Lecce or Taranto

Lecce will be by far the favorite, as it’s gorgeous and has several attractions. Taranto has an amazing museum and evocative faded beauty. Good choice for someone seeking something a bit different and worth a stop if you get close. It’s unfortunate the big factory marred the area as it would be stunning. I hoped to check it out but was stymied by bad weather.

Lecce for the Baroque architecture would be most people's first choice

I seem to be the rare person who wasn’t especially impressed by Lecce. I went on a day trip, however, and apparently at night is when the magic happens. Buzzed through Taranto too fast to offer an opinion.

I doubt if many people here have been to Taranto so maybe do some reading....I would certainly choose Lecce but I've not been into Taranto either. I did hear it's been spiffed up so if you like visiting places before they get on the tourist trail..maybe...(???). But Lecce is just glorious, esp at night.

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I would go with Lecce. More to offer and less industrial than Taranto.

Thank you all for your responses. I think we are going to start driving down the coast from Monopoli toward Lecce, stopping at anything that might catch our eye. If we make it to Lecce - great! If not, we will have had a fun day exploring!

I was in Taranto for about 10 days one summer at a friend’s house over 40 years ago. I was young and we had a ball. Taranto Vecchia was scary at night, but it has been gentrified since, so I’m sure you can enjoy it even more now along with the beautiful Aragonese castle.

Lecce however is one of the top cities to see in Italy, so if the choice is AUT AUT (either..or..), then I would opt for Lecce. The historical center at night is beautiful, so spend at least one night.

Parking is the decider. Lecce has decent lots just outside the historic center. Taranto will make you work for it. I think with a car that matters more than extra ten minutes on the highway

Keep in mind that in Lecce, everything closes in the afternoon— from around 1 or 2 pm until 6 or 7 pm. You will not be able to get anything to eat — not even gelato — so don’t arrive hungry in the afternoon. And frankly, with everything closed — every shop, every restaurant — Lecce is like a ghost town in the afternoon. Not our favorite place.

Let me give you some correct information, as sometimes commenters here get carried away.
Like in most places in Italy, most sit down restaurants observe the following opening hours:
Lunch: from around Noon to 2:30/3pm
Dinner: from around 7/7:30pm till 11pm/midnight
Some, in the historical center, may stay open throughout.
Other places, like coffee bars, pizzerias al taglio, snack bars, etc. don’t observe a closure in the middle of the day.

Shops usually open at around 9:30/10am then close for lunch at about 1pm. They open again in the afternoon at 4pm, until 8pm or sometime later (like 8:30/9pm). Larger department stores, like UPIM, or sometimes regular larger stores, do not observe a lunch closure. On Saturdays the hours are the same as the rest of the week, but on Sundays many stores close completely except for larger department stores which often open for limited hours.

You can verify the above time on GoogleMaps by clicking on any restaurant or store.

Thank you Roberto! We will definitely keep these times in mind! Good information to have!

Lecce is beautiful, a baroque city, one of the gems of Italy, and it has a very vibrant historical center till very late at night.
If you go in the peak of summer, on a Sunday, many locals may be at the nearby beaches in the afternoon. Sundays afternoon, especially on a hot July/August day, is the only time the city might have lower crowds, however I was in Lecce on a hot Sunday in mid-July 2025, and the city center was packed in the afternoon and the evening (it was even difficult to find a restaurant table).

Roberto, to be specific, the day we have planned for Lecce is Friday, June 12! :). Maybe we’ll head there early, stay till things close after lunch, and then slowly make our way back to Monopoli following whatever strikes our fancy along the coast. I would love to see it at night, but we’ve learned the hard way that it’s easy for us to overestimate our energy and stamina.

I would stay at least until dinner (although pugliesi eat late). There is a major stroking taking place before dinner. Obviously it gets dark late in June, so it won’t be quite dark.
The drive to Monopoli is at least 90 minutes, but it’s all freeway.

To be fair to your question, probably most of us haven’t been to Taranto. I considered it two years ago because I really wanted to see one of their museums, but the info I could find out about the city center didn’t seem like a choice I should make. I would be interested to hear from people who have recently been there.

On the other hand, I am heading back to Lecce again for a few nights during my next trip. It’s definitely worth seeing. (I didn’t notice any issues with places closed, but one of my afternoons was at a cooking class.)