wanderlust244

And does anyone have suggestions about where to home base in Puglia? Lecce? Bari? Brindisi?

IMDonehere

On the Aegean is Cesme, Turkey. Quite a nice town.

https://www.google.com/search?q=cesm...w=1536&bih=708


http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g...Vacations.html

kevin_widrow

Easy answer:

Crete
Corsica (agree that Bonifacio would work well)
Cadiz

That would make for an amazing and quite varied vacation. Logistics of getting from one to the other could be tricky, however.

Alternate: Marseille

- Kevin

bilboburgler

Ylenia Sambati at YLTOUR can organise just about anything in or around Lecce, nice person, good little team, great English. Find her on facebook or the web

Not been to Bari. Brindisi is ok (especially if you like ports), Lecce (no port in the main commune) is lovely if you stay in the old town you want access to a rough terace as the views are so traditional.

Otranto, just down the coast is worth a look but possibly too small. I might look for a Masseria (I'll let you google it) between Otranto and Lecce.

sandralist

wanderlust,

My inclination if I were staying on the French side of the border mainly to visit the boat show would either be Menton, but slightly away from the waterfront, or somewhere up in the hills above Monaco and not too far away -- but only if I was planning to have a car. Someplace like La Turbie or near there.

http://www.francethisway.com/places/la-turbie.php

There are lots of other choices in the hills, including west of Monaco and Nice, but if you want to be in a seaside town all the time, then Menton might be the least touristy choice, on either side of Nice.

Regarding trulli, they are scattered across a particular area of Puglia not far from Bari that is fairly compact, but it is the town of Alberobello that attracts the mobs because it has the greatest cluster. If you just want to see trulli as you drive, nestled in the low hills, you can skip Alberobello. If you want to see a landscape chockablock with trulli I think you will have to bear the tourism as best you can.

Tulips

If you love beautiful boats, the Voiles de St Tropez that takes place late September/early October would be nice to see. To avoid the crush, stay in St Maxime and take the boat to St Tropez.

The port of Antibes has probably the largest number of super yachts, and you can walk passed and get very close.

In Sardinia there's a yacht race earlier in September.

julies

Venice--Off the tourist path is fabulous if it is water (not just necessarily harbors with boats) you are looking for. Lots of apartments available to rent. There is so much to do in Venice itself that you wouldn't need to do any day trips.

We are leaving next week for Sicily and plan to stay in an apartment in Ortygia which is on a peninsula and I'm hoping is lovely. We'll be renting an apartment there too.

JWhen looking for harbors, make certain to discern between fun harbors filled with lots of lovely yachts and boats and the industrial harbors.

maltamonument

On top of my mind: my country - Malta. If you truly love history, learn about the Great Siege of Malta of 1565 and the legendary Knights of Malta, and WWII, and you definitely won't be disappointed in coming here. You would truly appreciate it. Do NOT miss fort St. Elmo and St. Angelo (the former is more impressive). The views are incredible, and their use in history was very important and turned the tide in Europe's fate actually. From St Elmo, you can see the 6 forts in the harbour - St Elmo itself, Fort St. Angelo in Birgu, Fort St. Michael in Isla, Fort St. Manoel on Manoel Island, Fort Tigne (now it is semi-fort, semi-modern buildings) in Sliema, and Fort Ricasoli in Kalkara; as well as Bighi hospital in Kalkara which was a soldiers hospital during the world wars. We have our own food like rabbit, pastizzi, bragioli, hobz biz-zejt, mqaret, horse, lampuki...., as well as we love serving Italian food like pizza and pasta. Also go to Birgu to see boats boats boats by millionnaires, and small traditional boats in Marsaxlokk (preferably on a Sunday morning when the open market is at its best). Marsaxlokk is also a fish town, and its restaurants specialise in fish and are rather cheap. Also of course go to Cittadella (in Gozo) - side trip to Dwejra window and Ggantija temples - oldest still standing buildings in the world, and Mdina - the old fortified capital of Malta till the knights came - as well as nearby Rabat and its roman villa and catacombs. Do NOT miss the interior of the Cathedral of Valletta. It's magnificient.
Its also nice to see the view and walk along the Dingli Cliffs. Also go to Comino (Blue lagoon) as well as Ghajn Tuffieha and Golden Bay for spectacular beaches, especially impressive at sunset. Paceville (St. Julians) and Sliema are the modern part of Malta, as well as Bugibba, however the latter is somewhat slightly more laid back and cheaper.

Now apart from Malta:
Venice - I loved it, however not much to see and could be expensive.
Dubrovnik - I really wish to go some time very soon
Istanbul - going there in a month's time
Marseilles & Nice & Monaco - someday I will go as well, but they aren't really that immersed in history (as far as I know).

PeterHorrocks

Hi wanderlust244

Given the time of year you are going I would suggest you go for Cannes and Saint Tropez, the reason being it is regatta time.

The first one is in Cannes, the second is St Tropez (end September - beginning October). There are few finer sights as you have the old yachts (many over a hundred years old) in Cannes and the latest huge modern yachts join them at St Trop.

The biggest boats you will come across in the French Riviera are to be found in Antibes and Monaco.

For your walking here are some suggestions

http://where2walk.co.uk/the-alpes-maritimes-france/

Best

Peter

systeemmakelaardij

I went to Kos this year, it is full of boats and wine. Great for your mother and father. There are a few great placesyou can visit there and it doesn't cost much in my opinion.

julies

There were some great yachts anchored in Ortygia (Syracuse) Sicily. This is also a lovely place to base yourself with lots of options for things to do.

ekc

We just returned from Puglia and loved it. We stayed in Bari 3 days (in a hotel overlooking the harbor), then were in a Masseria just outside of Fasano, near the sea. Many, many, many charming harbor towns to visit.

Fra_Diavolo

I would recommend looking at the Turkish coast between Fethiye and Kas. Fethiye is by far the larger, a yachting center with many boats for hire for day trips or longer. There is a fine hotel there, the Ece Saray. There is hiking on the Lycian Way, and many Greek and Lycian ruins. Turkish cuisine is justly renowned and the wines can be surprising.

Boat lovers should not overlook Istanbul. Ferries, freighters and smaller craft fill the Bosphorus. The food is wonderful and there are some nearby walks or hikes for exercise.

travelerjan

Right now Istanbul looks troubled, to say the least ... perhaps by a year from now things will have settled down in Turkey

BeniciaChris

Loved Malta & Cyprus. Love the Med. Just got back from our 3rd trip to Greece. Not sure why Odim would think Americans don't like the Med. It is therapudic to look at

polly229

CRETE!!! Would also add Rhodes but not a whole 7 days, maybe 4. But you could take the ferry on day trips to Symi, Tilos ....

Odin

<<Not sure why Odin would think Americans don't like the Med.>> It was a badly written sentence on my part. I meant Americans don't seem to travel to Cyprus very much, not the entire Med.

kerouac

Marseille has been one of the greatest harbour cities of the Mediterranean for more than 2000 years. Since it was designated one of the European capitals of culture a few years ago, it was shined and polished and lost a lot of the grittiness that put off people looking for antiseptic destinations in the past.

As a smaller port in France, Sète is delightful.

BeniciaChris

I guess I'm an unusual American Last year my husbnd & I went to Serbia
I would go back to Malta & Cyprus. so much to see So little time/&$