saulmax

We will be in Lecce from Monday, September 5 to Saturday, September 10.

We are an older, NYC couple who have been in Italy various times. However this will be our first visit to Puglia. We would welcome any and all suggestions regarding hotels, restaurants, sites and beaches. We are totally open.

We'll be too tired to drive from the Brindisi airport. So we would like to pick up a car rental in Lecce. However I am concerned about driving in Lecce itself because of it narrow streets etc. Please share your thoughts on Lecce.parking and driving and reputable, local car rentals.

Thank you very much in advance.

kja

Lecce is delightful!

As you consider your accommodations, check booking.com, which has a filter for parking

I believe that AutoEurope has locations in Lecce, so you should have at least one reputable option.

There have been several threads on Puglia (including Lecce) recently, so you might want to use the search box to find them.

Hope that helps!

isabel

We chose to stay in a hotel just outside the old town because of parking and driving issues. While it had no charm it was a perfectly functional hotel and it was so easy to drive to and park that it was worth it. It was only a 5 minute walk to the pedestrianized center. It was the Grand Hotel Tiziano and I reviewed it in my trip report. Scroll halfway down to get to the Puglia section. We loved Lecce and all of Puglia.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ast-puglia.cfm

bilboburgler

The real centre of town is tight, but people are understanding (well in an Italian way, which may mean they shout but pay it no attention), if one of you is map reading and you have a map with one way streets marked it is dead easy.

There is a bus from Brindisi airport to the bus station north of Lecce (use google to find it) and taxis loiter to pick up tourists there. Dead cheap and timed to meet flights.

When you chose a hotel ask them where to park, B&B owners will even come and meet you if you feel a bit lost. Hotels less so.

I've rented in Lecce, the non-central area is very calm, I never felt unsafe, but probably best to hire close to the hotel you chose or get them to drop off there. AutoEurope did us fine.

If you do chose B&B (there are lots) it does mean you get roof top views, vouchers for the nearest nice bar, and real local support, often in old fashioned palaces. Being in the action is pleasant but I well understand that some will like a more Hilton experience.

Restaurants; tend to be, well, less organised (dishes missed etc) than in the North (well most things are) but one or two are pretty good. Alle due Corte is the best organised and very good, the place directly opposite is useless.

yorkshire

If you don't mind walking up stairs, this place is marvelous:
http://www.roofbaroccosuite.it/en
You are staying in an apartment atop a real home in the old town. The owner makes a fantastic breakfast every morning. They have a spot in a parking garage just outside the ztl, and they will walk you there to show you how to access it, etc. It's less than a 10 minutes walk to the garage.

saulmax

Bilboburger - Where did you stay in Lecce please?

We will check AutoEuropa this weekend. In 2012, we had serious issues when returning our car at the Genova airport. The rental company said we damaged the car. For two years they went after us for $500. We had pictures etc. So Visa blocked the claim and eventually they stopped. However it was pretty awful to deal with this during a vacation which was actually our honeymoon.

I have looked at hotels outside Lecce. I would rather stay in town if we can deal with the driving. Sounds like it might be manageable if we can hire there.

Following many of you on the other Lecce postings. Thanks everyone for your replies.

bilboburgler

Saul, I just dug into TA and it was Azzurretta Bed & Breakfast. If you use Google maps there are a bunch of B&B on alleys leading off from Frederico d'Arragano. Fd'A is reasonably busy (pedestrians and the odd vespa) during the day but the side streets are very quiet. You are surrounded by pedestrian areas with cars cutting through a bit to the east to drop off luggage etc.

We chatted to our B&B owner a bit and the B&B next to his (same palazzio) is owned by his brother, the one across the street is a cousin's etc.

The B&Bs generally don't do breakfast (!) but give you a card for a cafe. We used CinCin who were great, well after we taught them what a tea-pot was ;-)

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_...ce_Puglia.html

I have to say I was in a state of bliss while staying here (I was getting married) but the people are very friendly, the shops are good, the attitude is laid back (that may take a little getting used to) so service is a bit ... missing. But you know their heart is in the right place.

saulmax

Biloburgler - Thanks a lot for the recommendation. We have narrowed our Lecce place to a couple including yours. Will finalize very soon.

I love that you got married there. We considered getting married in Europe but there was just too much red tape. So we got married around the Cloisters in upper Manhattan.

Anyway I see that you have written some very interesting trip reports. I will check them out over time. I am particularly interested in your France/Spain report.

In the meantime, if it's okay with you, I will probably have more questions about Lecce.

NeoPatrick

We stayed several days at Patria Palace Hotel, which was really wonderful. We found driving into the city no issue and we'd drive right up to the hotel front door and they'd park the car for us or bring it out in the morning when we'd go off exploring. Loved the city and the surrounding area -- enjoy. (oh, yes, dinner in their restaurant was one of the best meals we had in all of southern Italy!)

saulmax

After Puglia, we have allocated 3 nights for Venice. (We have each been there separately many years ago.) We are planning to fly from Puglia up to Venice. And then work our way south via train to Rome with a stop in Florence. I love Rome and am looking forward to spending time there. Puglia is new for both of us. And we have each been in Florence separately also a long time ago.

I am starting to reconsider if we should bother going to Venice. The vast majority of the Venice hotels are booked and many are so over priced. I have read that the many of the restaurant are mediocre at best. We'll probably stay in a reasonable apartment which is fine. And as foodies, we'll research the restaurants. However I really can't stand large, intense tourist crowds. For example, I hated Santorini and Prague for that reason. So at this point, I'm unsure if it makes sense. However I think this would probably be our last chance to do it given other future travel plans.

There is a long 2015 thread about this same issue. I still can't figure it out. Thoughts please. Thank you very much.