Apulia between coast, culture and nature

Apulia between coast, history and sea

Apulia lies in the Mediterranean region and combines extensive coastlines, golden beaches, crystal-clear water, historic places and islands. This gives your travel planning different focal points: you can explore cultural monuments and urban history, experience landscapes on foot or by bicycle, and get to know protected coastal areas.

Landscapes for nature and hiking experiences

The Parco Nazionale dell'Alta Murgia is characterized by rocky ridges, sinkholes, karst caves, steep slopes, natural pastures, and oak and coniferous forests. Five trails organized thematically around nature, archaeology, landscape and history offer different perspectives on this landscape. In addition, there are twelve Agropasseggiate that can be completed on foot. These begin at twelve different agricultural and livestock farms in the park and combine the experience of nature with the region's agricultural character.

The Parco Nazionale del Gargano extends over more than 120,000 hectares. Ancient forests are just as much a part of its landscape as archipelagos surrounded by crystal-clear water. The Foresta Umbra complements this natural area with a network of trails approximately 54 kilometers long, picnic areas, a natural history museum, visitor information and mountain bike rentals. Fifteen signposted trails with directional signs and trail markings are available there for walks and longer hikes. The Officina del Piano „Don Francesco Cassol“ displays botanical and geological specimens.

A different landscape impression awaits you at the Miniere di Bauxite. Visitors can view the former bauxite landscape from above via designated educational areas and viewpoints. The administrative, redevelopment and extraction operations, including guided tours, are currently suspended. The existing viewing opportunities and the suspended operations should therefore be considered separately.

Marine protected areas and island worlds

The Torre Guaceto marine protected area covers approximately 2,200 hectares and an 8-kilometer stretch of coast. In Zone B, swimming is permitted from sunrise to sunset. The marine protected area of the Tremiti Islands covers around 1,466 hectares of sea and approximately 20,410 meters of coastline around San Domino, San Nicola, Caprara and Pianosa. There, swimming, guided tours—including underwater tours—and mooring in specially designated fields are permitted.

San Nicola presents a particularly dense historical side of the island world: towers, fortifications, walls, churches, cloisters and the fortress abbey of Santa Maria a Mare can be seen. Apulia's five cycling routes include the Gargano, Salento, Valle d’Itria and art cities.

Castles, museums and urban history

Castel del Monte is a medieval castle completed in 1240. Its octagonal shape reflects mathematical and astronomical precision. At the same time, Castel del Monte combines Romanesque, Gothic, classical and Islamic artistic elements and is regarded as an example of medieval architecture associated with Frederick II.

In Lecce, the LeccEcclesiae route leads to the city's most important Baroque churches. The Mura Urbiche form the preserved northwestern section of the city's 16th-century fortifications and include the Bastione San Francesco. The visit leads via a walkway to the elevated defensive walls and continues underground with multimedia information about the history of the fortifications. The MUST – Museo Storico della città di Lecce covers the Messapian era, the Roman imperial period and the Middle Ages in Lecce's history on its exhibition tour.

The Rudiae Archaeological Park has been open to visitors since 2018. Its holdings include a Roman amphitheater built in the early years of the 2nd century AD under Trajan. At Palazzo Vernazza, the tour ranges from Messapian through Roman and Renaissance history to the Baroque period. Audiovisual narrations in Italian and English, as well as 3D reconstructions of historical contexts and the palace interiors, complement the tour.

Alberobello also creates its own architectural accent: the Museo del Territorio is located in a complex of 15 trulli and tells the history of the settlement. The wider regional area of Apulia also contains four palaces: the Palazzo del I ramo della famiglia Capitaneo, Palazzo Angarano-Maranta, Palazzo Bove and Palazzo Sylos-Labini.

Regional cuisine and further destinations

Orecchiette with turnip greens is part of the region's identity. This typical regional dish originates from the Bari area and adds a culinary perspective to the cultural impressions. The wider regional area of Apulia also includes the beaches Spiaggia Pane e Pomodoro and Spiaggia Il Crocifisso, as well as Monte Chiancaro. The Parco Padre Pio is also located in this area.

When choosing your hotel, you can therefore first decide which of these facets should shape your stay: historic architecture in Lecce and Alberobello, hiking trails and forest landscapes, protected marine areas or cycling tours through Gargano, Salento and Valle d’Itria.

Discover further regional destinations via Lecce, Foggia, Bari, Barletta-Andria-Trani, Brindisi and Taranto.

More about the destination

Relevant information for planning your trip:

Apulia vacation - Apulia travel guide.

More destinations

More places under the same destination:

Emilia-Romagna.