Local Information
& Places to Visit
Cafes/Bars/Restaurants
Ostuni:
Caffe Pink Lady, Piazza Curt & Montanara 22
Gran Bar Caffeteria Gelateria Pasticceria,
Via Giovanni XXIII, 58/60
Osteria del Temp Perso,
Via G Tanzarella Vitale, 47
0039 0831 303320/0039 0831 304819
Pescheria il Delfino, 1 Corso Garibaldi
0039 0831 303037
Cafe Cavour, 5 Corso Cavour
0039 0831 301709/0039 329 267 2351
Monopoli:
Carusa Gelateria, Via Cimino 5
Osteria Perricci, Via Orazio Comes 1
0039 0809 372208
Ceglie Messapica:
Cibus Ristorante, Via Chianche di Scarano 7
Caffe Roma Pasticceria Gelateria,
Piazza Vascovado, 1
Savelletri:
Sapore di Sale, Via del Porto 13
0039 0804 829289
Summer Time Bar Gelateria, Via Fiume 28
Carovigno:
Miramare, Via della Torre, Marina di Carovigno
Martina Franca:
Garibaldi Bistrot, Piazza Plebiscito 13,
Cell 0039 348 995 7632
Alberobello:
Miseria Nobilita, Via Paisiello 1
0039 080 432 4082 / 0039 349 192 8933
Cisternino:
Porta Grande da Mimmo Macelleria
Osteria Carne al fornello,
Via Basiliani 5/7 nel centro storico
0039 0804 449814/0039 377 537 0506
Quadrifolio Ristorante, Via Brindisi 120, 72014 Casalini di Cisternino (BR)
0039 0804 446297
Osteria Sant’Anna, Via Stazione 12
0039 0804 447036
Osteria Bell’Italia, Via Duca d’Mosta 29,
Centro Storico, 72014 Cisternino (BR)
0039 0804 449036
Markets
Mondays – Cisternino
Tuesdays – Monopoli & Noci
Wednesdays – Fasano & Polignano a Mare
Thursdays – Alberobello
Fridays – Locorotondo
Saturdays – Ostuni
Sundays – Torre Canne & Savelletri
To get back to the house via Ostuni from any outings, always aim for SP14/Viale Aldo Moro/Via Degli Emigrante, then take the Contrada Peraro turn off the SP14 on right or from the other direction, always aim for crossroads SP14/SP16, then take the Contrada Peraro turn off the SP14 on left. Otherwise sat nav will try to take you cross country through narrow lanes and it is easy to get lost, particularly in the dark. If you are returning to the house from Martina Franca/Cisternino/Ceglie than set your satnav to crossroads SP14/SP16 then follow signs to Ostuni and turn left into Contrada Peraro.
There are maps and a variety of tourist guides in the house on the bookshelf.
Nearest tourist information office in Ostuni next to the Comune in Piazza Liberta.
If you park in towns, yellow boxes are for disabled, blue boxes are pay and display, white boxes are free. Do keep within your ticket time and double check the signs as the hours for paid/free parking are different depending on the season. It’s a pain getting a ticket as you have to go to the Post Office to pay the fine. Take a little piece of blue tack or sellotape from the chest of drawers in the living room and keep it on the dashboard to make sure the ticket stays in place and on view.
OSTUNI – nearest town, turn left out of Contrada Peraro onto SP14
If you don’t want to drive into town – it can be difficult finding a space in August, park in Viale Aldo Moro, there is a slip road in front of the shops and it’s an easy walk from there.
Just a few doors down from Caffe Pink Lady, Largo Calvario, Piazza Curt & Montanara 22, (good coffee, birra rossa, ice cream, appetisers, free wifi) is a Bancomat if you need to get cash out on a debit card. Just the other side of Pink Lady is a tobacconist. I don’t know if any of you smoke but cigarettes there are in the region of E4,20 so half the price of cigarettes in England.
There is a lovely park (Villa Comunale) opposite Pink Lady and San Oronzo’s tomb. At the far end of the park turn right and there is a fishmonger where you can either buy fresh fish to cook at home or choose your fish and they will fry it for you to take home ready to eat or you can sit outside at tables and eat there. If you go past the fish place and uphill a little past the bar, there is a little square with Osteria Don Chisciotte, Piazza Matteotti 24 +390831303289/+393471242721 with a la carte or fixed price menu, great appetisers.
