UK Edition
A historic seaport and base for exploring the best of Puglia – an expert guide to Brindisi
Why go?
Brindisi is a briny, busy city with a position close to Italy’s southeast tip that has made it an important port for more than 2,000 years. It has a pleasing, if modest historical centre, but for cruise passengers it serves mainly as a base for excursions to the attractive baroque town of Lecce, the pretty villages of Ostuni and Cisternino and the mysterious conical-shaped trulli dwellings for which the area is famous.
Cruise port location
Brindisi’s port sprawls across a large area, with a small inner harbour that is out of reach to the largest cruise vessels. Most ships dock on the port’s western margins at the Terminal di Crociera, which is just a few minutes’ walk from the old historic quarter. A little tourist train, the Brindisi Express, leaves from the port on a pleasant one-hour tour, but days of operation can be irregular.
Can I walk to any places of interest?
You can explore central Brindisi on foot. Walk west for around five minutes from the cruise terminal and you reach the Museo Archeologico (see below). The same distance again brings you to San Giovanni al Sepolcro, another of the city’s key sights. However, it is close to a mile (1.6km) to the railway station if you are catching trains to Lecce (see below). Taxis are available outside the station on your return from Lecce to take you back to your ship if you don’t want to walk.
Getting around
Tour buses generally wait at the port for those on excursions. If you prefer to explore independently, then STP public buses will take you to Ostuni and Lecce, though for Lecce the train is easier, with departures at least hourly and a journey time of 30 minutes. Tickets can be booked online at trenitalia.com.
What to see and do
Brindisi’s historic heart has enough to keep you busy for a couple of hours, with two fine churches and an excellent archeological museum with finds from many epochs, notably the Roman era, when this was one of the most important ports in the Empire. On a short stopover, however, it is better to take an excursion, either a boat tour to the sea caves at Polignano, say, or a two-hour excursion to one of the local “white” villages (after their whitewashed houses) such as Cisternino. You may find a four- or five-hour excursion to Ostuni, Lecce or the trulli villages, but these will be rushed – longer is needed.
What can I do in four hours or less?
Brindisi was the end point of the Via Appia, one of the most important roads in the Roman Empire, and the city – and region – are rich in monuments and finds from the Roman, as well as Greek and other periods. This was also a major port during the Crusades. Much of the city’s history is chronicled at the Museo Archeologico in Piazza Duomo at the heart of the historic centre. Also visit the church of San Benedetto, a beautiful Romanesque building with a lovely cloister, and the circular church of San Giovanni al Sepolcro, built around 1000 by the Knights Templar.
Two-hour guided walking tours of the city are available from as little as €10 per person. Farther afield, the first choice for short excursions are the white-housed villages of Ostuni, 22 miles (36km) to the west, or the slightly smaller, quieter and arguably even prettier Cisternino, nine miles (15km) beyond. Viatour has a two-hour private tour to the latter from £151 for up to five people.
What can I do in eight hours or less?
The two key excursions from Brindisi are Lecce to the east and the villages and trulli to the west. Because they are in different directions it is difficult to see them both, even on an excursion.
Choose Lecce if you are interested in baroque architecture, much of which was built by the Spanish in the 16th and 17th centuries, when they ruled the region – the town is often called the “Florence of the South” for its art and culture. Guided tours from Brindisi are widely available: reckon on a six-hour excursion and a cost of around £50 per person. Visit Lecce’s tourist office for more information or to book a guide. You can book a walking tour before you arrive from €70.
If you come here by train (see above), note it is around half a mile (1km) from the train station to the town’s historic centre. Getting to the lovely “white” villages west of Brindisi is more difficult independently, so sign up for a tour. Look for trips that visit Ostuni and preferably Cisternino as well. On longer tours you should expect to take in the trulli in and around Alberobello, a World Heritage Site, though note this village is often very busy.
If you prefer some rural peace and quiet, with empty beaches and a nature reserve, join a tour to Torre Guaceto, 14 miles (22km) to the northwest.
Eat and drink
Puglia’s classic pasta dish is orecchiette con cime di rape, or pasta in the shape of “small ears” with turnip tops and sautéed anchovies. Mussels (cozze) are popular, often presented in a dish with potatoes (patate) or fava (fave). Octopus is also widely available, usually cooked with onions and tomatoes (polipetti in pignata). Also common locally, if unusual, are lampascioni, the onion-like edible bulbs of the tassel hyacinth, which are cooked and dressed with oil and vinegar.
If food is a passion you may want to join an excursion dedicated to food, such as Viatour’s two-hour visit to an olive grove, with tastings (from £27). Longer tours to Ostuni can be combined with olive oil tastings and visits.
Don’t leave without…
Puglia is said to have 60 million olive trees, so olive oil makes a good buy if you are comfortable with getting it home. Oils from around Ostuni and Cisternino are especially prized. The region is also known for its many dried pastas, which come in all sorts of novelty shapes and colours.
Need to know
Safety
Brindisi is generally a safe city, but be vigilant in crowded areas such as the cruise terminal, on trains and at the railway station. In high summer be sure to take sun screen and a hat when sightseeing.
When to go
Brindisi’s southerly location means that summer temperatures in July and Augusts can be uncomfortably high for sightseeing. Mild, spring weather starts as early as April, when the countryside is more verdant than in September and October.
Closures
Many shops and businesses, as well as churches and some museums, close between about 1 and 4pm, especially in summer. Most shops are closed on Sunday and Monday morning. Restaurants usually have a weekly closing day (riposo settimanale) and may also close on Sunday evenings and all day Monday, especially outside summer months.