty off-season. 
Leave the hills to explore the university town of Lecce, the capital of Salento. It’s about an hour’s drive (50 miles) from Ostuni. The town is constructed out of the local golden-white pietra leccese stone, its ductility ideal for the frenzied carving of the baroque period. 
In summer, Lecce fills with tourists in the evening, but in the off-season, it still feels alive, as this is the university term. Stay here a night to explore, overlooking the city’s small Roman amphitheatre in one of its main squares, Piazza Sant’Oronzo, which is marked by a column topped by the town saint. From here it’s a short walk to the cathedral square, which is accessed via a narrow lane – this made it easy for the population to retreat here and fortify if under attack. 
In the square and the streets around, you’ll see lots of cartapesta – the local centuries-old papier-mâché art – and if you’ve been looking for a life-size saint for your sitting room, now’s your chance, though there are smaller nativity figures too. A few streets away from the cathedral is the Basilica di Santa Croce, the pinnacle of Leccese baroque, with its facade lined by dodo-like creatures and figures seeming to hold up the weight of the pediment. 
Stay at La Fiermontina (doubles from £150 per night, including breakfast), a converted palace, or just outside the city at Masseria Trapanà (from £300 per night), where you can arrange a cookery lesson and do laps in a pool surrounded by olive groves.
Eat at seafood specialists Ristorante Blunotte, close to Porta San Biagio, one of the golden city’s gates, or vintage La Zie Trattoria (0039 0832 245178) just outside the city walls. 
Keep heading south, around 25 miles to Otranto, on the Adriatic Coast. It’s time to relax on some of the magnificent local beaches, such as Baia dei Turchi, backed by cicada-buzzing pine forest, and said to be where the Ottoman Turks landed in 1480, or Porto Badisco, a beautiful small bay that’s ideal for snorkelling. It gets too crowded in summer, so it’s ideal to come here in the shoulder season. 
There’s a great place to stay set back from Baia dei Turchi, Mongio Dell’Elefante (doubles from £138 per night, including breakfast), allowing easy access to the beach. 
The vulnerability of Otranto’s sea-facing position comes into sharp focus when you visit Cattedrale di Santa Maria Annunziata, where the Chapel of the Martyrs is ghoulishly decorated with the bones of the 800 Christians who perished during the Ottoman invasion. 
The cathedral tops the town, and is also distinctive for its extraordinary 12th-century mosaic of the Tree of Life, which covers the entire floor of the interior and is rich in biblical scenes, mythological creatures and medieval symbolism. 
The chief pleasure of Otranto, however, is wandering its narrow streets that twist and turn within the city walls, eating, drinking and relaxing with a sea view. Try L’Altro Baffo for high-end Salento cuisine, or try Peccato di Vino (0039 0836 760030), which is still a little fancy, but not overly so. 
End your trip on a literal high at the clifftop town of Santa Maria di Leuca, Puglia’s southernmost point. The dramatic coastal road that leads you here is punctuated by fortified towers and edged by the deep blue Adriatic Sea. This area has some glorious rustic-chic boutique hotels and villas converted from small-town palaces and convents – for example, the sumptuous eight-bedroom Convento di Santa Maria di Costantinopoli (doubles from £400 per night, including breakfast) near Marittima, or Palazzo Guglielmo (doubles from £122 per night, including breakfast) in Vignacastrisi. 
Continue to Castro, a picturesque coastal town, where it’s great to take a boat trip if you have time, and stop for a delicious lunch of simple fried seafood at Friggitoria Portu Vecchiu on the port. Nearby you’ll find Zinzulusa Cave, spiky with stalactites. From here you’ll pass through coastal spa-town Santa Cesarea Terme, with its out-of-place yet dazzling Moorish architecture. 
Stay in the deep south at Palazzo Daniele (doubles from £302), in the small village of Gagliano del Capo; dine on incredible seafood nearby at Moi Moi. 
As you explore farther south, it’s worth making a stop at Ciolo, a dramatic coastal chasm with steps down to a tiny beach. From here the Adriatic and Ionian seas meet, and there’s a huge pilgrimage church. Drive around 15 minutes to the beach known as the Maldives of Salento (Spiaggia di Pescoluse) on the Ionian coast. The shoulder season is when to come, as in summer it’s full of very un-Maldivesque crowds, but outside of peak time it s a sugar-white beach lapped by translucent water that truly earns its nickname. You might want to extend your itinerary a few days to relax here, in Puglian paradise. 
Puglia is fun but busy in high summer – the beaches are packed, it’s hot, hot, hot, and the popular towns are at their most crowded. It’s lovely in the spring, when the countryside is carpeted in poppies and other wildflowers, and the shoulder months of September and October offer warmth, sunshine and calm. 
Cox & Kings (coxandkings.co.uk) has a seven-night Puglia and Basilicata tour from £1,995 per person which includes Matera, the hilltop town known for its cave network.
Headwater’s (headwater.com) self-guided walking tour, From Lecce to Matera, is a seven-night exploration from £1,069 per person.
Bring clothes for warm weather, plus some extra light layers for the evening or if you have the odd cooler day. Sun lotion, insect repellent and any over-the-counter medications are handy to pack, as they’re usually more expensive in Italy.