Puglia

It's a big region, with lots of different kinds of experiences, and variations in cuisine.

What are you interested in, and how many nights do you have?

We will be there about ten days, staying in Brindisi and doing day trips from there. It's a semi-organized group tour but I think we will have a flexible schedule. Planning to visit Lecce, Otranto and Bari. Really interested in the history, architecture and food.
Thanks for your response.

Good choices. If you can carve out an overnight in Matera, I think you will enjoy it (although it's in Basilicata, not Puglia).

Pick up a comprehensive guide book at your library or bookstore. There are many attractive small towns; build a list of the ones that sound most interesting, then look at a map to see what might make sense. Alberobello is a must for the trulli. Lecce is a baroque city of some size; I liked it a lot but another poster here has mentioned that it tends to shut down for much of the afternoon, so perhaps it would be smart to get an early start on the day you visit.

If you will not have a rental car, you will be somewhat constrained by availability of buses and (skimpy) trains. Be aware that on Sundays and holidays, there is very little inter-city bus service. Even on weekdays, don't anticipate getting to more than two small towns in one day. It might be worth checking on one-day bus tours out of Brindisi. There might be something available that would get you to some spots that would be inefficient to visit via public transportation.

In 2015 the Lecce tourist office organized van transportation to outlying towns. Not really tours, just trips on which you were dropped off for an hour or two in multiple small towns. I doubt, though, that it would be practical for you to take such trips since you're staying in Brindisi.

Thanks all for your help and advice.
Tom

I agree you should make an effort to see Matera. And definitely try to see Alberobello or one of the other trulli villages. Ostuni is also scenic and worth a visit.

If you have an option, we enjoyed Gallipoli much more than Otranto (it will be fairly quiet that time of year) or Lecce. Gallipoli is a really picturesque fishing village. Lecce has well over 100 very ornate churches but we got "churched out" there pretty quickly and then discovered that everything in town closes in the early afternoon. Shops reopen around 6, but restaurants (even pizzaerias) stay closed til 8 pm. Not very tourist friendly.

There are a couple of big wineries near Lecce, which we enjoyed touring. One was Leone De Castris in Salice, Salento. I forget the name of the other, but both had wonderful wines. We especially enjoyed the Negroamaro and Primitivo, hearty reds, very inexpensive in Puglia. Be sure to try them if you like red wine.

My family and I lived in Puglia for 6 years, in a couple of small coastal towns just north of Bari. Giovinazzo and Trani have picturesque harbors and wonderful old towns to wonder through, and can be accessed via train or bus from Bari. And the food!!! Some good friends have opened a B&B in Giovinazzo that I'd be glad to recommend - they are tri-lingual (Italian / German / English), and it's a gorgeously remodeled place.