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Is Lecce and "The Heel" a Must-See When Touring Puglia??

Posted by (California) on

We are in our mid-50s and we've never been to Southern Italy before (been to Northern Italy several times). We have 6 days to spend in Puglia on our 3 week trip, which will be in April. Our trip will be as follows:

Fly in to Naples and see that area, Sorrento, Paestum, etc.

Drive to Puglia, see Puglia for 6 days

Fly from Bari to Catania Sicily for the balance of the trip

I figure that we will drive from Paestum to Matera and see that area (the cave churches and towns of Matera, Motolla, Masafra). Staying two nights in Matera.

Then drive to Alberobello, drop our luggage off at the hotel and make a loop, seeing Alberobello, Locortondo, and Ostuni then drive back and spend the night in Alberobello in a nice Trulli house hotel. (Is that too much for one day??)

The part I'm unsure of is Lecce. The Alberobello area sounds so charming, I wonder whether we would want to stay longer in that area and explore, instead of staying a few nights in Lecce and exploring the "heel." Plus, it's further away from Bari. We don't want our trip to be a death march! We usually like to stay in a hotel for two or three of nights if we can and use it as a base to explore and take day trips. We find it exhausting and cumbersome to change hotels every night (used to do that when we were younger, but now we try to avoid it if possible).

In the Lecce area, I had thought that we might see Lecce, Otranto, Gallapoli, Maratea, etc. If we didn't go down there, would we regret it? Or should we go to Lecce as I'd originally planned?

I appreciate your advice!!!

Posted by
11613 posts

Alberobello itself has two main sections, the larger of which is mostly neon-infused tourist shops. A daytrip there has been sufficient for me.

If you are going to Lecce, the rest of the heel is not that far away.

My question is, how many nights do you have for Sicilia?

Posted by
133 posts

AirBnb has many trulli accomodations available in the area, which are really charming, and which you may want to consider instead of staying in Alberobello. We, too, will explore that area of Italy in September, 2017. We are staying first three nights in Monopoli, then Ostuni for four nights and one in Matera. We will have a car and go at our own pace, seeing what we want to at the time and leaving the rest without regret. We mostly want to get the feel and charm of the area. And, of course, the sea and food!

Posted by
2829 posts

The historical part of Lecce is quite different from other towns in the area.

Posted by
5320 posts

April is a bit early for the Salento, and the Alberobello area does have plenty to fill 6 days. I think I would stick to the Itria Valley and coast. You may also want an additional night in Matera since you mentioned interest in some other towns. While many of the towns are quite small, the countryside is lovely, so you may wish to have a more leisurely pace. If you get restless, you could make a long drive to Lecce to see the baroque splendor (or stick to a smaller radius and see Martina Franca instead). Note that most places shutter from about 12-5. It is best to do sightseeing in the morning and evening and spend afternoons napping or enjoying nature. If you enjoy hiking and such, investigate the parks of the region, which were some of the highlights for us.

Posted by
361 posts

Re: visit to Lecce, I recommend that you visit early in the day. The shops close for most of the afternoon and only a few cafes remained open. The city centre was a ghost town. We should have done our homework before driving from Monopoli to Lecce.

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