What to visit in Puglia in low season

If it is known that Puglia is one of the regions of Italy most frequented by tourists during the summer due to its beaches that extend from the Gargano to Salento, it is also true that the towns, villages and cities of Puglia lend themselves to visits in the low season for a variety of reasons. In this article you will find out what to visit in Puglia in the low season. You will not regret it!

The advantages of visiting Puglia in the low season

The first of all the advantages of visiting Puglia in the low season is that, while in the high season it is more difficult to find certain resorts, farms or bed & breakfasts available (unless you book in advance), in the low season you can enjoy lower prices and higher availability.

Even in restaurants, at museums or at the attraction points of the various cities, it will be much easier to enjoy that atmosphere of intimacy and serenity which does not characterize the summer season in which the influx of people in clubs, in shops, for roads is continuous with the possibility of having to stand in long queues to access a certain place, thus wasting a lot of time instead of enjoying the holiday.

To this confusion, in summer we add the climate factor, the great heat which often “forces” us to stay on the beach and prefer to cool off in the sea rather than enjoy the beauties that the cities are rich in. At the end of the day, in Puglia there is not only the sea but often in summer you end up not fully realizing how much more this region can offer.

Instead, in the low season, be it autumn, winter or spring, it becomes more pleasant to walk, explore and visit precisely because the climate is more favourable. In winter, the Christmas atmosphere makes all the cities more beautiful and evocative, festively adorned with lights, Christmas trees and often background music that spreads as you walk through the city streets.

What to visit in Puglia in low season

• Lecce is a beautiful city of art, evidence above all of the Baroque that spread during the Spanish domination of which several churches, monuments but also balconies or terraces of homes in the historic center bear witness.
• The Itria Valley is another wonderful land to visit in the low season because there are many cities and towns that make it up. Among these there is Alberobello, characterized by the typical white and conical-shaped buildings to walk among.
• Locorotondo, not far away, takes its name from its round-shaped plant and is also characterized by the typical white houses, adorned with beautiful flowers in spring and Christmas lights and decorations during the Christmas period.
• White also dominates the beautiful Cisternino, a village where you can walk and taste excellent meat (including bombette) at the typical butchers in the historic centre, called “fornelli”.
• Also unmissable is the city of Castellana Grotte with its suggestive caves open all year round: they are one of the major representations of the karst phenomenon in Puglia and extend for about three kilometers with an alternation of caves, canyons, stalactites and stalagmites.
• Again, Ostuni, in the province of Brindisi, the so-called “white city” with many historical and past beauties (the Cathedral, Palazzo Vescovile, Palazzo del Seminario, the Column of Piazza Sant’Oronzo) but also with many places to stop for a pleasant stop.

• Matera is the perfect choice both for a visit of a few hours and for a holiday lasting several days: the beautiful landscape that rises from the balcony near the Church of San Domenico, that of the famous “Sassi di Matera“, will leave you spellbound.

Masserie (farmhouses) with SPA

When you go to one of these destinations, you can treat yourself to a moment of relaxation in one of the luxury farmhouse spas that abound in the area called Masserie. These structures are a perfect mix between past and future where the tradition of the Apulian countryside is combined with the luxury and modernity often conferred by the furnishings, the services offered to customers and the spas and wellness centres. Thus, it will be truly evocative to breathe in the bucolic air given by the centuries-old olive trees and the rural landscape and relax in the spa, aromatherapy, massages and cutting-edge treatments for your psychophysical well-being.

Unmissable events in the low season in Puglia

• Puglia offers many events and experiences to enjoy in the low season: in autumn in the Itria Valley and precisely in Noci in the province of Bari, the autumn festival called “Bacco nelle gnostre” is held with wine tastings while eating roasted chestnuts. Another event dedicated to wine is held in Alberobello in November, the “Puglia Wine Festival” in which, a glass of wine is accompanied by chestnuts, music and Apulian folk traditions.

• In December there are many villages in Puglia that are lit up with lights and where live nativity scenes are set up while in January, in Castellana Grotte in Valle d’Itria, a large bonfire commemorates the end of the plague during the so-called Festa delle Fanove. An unmissable event in the Itria Valley is the Putignano Carnival, famous throughout the world for its masks and allegorical floats that make the atmosphere colorful and fun for several days, from December 26th until Shrove Tuesday.

• Immediately afterwards, the Easter period is characterized by a series of events such as that of Good Friday in Alberobello or in cities in the province of Taranto in which there is no shortage of historical re-enactments or suggestive and characteristic processions. Finally, in spring in Lecce and Salento, there are many exhibitions, festivals or patronal celebrations such as that of Sant’Irene which falls on May 5th when fireworks displays are organized for the holiday and illuminations, stalls and concerts enliven the squares.