Please help me choose 2 Puglia destinations and a long drive question!
 

So our days in Puglia have been cut short, and it looks like we will only have time for a nice taste...
It's terrible really, since there's so many great places to see and visit, and only 4-5 nights. But I guess a taste is better than nothing?

Anyways, what sounds good? Top priorities are charm and food.
We'd like to choose two of these places to use as bases for 2 and 3 nights.

LECCE
MONOPOLI
OSTUNI
TRANI
POLIGNANO A MARE

(I have already researched hotel options and these locations are the ones with the accommodations that i really like!)

ALSO...
we'll be driving from Umbria (Perugia area), and am thinking we need to break up the drive with a night somewhere? Any ideas??

Thanks a million!!
dina

Personally, I would choose Lecce and Ostuni (aka The White City), but please do include a side trip (easily accomplished from Ostuni) to Alberobello. The town of the trulli is like nothing I have ever encountered before.

Oops, missed the second question. Yes, I do have experience with what I think would make a good break: check out either Sirolo-Monte Conero in the Marches (making a slightly longer drive the second day) or Lanciano in the Abruzzo for a short drive the second day.

Both are beautiful small towns, en route and while very popular with Europeans, hardly ever visited by North Americans. Both have excellent restaurants I would happily give details for if you are keen.

LJ -- thank you SO much for your input!

So would you say 2 nights in Lecce and 3 in Ostuni?
We definitely have Alberobello on our list as a side trip.
We also want to fit in Matera somehow...

I am definitely interested in Sirolo-Monte Conero in the Marches or Lanciano in the Abruzzo. I will look up some places to stay there and maybe come back with more questions, so please check back. and PLEASE share you restaurant tips if you have them.

Dina: Did you see this thread? I am thinking of cutting my nights in Lecce from two to one.


http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...any-nights.cfm

Some comments on restaurants from my trip in 2007:

Matera: La Zuppa Del Re (Via Fiorentini, 52) — This restaurant, with its high ceilings and multiple dining areas, lies in the heart of the cave dwellings of Sasso Barisano. I enjoyed generous servings of incredibly flavorful dishes that had been prepared using local traditions and fresh, local ingredients. The restaurant has an extensive wine list, and my English-speaking waiter recommended a wonderful wine that complemented my meal perfectly.

Trani: Ristorante Il Melograno (Via G. Bovio, 189) — Staff of this restaurant take great pains to accommodate non-Italian-speaking patrons, and the restaurant has a multilingual menu. But order from the Italian menu if you can, because that’s where you’ll find the list of their seasonal specialties. I had a delightfully fresh, perfectly seasoned meal with a lovely wine.

Lecce: Enoteca – Ristorante Plaza (Via Centoquarantesimo Reggimento Fanteria, 10) — Decorated in a pleasing, modern style with splashes of red against white, this restaurant served fresh and delicious local specialties. My server spoke English, and was particularly solicitous in explaining their menu and making sure that I enjoyed my meal.

Polignano a Mare: Grotta Palazzese (Via Narciso, 59) — With outstanding food and impeccable service in a truly stunning physical setting, the restaurant of the Grotta Palazzese is a very special place. On a man-made bridge within a seaside cave, one dines with the sound of waves breaking beneath and around (as well as quiet strains of jazz). Truly memorable! Well worth going to Polignano a Mare just for the experience!

eks -- yes, i saw that thread, and loved it. i'm thinking that if we base ourselves in lecce for 2 nights, we can see lecce one day, and maybe do a side trip to Gallipoli or Otranto?

kja -- thanks for the restaurant list! they all sound wonderful!

On top of Monte Conero, there is a charming hotel...very atmospheric, a bit pricey, but truly worth it.
Hotel Monteconero
www.hotelmonteconero.it
Via Monte Conero, 26
60020 Sirolo AN, Italia
071 9330592

Eat there or at Sara's in the town of Sirolo or at Milko's half way between...any way, you will be well fed.

We lived in Lanciano, so I am less well-versed in places to stay than places to eat. For some of the best pizza in all of Italy and a truly Italian experience, try Lo Scudo on the outskirts of Lanciano. In town, there is superb dining to be had at Mastroguerato.

Yes, that is lovely, LJ -- really lovely.
It is a little out of price range, though, since we have to get 2 rooms.

I'm actually starting to lean toward Ascoli Piceno for a stopover.

Still working on how to split up the time in Puglia.

Happy to hear more suggestions...
thanks!

Dina: If I have not already recommended this book to you, I will do so now--lots of good info on traveling and eating in the Le Marche and in Italy in general...EATING UP ITALY by Matthew Fort.

LJ - Monte Conero is not far enough south in my opinion.

A possibility is a delightful hotel at Francavilla al Mare just south of Pescara - http://www.sportingvillamaria.it/ing/home.php

If you like wine visit - http://www.pasettivini.it/index_en.html - wonderful, wonderful wines.

Also if you like art you cannot miss the Fondazione Michetti - http://www.fondazionemichetti.it/ - one of Italy's leading museums for modern art.

yes, eks -- you told me and it's on order from amazon!

nochblad -- thanks for your great, tips, too.
Francavallle al Mare sounds like a good stopping point. what is the town like?

Francavilla is not a good place to stop, a bit grim IMHO with a train running right through it, no beach to speak of and few decent places to eat...Vasto might be better, but personally I would still stick with Lanciano,Sirolo or Ascoli (though thats inland again and off the highway considerably, unless I misunderstand your route?)...but great food there (try the stuffed fried olives for which the area is famous) and a university so a neat cultural vibe.