We arrived at Bari airport (BRI) at 20:25:
Flight: Paris (Beauvais) – Bari
Date: July 06th, 2023 (18:05 – 20:25)
Flight duration: 02:20
Company: Ryanair
We picked up our rental car at the airport:
Rental company: Sicily By Car
Rental duration: 10 days
Car: Opel Corsa
Rental price: €640 (including insurance: €64 and a baby seat: €45)
Booked via Booking.com
and we head towards Castellana Grotte for our first accommodation in Puglia
City: Castellana Grotte
Accommodation: La Casetta di Erasmina
Address: 18 Via Oronzo Viterbo, 70013 Castellana Grotte
Location: 40°53’04.6″N 17°10’07.0″E
3 nights, from July 06th, 2023 to July 09th, 2023
Price: €292 (€97 / night)
Booked with Booking.com
Our accommodation is a beautiful, elegant, clean and well-equipped studio
It is located in a small alley, so we parked a few steps away in the large village square: Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi (40°53’04.7″N 17°10’02.2″E).
As we arrived late, we take 2 pizzas from the pizzeria closest to the accommodation, and it’s a TREAT!!!: Pizzeria Bella Capri (Via Giovanni Bovio, 38, 70013 Castellana Grotte)
We wake up with a good coffee and pistachio and chocolate croissants at Bar Vogue (40°53’04.9″N 17°10’03.3″E), before taking the car and heading towards the village of Alberobello. Our morning program is to visit the villages of Alberobello, Locorotondo and Cisternino
We arrive at our first village: Alberobello. We find a parking lot at the entrance of the village (40°46’56.8″N 17°14’20.7″E). We stay there for 2 hours for €3.6
Alberobello is a picturesque village with a beautiful historic center listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
There are 2 neighborhoods in the center: “Rione Monti” (the most touristy) and “Rione Aia Piccola“
We start with the quiet neighborhood of Rione Aia Piccola. It is beautiful:
Alberobello is world famous for its Trulli (plural of Trullo). These are typical houses of the Puglia region. These small houses with a particular shape were temporary seasonal habitations for farmers. They are built in dry stone and are characterized by a conical roof
The Rione Monti district is very touristy, but still charming:
We end our tour in Alberobello and head towards the village of Locorotondo. We find a paid parking space on the street: “Via Cisternino” (40°45’12.3″N 17°20’15.0″E) and begin our tour of Locorotondo
Locorotondo means round place in Italian. The village takes its name from the circular shape of its historic center.
Locorotondo is a beautiful village with its white houses and beautiful alleys. The center is small (and therefore circular), you can easily go around it and get lost in its streets, you will always end up finding your bearings.
In the historic center, there is the magnificent church « Chiesa Madre di San Giorgio Martire »
For lunch we choose a small restaurant with a terrace in a shaded alley: Ombre E Fioi (Via Montanaro, 2, 70010 Locorotondo). Everything is perfect: the service, the food, the view …
Before leaving Locorotondo, we admire the view of the valley:
We leave Locorotondo towards Cisternino. Once there, we find a paid parking space in the street« Via Fabio Filzi » (40°44’26.2″N 17°25’40.9″E)
With its stone buildings and its labyrinthine historic center, Cisternino is a beautiful Italian village as we like it.
Our tour in Cisternino is cut short by the heat and fatigue, but we still enjoy this charming village with a delicious ice cream in the picturesque square « Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II »
We finish this little tour to return to our accommodation in Castellana Grotte
After a short break, we leave for Ostuni to spend the evening
There is a municipal paid parking lot in Ostuni at the entrance to the city (Parcheggio Comunale): 40°43’57.7″N 17°34’51.8″E. We park there and begin our visit:
Ostuni is known for the white facades of its houses, which is the origin of the name “The White City”
You will certainly pass by the square “Piazza della Libertà” at the entrance to the historic center
In the historic center you can see the Arco Scoppa: an arch that connects the Episcopal Palace to the Palazzo del Seminario
You can also visit the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta: with a rose window considered the most beautiful in Puglia.
We walk through the beautiful streets of Ostuni
Also try to find a photo spot or a high viewpoint with a panoramic view of the valley.
At the end of the evening and before returning to Castellana Grotte, we test a well-rated address in Ostuni. It is “Asso di Spade” (Via Benedetto Cairoli, 1: 40°43’50.9″N 17°34’46.9″E).
It is a small fast food restaurant specializing in « Panzerotti«
It is a semi-circular dough, filled with mozzarella and tomato. You can find them with several types of fillings. The dough is very similar to pizza, which makes Panzerotti similar to calzones, except that Panzerotti are fried and not baked. It is delicious.
We start our day with breakfast in the café: Bar Vogue (40°53’04.9″N 17°10’03.3″E).
Our morning program is to visit Polignano a Mare and Monopoli
We start our tour in Polignano a Mare by parking in the “Parcheggio polignano” parking lot: 40°59’36.9″N 17°13’01.6″E
Polignano a Mare is originally a Greek city. It is a seaside village with a beautiful historic center. To access the historic center, we pass through the « Arco Marchesale » gate.
Right at the entrance to the city, you will find the baroque church « Chiesa del Purgatorio »
You can’t miss Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, which is the most important and lively square in the city. There you will find the Santa Maria Assunta church and the Palazzo dell’Orologio
Polignano a Mare is particularly known for its caves and houses built on the edge of the cliffs. Try to find a place with a good viewpoint like
- Punto panoramico (40°59’50.7″N 17°13’08.8″E)
- Viewpoint of Grotta Palazzese (40°59’46.6″N 17°13’17.9″E)
The beach “Lama Monachile” is the postcard of the city. It is a beach between 2 cliffs. You can access it but also see it from the Lama Monachile viewpoint (40°59’49.1″N 17°13’07.3″E)
We take advantage of the refreshing morning air to take a stroll through the streets of the historic center
We finish our morning tour in Polignano a Mare to head towards Monopoli.
Like Polignano a Mare, Monopoli is a beautiful seaside village with a magnificent historic center.
It is 1:00 pm and the heat is unbearable, we take a quick tour through the alleys of the historic center
We discover the magnificent cathedral of Monopoli
We finish our little tour with a little swim in the beach of « Cala Porta Vecchia«
Before leaving Monopoli, we have some Panzerotti at« RE Umberto » (40°57’03.6″N 17°18’16.6″E).
We will return to Monopoli in the evening when the temperature will be lower to enjoy the visit.
We return to our accommodation in Castellana Grotte for a short break:
City: Castellana Grotte
Accommodation: La Casetta di Erasmina
Address: 18 Via Oronzo Viterbo, 70013 Castellana Grotte
Location: 40°53’04.6″N 17°10’07.0″E
3 nights, from July 06th, 2023 to July 09th, 2023
Price: €292 (€97 / night)
Booked with Booking.com
For the afternoon and evening program, we return to Monopoli
We take another tour in the beautiful alleys of the historic center
Arriving at the old port of Monopoli (Porto Vecchio), we enter from the gate: « porta dell’antico porto » to discover this beautiful old port:
Behind the port, is the square « Piazza Garibaldi« . It is the liveliest square in the city. We end our tour in Monopoli. We wanted to take a last trip to Polignano a Mare, but after driving around in circles for an hour, we couldn’t find a parking space and returned to Castellana Grotte
For dinner, we returned to the pizzeria next to our accommodation: Pizzeria Bella Capri (Via Giovanni Bovio, 38, 70013 Castellana Grotte: 40°53’01.0″N 17°10’05.3″E). Their pizzas are delicious and prices start at €6. This is a very good address.
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