Caffe Cavour in Corso Cavour (+390831301709/+393292672351) is a very nice restaurant and is open late at night. During high season, they also have tables outside in Piazza Liberta.
Another lovely restaurant is Osteria Del Tempo Perso, Via G Tanzarella Vitale, 47. You will need to book during high season +390831303320. You can either access it from the ramparts, past Restaurant Porta Nova (very nice but expensive, great view), and past Riccardo Bar (bean bags up and down steps outside, trendy), or you can go up the hill towards the cathedral (lovely Piazza in front of the cathedral) from Piazza Liberta and turn off to the right, then left. Live music Caffé Manhattan, Via Cavalieri Di Vittorio Veneto 73 https://www.facebook.com/caffe.manhattanostuni
Lots going on in high season in Piazza Liberta and in the park.
CISTERNINO – pretty and clean town not much further than Ostuni, turn right out of Contrada Peraro onto SP14 and turn right at roundabout onto SP16 and follow the signs. Just before the main street begins there is a free car park. Best to park there and walk in. There is a long main street and a ramp up and into the old town which is lovely. Famous for Arrosto Misto, roasted meats. They tend to cook meat well done and quite salty so you may want to specify when you order if you prefer medium or rare. Just outside the town, right by Cisternino Station is a very nice restaurant Osteria Sant’Anna, Via Stazione 12, Cisternino. +390804447036. Follow route towards Cisternino and follow sign to left towards Station. Interesting little butcher/restaurant, huge portions, Osteria Porta Grande da Mimmo, Via Basiliani 5/7 nel centro storico, +390804449814/+393775370506 Wild Boar Steak, Fillet of Beef, enough to take home and have with salad the next day. Also, there’s a bar/café with a panoramic view over the Valle d’Itria where you can drink Aperol Spritz.
ALBEROBELLO – right onto SP14 towards SP16 and follow signs. Coachloads of American/Japanese tourists but a must! World Heritage site with thousands of trulli houses. Nice restaurants, (sure there are more but we know these): Miseria Nobilita, Vico Paisiello 1 +390804324082/+3934928933 and Il Guercio di Puglia, Largo Martellotta 12 +390804321816. Fantastic home-made ice cream on the main drag. We usually park in Via Monte Grappa.
MARTINA FRANCA – turn right onto SP14, cross SP16, go straight ahead on SP62 until you get really near to Martina Franca then follow the signs. On the way back our Satnav always tries to take us a more complicated route, get onto the SP62 and stay on it aiming for SP16/SP14 roundabout, then straight ahead onto SP14 and look out for Contrada Peraro turning on left. Through long Piazza through ancient arch into old town, Baroque architecture, to Basilica and main Piazza. Lovely restaurant near Basilica, Garibaldi Bistrot, Piazza Plebiscito 13 +393489957632 – do book! Great pizza at restaurant at crescent with pillars Due Agnelli, Piazza Plebiscito/Maria Immacolata. If you go along Via Principe di Napoli there is a little square, Piazza Umberto I with pay parking and you can sometimes get a space along Via Paisiello, the other side on the square, parallel to Principe di Napoli.
LOCOROTONDO – turn right onto SP14, right onto SP16 at roundabout and follow signs. Aim for the old town, car park opposite entrance. N40.75203,E17.33060. Pretty city, window boxes, flowers on steps and balconies, they have a competition each year. Through to other end of old town, park/piazza area panoramic view. Lovely restaurant on the left-hand side (if you are walking past the side of the Basilica (Piazza Fra Giuseppe Andrea Rodio) with the Basilica on your right). I think it is called Trattoria Centro Storico in Via Eroi Di Dogali 6.
CEGLIE MESSAPICA – turn right onto SP14, left onto SP16 at roundabout and follow signs. Lots going on in main Piazza during high season.
SEASIDE TOWNS
GALLIPOLI
Pretty seaside town with fishing harbour, lovely fresh fish, great ice cream. Impressive Basilica di Sant Agata. Nice shops.
