Puglia & Basilicata - Lecce, Alberobello & Matera

Tour Itinerary

• Day 1 • Arrival in Lecce

  Arrive at the airport for your flight. On arrival, we transfer by coach to the four-star Hilton Garden Inn in Lecce for three nights. This fine modern hotel is situated just outside the Old Town and features a restaurant, bar, outside terrace and spa. Its elegant rooftop swimming pool (open in the summer months, weather permitting) has panoramic views over Lecce.

• Day 2 • Lecce

  Lecce is known as the ‘Florence of the South’ for good reason – its architecture is outstanding and around every corner are buildings of beauty and interest waiting to be discovered. Our walking tour will begin at the imposing Porta Napoli gate, where we’ll meet our local guide. From there we’ll explore the vibrant Jewish quarter before taking in the Basilica di Santa Croce. A remarkable example of creativity, this Baroque church has an intricate facade, and there are so many beautiful details in the stonework you could lose hours gazing at them.

• Day 3 • Gallipoli and local winery

  Today we’ll head further south to Gallipoli, known as 'Città Bella' or 'beautiful city' thanks to its striking beauty. It has twin souls: part fun, coastal town with sandy beaches, part historic centre with a quaint old town encased in defensive walls, with a robust 13th-century fortress on its eastern edge that's protected the lovely little town for centuries. Later, we’ll leave Gallipoli, heading back towards Lecce, stopping at a local winery. Italy is known as the ‘Land of Wine’ - with over 4,000 years of winemaking experience it’s ingrained within the culture – and our visit is the perfect place to find out why. We’ll learn about the importance and precision of winemaking in this region and, of course, enjoy a tasting of some local wines whilst reflecting on your time in Puglia so far.

• Day 4 • Alberobello & Olive Mill

  Puglia is renowned for its olive oil production and, as we travel this morning, we’ll see olive trees everywhere in the region. Olive oil is known as the ‘liquid gold’ in Puglia, and the region has been producing high-quality, extra virgin olive oil - known for its fruity flavour and vibrant green colour - for thousands of years. So, of course, we’ll stop to visit a small, family run olive oil mill and find out more about olive oil production and enjoy a tasting. Continuing our journey, we’ll arrive in Alberobello. This entire town is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is known as the capital of trulli - whitewashed stone huts with conical roofs, Puglia’s signature dwellings. Remarkably, some parts of Alberobello are almost exclusively composed of these historic structures, creating an otherworldly feel – no wonder some compare it to a ‘hobbit’ town. For many, this is a highlight of the tour, and we’ll have time to explore, discovering how trulli were built, their intriguing origins and why many are adorned with Christian, pagan or celestial symbols.

• Day 5 • Matera

  This morning, we’ll take a guided tour of Matera, home to one of the first permanently inhabited places in Italy and a UNESCO World Heritage site: the Sassi Cave Houses. These troglodyte cave dwellings, dating back over 9,000 years, are located at the heart of Matera - astonishingly, people still live in them today. Matera also has everything you would expect in a conventional town, including churches, shops and artisan workshops all hewn from the naked rock. There aren’t many places on earth where you can walk along a street that is the roof of the house below?

• Day 6 • Bari

  Nestling on the Adriatic, Bari was a thriving walled port even before the Romans arrived and was briefly the capital of Byzantine Italy. During Norman times it was thought to be as significant as Venice.

• Day 7 • Free Day

  The entire day is at leisure to continue your discovery of magnificent Matera. Stroll along the streets of the Sassi of Matera taking in the views and the history of this UNESCO World Heritage town, sit and enjoy a coffee whilst soaking up the ambience, visit the underground of Matera or perhaps spend the day making the most of the hotel’s facilities before returning home tomorrow. This evening, we’ll dine at a local restaurant in the centre of Matera where you can reminisce about your holiday in Puglia with your fellow explorers - the perfect way to end what we hope has been a wonderful week.

• Day 8 • Return Home

  Wave goodbye to Italy, as we transfer to the airport for our flight home.