We are older travellers ( 71 & 80 ). We are considering flying Istanbul Dubrovnik and then take the ferry over to Bari. Has anyone taken this trip ? what are your impressions of Bari ? We wanted to sample the Dalmatian coast and then make our way to IT and then on to Paris. Any suggestions as to alternate locations touching on those approximate locations would be welcome . Cheers and thank you. Ken M / Victoria CDN
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Colorado Mountains, USA
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I’m smack in between your two ages, and was in Bari for a night and part of two days back in early December. We’d been seeing small-village Italy farther south, so it suddenly seemed like really big city. It was an enjoyable, short visit.
Just the small area where we stayed and walked, between the Centrale train station and the port, seemed to have three distinct parts. Our B&B, which I’d highly recommend, was Bari 102, at 102 Via Andrea da Bari. This was in a more modern part, with designer stores and a Piazza Umberto I piazza/garden. It was an easy walk out to the Port part, but then, just in from the port was the San Nicola old town, with very narrow, twisting streets and passageways. It also has also the San Nicola Basilica, and St. Nicholas (buried underneath) is the patron saint of the city, and we happened to be there on Dec. 6th, his feast day, so it was a very festive night, with lots of people about.
Great meal at Il Pane e le Rose restaurant at Via Benedetto Cairoli 124, a block-and-a-half from the B&B. We arrived by rental car and departed by train the next day, so I can’t offer any information about the ferry.
In Croatia, we really enjoyed Split (and Solin and Trogir nearby), but didn’t visit Dubrovnik.