7 Days in Puglia: Bari, the Itria Valley and Lecce

Use three bases: Bari, the Itria Valley and Lecce. Spend two nights in Bari, three around Monopoli or a masseria, and two in Lecce. This route gives the old towns, trulli, olive country and one coast day without changing hotels every morning.

The national tourism board’s nine-day Puglia route continues farther around the region. With seven days, cut Matera, Gallipoli and the Gargano rather than compressing them.

• Nights one and two: Bari, with Bari Vecchia and a day north or south by train.
• Nights three to five: Monopoli, Ostuni or a countryside masseria for the Itria Valley.
• Nights six and seven: Lecce for baroque streets and an optional coast day.

Fly into Bari and out of Brindisi if schedules cooperate. A one-way car rental avoids returning north solely for the flight.

Walk Bari Vecchia, see the Basilica di San Nicola and watch pasta being made along the old-town lanes without treating residents as a performance. Eat focaccia barese while it is warm, then book dinner around raw seafood, orecchiette or grilled fish.

On day two, take the train to Polignano a Mare for the cliff views, then continue to Monopoli for lunch and a less compressed old town. If the beaches are crowded, stay longer in Monopoli instead of chasing another famous viewpoint.

Pick up the car and move to a masseria or Monopoli. Visit Alberobello early, when the lanes are readable. The regional visitor guide explains the trulli districts and viewpoints. Leave before the middle of the day and have lunch in Locorotondo or Cisternino.

Give day four to Ostuni and the olive landscape. Give day five to the coast, a cooking class or a long masseria lunch. Do not make all three days a sequence of white towns. They share visual language; the pleasure comes from comparing a few slowly.

Drive south to Lecce, return the car if you no longer need it and walk the baroque center in the cooler late afternoon. Start the next morning with caffè leccese and pasticciotto. Visit Santa Croce, the Roman amphitheater area and the paper-mâché workshops.

For the final day, stay in Lecce for a slow city day or drive to Otranto for the cathedral, walls and water. Gallipoli belongs in a longer route. One coast is enough when you have a flight the next day.

In Bari, order focaccia, raw seafood from a trusted kitchen and tiella. In the Itria Valley, look for bombette, capocollo di Martina Franca, burrata and vegetables cooked in every possible way. In Lecce, try rustico, pasticciotto and caffè leccese, then look for ciceri e tria at dinner.

Book one masseria meal and one Lecce dinner. Keep lunches flexible for bakeries, cheese shops and whatever looks best in the town you are actually enjoying.

A car is useful from the Itria Valley onward. It is unnecessary in Bari and awkward inside old towns. Confirm parking with every stay and keep ZTL entrances out of your route.

In Bari, Oriente is convenient and polished near the center. In Monopoli, Don Ferrante puts you inside the walls with sea views but limited car access. A countryside masseria is better for a pool, quiet breakfasts and olive-grove evenings. In Lecce, La Fiermontina is the design-forward splurge; Palazzo De Noha is smaller and very central.