Where to visit in Puglia?

http://www.viaggiareinpuglia.it/hp/en

http://www.charmingpuglia.com/en/top-10-places-in-puglia

http://www.puglia-turismo.it/

Ten to twelve days in the area will be wonderful. There's lots to see, and the car will make everything accessible. I went to Puglia in June 2015. Not having a car, I chose Lecce as my base so I could count on some public transportation. That turned out to be fortuitous, because the tourist office was organizing van trips to surrounding towns--basically just multi-destination transportation, not true tours. I was able to make blitz trips to a lot of the neighboring towns, but the stops were so short that I am not in a position to say definitively which were my favorites. I liked Lecce itself a great deal. It's a handsome Baroque city. The tourist office does walking tours. It's a real, living city, not just a tourist destination.

Most of the towns in Puglia will require you to ditch the car on the outskirts of the historic district, so research the parking situation ahead of time and either print out a paper map or download an electronic map (or both) for every place you might possibly stop.

Alberobello is the trulli capital. It is understandably quite touristy (by Puglia standards, at least), but you really must see it. There's one trullo you can go inside for a modest fee, and I thought that was worthwhile. Otherwise, it's fun to walk around for a couple of hours or so, looking at the townscape, parts of which are pretty unbelievable. There's a historic church, too (that would be a "duh" in Italy, of course).

The following are not in any particular order, and there may be other places even more interesting that I just didn't have the opportunity to see. All these towns are picturesque, aside from any specific sights you might find listed in guide books.

Locorotondo is an atmospheric town full of white houses and narrow alleys. The surrounding countryside has a lot of trulli. Very near Alberobello.

Gallipoli, a fair-sized town on the west coast of Puglia. Nice old town with lots of historic churches. Popular with the boating set. I see Wikipedia says the average high temp in July is 79F, which I guess would make it one of the coolest spots in Puglia. (Avoid July and August if you can.)

Ostuni is a larger inland town with a walled historic district built around a hill. Very nice and very discovered by expats from northern Europe.

Otranto, originally Greek, has a cathedral with important Roman mosaics.

Trani, on the eastern (Adriatic) coast, retains some of its medieval architecture.

Polignano a Mare is smaller and set on a picturesque bit of coastline.

Just over the regional border in Basilicata is Matera, which you should visit if at all possible to see the cave houses (sassi--UNESCO World Heritage site). Matera is rather difficult to reach via public transportation, so I urge you to take advantage of your rental car and see it on this trip. It's one of Italy's top sights. A guide for the sassi would be a good thing for historical background. I think you can arrange for a guide when you get there (or perhaps the tourist office arranges tours), but you should verify that ahead of time.

Puglia is a long region from north to south, 10-11 nights is a good amount of time. I would have two bases, one south (Lecce is good), and one further north. I suggest two nights in Matera, a unique city in Basilicata, as well.

In addition to acraven's excellent suggestions, I would add Martina Franca, Castel del Monte, and Bari's old city (I would leave the car at your southern base and take a bus or train for the day).

This is a great area for car travel. You can stay at agriturismi (I can recommend one ten minutes outside of Bari).

Have a great trip!

We spent 3 weeks in Puglia a few years ago. Our bases were Trani, Matera, a masseria near Fasano, and Lecce.

We really enjoyed Trani, a pretty little seaport with lots of great restaurants. We visited Castel del Monte and a prehistoric cemetery, Dolmen La Chianca -- with a Bronze Age burial chamber that looked like a mini Stonehenge. Fascinating.

Next was Matera, which is a must-see. We stayed in a wonderful cave hotel in the sassi district with an underground thermal spa.

We loved the masseria -- it's similar to an agriturismo, and there are dozens of them in the Valle d'Itria. This was by far our favorite place, centrally located so it was just a short drive to many of the places listed above (Alberobello, Ostuni, Polignagno al mer, Martina Franca, Locorotundo). Ours had a pool and a view of the sea just a few miles away. I highly recommend you spend a good chunk of your time in a masseria in this area.

We were frankly disappointed in Lecce. Maybe because it was October but the town was really dead. Everything in Lecce closes around 2 pm, some offices & shops reopen around 6 but restaurants don't open til 8 pm. If you want a snack around 5 or 6 you have to plan ahead & have it in your room. We took day trips to Otranto (also dead in October), Gallipoli (gorgeous little fishing village where you can buy seafood fresh off the boats) and we toured some wineries. Lecce has something like 100 baroque churches but we got so burned out of churches there. If you must see Lecce, I'd recommend visiting as a day trip but be sure to have snacks in your car for the trip home!

Lecce is good for half a day. Martina Franca was our base for one trip and having a car would have made it perfect .
It is a beautiful city especially at night and has a lively passeggiata. It is also close to other towns you will want to visit. Don't miss Matera although not in Puglia as you know. Bari is also very nice but does not have much to choose from in the way of lodging within the city itself.

Hi
I am pleased to have stumbled onto this thread😉
I am planning a quick 4 day trip to Puglia this coming January - arriving in Bari by train ( from Bologna) renting a car. I was thinking about making my home base in Martina Franca and hoped to day trip out from there. Seeking the wisdom from the RS forum members on possible accommodation suggestions in Martina Franca or surrounding areas. Tx