Puglia, in English, Apulia, isn’t a single place: it’s a baroque city in the deep south, a coast of white fishing towns and a valley of conical-roofed trulli, all an hour or two apart. This is a first-hand guide to the bits actually worth your time: where to go, where to base yourself, what to book and when to come. No generic lists, just the places we’d send a friend.
Written by a Puglia local
Hi, I am Antonio. I grew up in the province of Brindisi and spent thirty years in Puglia. I built this guide out of love for my region, to help travellers discover the real Puglia and fall for it the way I have, not the recycled lists written by people who have never set foot here. Read my story.
Raised in the province of Brindisi · 30 years in Puglia
Start with the three Puglias
Most trips mix two of these. They sit side by side, so you can base in one and day-trip the others.
And then there is the Gargano
The green spur in the far north, all cliffs, the Foresta Umbra and the Tremiti islands, with towns like Vieste and Peschici. It sits well apart from the other three, so it is really a trip of its own.
Explore the GarganoExplore Puglia by area
From the Gargano in the north to the tip of the Salento, tap a town to open its guide.
The towns worth your time
We rank every town honestly, which to sleep in, which to see and leave. Start with the full guide, or jump straight to the big ones.
Plan the trip
When to come, how to get around and how to string it together without spending the holiday in the car.
Apulia or Puglia?
Same place. Puglia is the Italian name, and what you will see on flights, hotels and menus. Apulia is the older English spelling. Either way you are headed to the heel of Italy: see exactly where Puglia is on the map.
From the blog
Stories and deeper dives that back up the guides, local events, food, and the corners of Puglia worth the detour.
