One Week Tour + Art & Culture package

Day 1

Pick up service and welcome dinner

We welcome you at the airport/train station and drive you to the accommodation. In the evening we go out for a welcome dinner in a traditional restaurant in the Itria Valley.

Day 2

Ostuni the White City
(half day trip: morning)
free afternoon and evening*

The gleaming white city of Ostuni sits atop the last hill of the southern Murgia plateau. Looking out from its fortifications, your eye is drawn over a plain full of ancient olive trees toward the crystal blue waters of the Adriatic Sea. While in Ostuni, you will take a walking tour through narrow streets lined with white-washed buildings, ending at the town’s sophisticated Gothic cathedral. After that, we will discover the “green gold of Puglia”. We will visit a traditional olive oil mill. Here, we we will learn about the traditional method of olive oil process, which uses granite millstones, as well as themodern processing system. We will taste seven different extra virgin olive oils produced by this olive oil farm in the heart of the wonderful Itria Valley.

Day 3

Art and Culture package
Taranto, the City of Two Seas, and Sunset on the Ionian Sea

(half day trip: afternoon +dinner time)
free morning and lunch time*

This guided tour introduces you to the capital of Magna Graecia, the area of Italy colonized in ancient times by Greece. We will walk through the narrow streets of what once used to be the ancient acropolis of Taras, reaching the heart of the old town, which is dominated by a fascinating 15th Century Aragonese castle. There, we will discover the unexpected beauty of the Cathedral of San Cataldo, the patron saint of the city.

We will visit the most important archaeological museum of Puglia, known for its sophisticated and important collection of gold jewelry of the Magna Graecia age. We will conclude our evening visit with a delicious fish dinner.

Day 4

Bari and St.Nicholas Basilica. Alberobello and Trulli
(full day trip: morning + early afternoon)

free late afternoon and evening*

Bari is the capital of Apulian Romanesque style. While here, you will see the two faces of the city. First, you will visit the French-influenced Murat quarter, with its elegant 19th Century theaters and majestic Liberty-style palaces. From there, you will visit picturesque old Bari, full of ancient traditions, seaside fish markets, narrow lanes, and homemade orecchiette pasta. During the guided tour, you will experience the austere beauty of several Romanesque churches, including the religious soul of the city, the Basilica of St. Nicholas.
Alberobello will crown your day with its timeless, fairy-tale beauty. The town is Itria Valley’s premier location to see trulli, the cone-shaped houses distinctive to Apulia, making it the most enchanting part of Italy’s heel.

Day 5

Art and Culture package
Trani and Castel del Monte
(full day trip: morning + afternoon)

Free evening*

Our day begins in Trani, one of the most beautiful cities along the Adriatic Sea. Trani is famous for its Romanesque cathedral directly facing the sea, dedicated to St. Nicholas the Pilgrim, as well as its ancient harbor, which provides for an elegant setting for the many who stroll between colorful fishing boats and fine restaurants.We will then visit the countryside between Trani and Andria. This land between the Murgia plateau and the sea is known for its outstanding agricultural products. 

Finally, we will visit one of the wonders of Italy, Castel del Monte. This mysterious castle was built in the 13th Century by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and is an example of architectural perfection in Puglia. It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Day 6

Otranto and Lecce. The Heart of the Salento region
(full day trip: morning + afternoon)

free evening*

Otranto is the door to the East. For centuries, it was an outpost of the Byzantine Empire on Apulian soil, as well as the cultural and artistic center of the entire region. Otranto is brightened by the sun reflecting off the turquoise blue water of its harbor onto the bare rocks upon which this small city is built. Be prepared to be stunned by the imposing mosaic floor of the city’s cathedral that dates back to the 12th Century and survived undamaged by the Turkish invasions of the 15th Century. You next go to Lecce, the capital of Apulian baroque style. On a guided tour, you will see elegant baroque palaces and churches constructed from warmly colored Lecce stone. These beautiful buildings surround the magnificent ruins of what was once a Roman city called Lupiae.

Day 7

Art and Culture package
Altamura & Matera, a trip between Puglia and Basilicata
(full day trip: morning + afternoon)

free evening*

We start our day visiting the beautiful cathedral in Altamura. This ancient city was refounded in the 13th Century by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. We then will cross from Puglia into Basilicata to reach Matera, one of the oldest cities in the world, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site and European Capital of Culture 2019.
Matera sits like a giant sculpture in the center of the Murgia plateau. We will visit the ancient town, known as the Sassi, where homes, churches and reservoirs were dug out of caves. The Sassi has its roots in prehistory, preserved almost intact to this day. We’ll discover hidden treasures in churches carved into the stone and painted by Byzantine monks, as well as modest farmhouses, evidence of the bitter reality of mid-20th Century.

Day 8

Pick up service to airport/train station

We drive you back to the airport/train station to tell you “arrivederci”!

All the services already included in the one week tour

Guided tours in the towns listed in the Art&Culture package

Transportation to the places of the package

Museum entry and dinner in Taranto

Castel del monte ticket entry and tasting in Trani area

Entry tickets in Matera