Gourmet Puglia

Welcome to Italy! Check into your hotel. The rest of the day is free for you to explore with the help of the CosmosGO app. Tonight, meet your Tour Director and travel companions.

Start your Puglia discovery with a guided sightseeing tour of Bari. This seaside city skirting the Adriatic Sea boasts Italy’s longest waterfront and an interesting maze of alleyways, courtyards, and historical palaces. When strolling through the narrow streets of Bari Vecchia (old Bari), pause to marvel at the local women preparing typical Apulian orecchiette pasta, made traditionally by hand.

Get to know the host town of your Puglia foodie adventure on an orientation tour. Discover local cheese and “Capocollo” ham. Of course, you will have an opportunity to taste some of these traditional delicacies.

On the included half-day excursion to Alberobello, discover the iconic Trulli. These dwellings, dating from as early as the mid-14th century, are made of roughly worked limestone boulders collected from neighboring fields. Characteristically, they feature pyramidal, domed, or conical roofs built of corbelled limestone slabs. These remarkable Trulli houses were included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites in 1996. The rest of your day is at leisure but consider saving your appetite for this evening’s optional dinner at a local “masseria” (farmhouse) in the Apulian countryside. Enjoy authentic Italian dishes made with ingredients fresh from the farm.

Spend free time to relax or explore Martina Franca on your own or delve into classic Italian customs with an optional excursion to Altamura, known for its bread-baking traditions using the ancient method of wood-burning stoves in a city of ancient palaces, churches, and cloisters; and discover Matera, one of the oldest, still inhabited cities in the world preserving evidence of human settlements since the Paleolithic period in its natural caves carved into the rock.

One of the highlights of this tour is the included day trip to Lecce. This seaside city enchants visitors with an unmistakable style, boasting monuments dating back to Roman times and, most notably, extraordinary baroque buildings that proudly bare the characteristic blonde color of the local stone. The city center’s vibrant and bustling atmosphere will entice you with its elegant, timeless alleyways and delicious local delicacies, such as the “Pasticciotto,” made with sweet short pastry and typically filled with a delicious Italian custard. Learn more about regional food by joining the exciting, included cooking class. Learn hands-on how to prepare traditional orecchiette pasta and savor it with other local specialties, paired with local wines, and good company.

Learn about olive oil and acquire a taste for different olive oil flavours on the included tour of a local olive farm. Continue the exploration of local towns with great traditions by spending time in Ostuni, where the ancient citadel was built on top of a hill and fortified by walls. The town is commonly referred to as "the White Town" (“La Città Bianca” in Italian) for its white walls and its typically white-painted architecture. Quaint medieval alleyways, stunning sea views, exquisite cuisine, and ancient remains, along with a magic atmosphere, are all features of tonight’s optional discovery of Polignano al Mare, which is a great way to bid farewell to Apulia.

Your Puglia vacation ends with breakfast this morning.