VILLANOVA is straight down to the sea from Ostuni, follow the signs. It has a pretty harbour with a bar/restaurant, nice food, but not much else. Nice but expensive seafood restaurant La Risacca, Via Petrolla. +390831359058/+393382645312
TORRE SANTA SABINA straight down to the sea from Ostuni and turn right along the coast. Harbour, nice restaurants, fresh fish.
OTRANTO
82 miles/under 2 hours’ drive on the motorway. Cathedral with Tree of Life mosaic floor.
Huge castle, (under refurbishment April 2015). Pretty harbour, clear seas.
Great ice cream at Garden Bar by the park.
Lovely fish lunch at I Villani D’aragona Ristorante overlooking the sea.
Truffle & wild mushroom restaurant: Tartufi & Funghi, Via Idro 32. +393932516511.
SAVELLETRI
20 miles/40 minutes’ drive. Pretty seaside town, harbour, restaurants, bars, gelateria, etc.
Sapore di Sale, 13 Via del Porto +390804829289
Summer Time Savelletri Bar/Gelateria, 28 Via Fiume +393293551148
POLIGNANO A MARE & MONOPOLI
Near each other, about 1 hour from the house, so you could do both in one trip.
Lovely historic centres, panoramic views over the rocks/sea, pretty harbour in Monopoli.
Carusa Gelateria, Waffles & Ice Cream:
Via Cimino 5, Monopoli
Via Martiri Dogali 3, Polignano a Mare
SASSI IN MATERA
2 hour drive but worth it. Go very early in the morning in the summer as there is no shade and it gets very hot! You could book with a guide or make your own way around. Thousands of cave houses, a couple of them cleaned up and put back to how they were when people were living in them. English speaking guide Luca Paolicelli/Guide Matera, we booked on internet. info@guidematera.com +3908351766057/+393289744129. Good restaurant Miseria e Nobilita Spaghetteria, Via Don Minzoni 32/34. +393336568532/+39225438682
CASTEL DEL MONTE ANDRIA
2 hours from house. Fantastic hexagonal castle constructed in 1240s by Emperor Frederick II and worth the drive – you could break the journey there with coffee in Polignano and break the journey home with dinner in Monopoli!
GROTTE DI CASTELLANA, CASTELLANA GROTTE
1 hour from house. Definitely worth a visit if you like stalagmites & stalactites.
Guided tours in English, do check, but last time was 11am and 4pm.
ZOOSAFARI FASANO
Down to SS16 motorway and follow signs.
Not cheap but there are lots of lions and tigers and bears!
FASANO is a lovely town. Our favourite restaurant closed and we haven’t found another favourite yet, (the chef moved to Miseria Nobilita in Alberobello).
EGNAZIA FASANO Museum and ruins are definitely worth seeing.
GROTTAGLIE
Worth going to for the ceramics shops, not for eating, but they are big on religious festivals.
Free car park in Via F Crispi.
LECCE
The Florence of the South. 52 miles/just over an hour away on the motorway. Churches galore and a castle. Famous for papier mache. Roman amphitheatre. Go very early in August as it will be very hot. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/puglia/lecce/sights
NATIONAL PARK OF THE GARGANO
Haven’t been yet but we’ve heard it’s lovely, leave very early, take a picnic.
SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO/SANCTURY of PADRE PIO
A very long drive but worth seeing the old and new churches.
FESTAS/FESTIVALS/LIVE MUSIC/ETC
There’s always live entertainment outside in towns in the summer.
Check websites: pugliaevents.it viaggiareinpuglia.it sagreinpuglia.it iltaccodibacco.it
BEACHES
From house turn left out of Contrada Peraro onto SP14, left at ‘Maglionico Ferramenta’ roundabout, right at next roundabout (3 store & disability shop), left at next roundabout (before petrol station, big Nacci opticians on left) and follow panoramic road downhill. At bottom road goes to left then turn right at traffic lights and follow signs to sea – you will see the sea as you come down the panoramic road. Once you are at the coast you can take your pick straight ahead, right, left.
Torre Pozzella is nice, public on one side, private on the other with parasols/beds to rent, snack bar in the middle. There’s a nature reserve with turtles next to Torre Guaceto. Both are lovely beaches.
There are rocky inlets and sandy beaches all the way along the coast. Some very small, no services and some bigger with beach bars, etc. Very busy in high season, particularly at the weekends when those who are still working in August have some time off.
http://www.thinkpuglia.com/guide-to-puglia/geography-of-puglia/beaches-in-puglia.aspx
http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/the-complete-guide-to-puglia-556481.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2012/aug/13/readers-tips-best-of-puglia
http://www.thepuglia.com/en/2011/05/8-great-puglia-beaches-in-8-photos/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/bestbeaches/5249811/Best-beaches-in-Puglia-Italy-Torre-Guaceto-Brindisi.html
http://www.ostunithewhitecity.com/localinfo/seaside.php
34 mins from Casa Mandorlina to the car park at Torre Guaceto beach. N 40.71757, E 17.76887.
Capitolo (near Monopoli) is quite fun, the remains of a building in the sea so you can walk/swim around the low walls of the house.
Italians are on holiday for the month of August. They tend to go to the beach en masse, family groups and they get there early taking deck chairs, parasols, food, drink. They don’t tend to stay late, so you have a choice of going earlier or later.
ACQUAPARKS
http://www.acquaparkegnazia.it Capitolo di Monopoli: Take SS16 towards Bari, turn off at Savelletri, towards Monopoli, follow signs.
http://www.tsunamipark.it Francavilla Fontana
http://www.acquaparkalberobello.it Alberobello
We haven’t been to any of them yet so do look at their websites and check them out.
Apulia’s Official Tourism Portal www.viaggiareinpuglia.it
il Tacco di Bacco www.itaccodibacco.it
36 Festival Della Valle d’Itria ww.festivaldellavalleditria.it
Itria Valley Opera Festival in Martina France
www.purepuglia.com www.italiannotebook.com
www.essentialitaly.co.uk
http://www.weareinpuglia.it/
https://www.alongdustyroads.com/posts/useful-tips-puglia-italy
https://www.viaggiareinpuglia.it/eventi/en
http://borgostuni.it
https://www.thethinkingtraveller.com/thinkpuglia/guide-to-puglia/all-things-puglian/a-calendar-of-events.aspx
https://www.italybyevents.com/en/puglia/puglia-events/
http://ISSUU.com/pugliaevents/docs/low-summerevents
http://www.pugliaandculture.com/events-in-puglia/all-events-in-puglia
https://www.pugliaparadise.com/2019/05/02/festival-and-events-in-puglia-june-2019/
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g187873-i798-k4805654-Puglia_festivals_markets_events-Puglia.html
https://www.charmingpuglia.com/en/puglia-low-season.html
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/puglia/events/a/poi-fes/359956
AIR
Ryanair www.ryanair.com
Italy Heaven www.italyheaven.co.uk
RAIL
www.ferroviedellostato.it www.ferrovienordbarese.it www.fesonline.it www.fal-srl.it www.ferroviedelgargano.com BUS www.fal-srl.it www.ferrovienordbarese.it www.ferroviedelgargano.com www.fesonline.it www.sitabus.it www.miccolis-spa.it
NATIONAL BUS www.marozzivt.it www.marinobus.it
FERRY www.bariportomediterraneo.it www.porto.br.it
ROAD www.stradeasan.it www.autostrade.it
Puglia Activities (Bike Hire, Guided Walks) www.pugliaactivities.com
ZOOSAFARI DI FASANO www.zoosafari.it
GARGANO NATIONAL PARK www.gargano.it
WATER PARKS
AQUAPARK DI PALMA SPORT CLUB Via Caldarola, Bari Tel 0039 080 546 1291
AQUAPARK IPPOCAMPO SS159 towards Manfredonia www.ippocampo.it Tel 0039 0884 571 397
SPLASH Rivabella, S Maria al Bagno, Lecce www.splashparco.it Tel 0039 0833 273 400
AQUA FANTASY Lesina Marina, SP per Torrefortore, Foggia www.aquafantasy.it Tel 0039 0882 995 484
MISC
Do take out travel insurance!!
Nearest hospital is across Viale Aldo Moro/Via Deglie Emigrante roundabout and 3rd turning on the right.
Book tables at restaurants during high season and check which days they are closed.