# Three nights in Salento from Bari: Lecce baroque, the Otranto mosaic, the Leuca caves and Gallipoli island A night in a palace facing Santa Croce, another at a masseria in Otranto and the last on the island of Gallipoli, with the Leuca caves by boat on the way. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/apulia/salento/itineraries/three-nights-lecce-otranto-leuca-gallipoli · Revisado: 2026-11-12 Dónde: Salento Salento is the heel of Italy's boot, and in three nights you can see almost all of it: Lecce and its baroque, Otranto and its mosaic, the tip of Leuca from the sea and the island of Gallipoli. The getaway goes in a loop, by car, with a different accommodation each night and never more than an hour or so on the road between two. The activities set the pace; sleeping and eating fit around them. ## How do you get there from Spain? By plane and car. There are direct flights to Bari from Madrid, Barcelona, Seville and Valencia. Pick up the hire car at the airport: from Bari it is about 150 km and two hours to Lecce. Without a car, the train from Bari Centrale reaches Lecce in an hour and a half to two, and from there the Ferrovie del Sud Est go to Otranto and Gallipoli; for Leuca and the masseria, however, a car is almost essential. ## Where to stay? AccommodationAreaWho it suits Patria Palace HotelCentre of Lecce, facing Santa CroceFive-star in an eighteenth-century palace, with garage Masseria MontelauroOtranto countrysideMasseria with pool, vegetable garden and restaurant Palazzo Mosco InnOld town of GallipoliNineteenth-century palace with a terrace over the sea The first night, at the Patria Palace, you go out on foot to see Santa Croce lit up. The second, at the Masseria Montelauro, you swap the city for olive trees and the pool. The third, at the Palazzo Mosco Inn, you sleep inside the island of Gallipoli, behind the cathedral. ## Where to eat Three tables, three prices. Il Contadino is the simple, generous meal, on a farm that makes its own pasta, bread and wine, open every day. The Osteria degli Spiriti is Lecce's age-old cooking, passed through a finer hand, under stone vaults. Materia Hostaria is the special dinner, with chef Luca Lagna's tasting menu. ## What about one more day? Stay a second night in Gallipoli and spend the day on the sandy beaches of the Ionian coast, or go back to Lecce to see Piazza Sant'Oronzo at leisure and, if it is Friday, the night visit to Santa Croce. ## El plan ### Friday · 09:00 · From Bari to Lecce By car, about two hours. Leave the car in the hotel garage: the centre is a restricted-traffic zone. ### Friday · 11:30 · Lecce baroque Full LeccEcclesiae ticket, €21: Santa Croce, the Duomo, the Old Seminary, San Matteo and Santa Chiara. ### Friday · 13:30 · Duomo bell tower Lift to the balconies at 43 m; a 20-minute slot included in the full ticket. ### Friday · 20:00 · Dinner at Osteria degli Spiriti Salento cooking beside the public gardens. Book. ### Saturday · 09:30 · Otranto cathedral About 45 minutes by car. The 1163 mosaic, the Chapel of the Martyrs and the crypt; open until 12:00. ### Saturday · 13:00 · Lunch at Il Contadino A farm stay at Frassanito, ten minutes from Otranto: handmade pasta, grill and fish from the harbour. ### Saturday · 16:00 · Masseria Montelauro Pool in the courtyard and a walk among the olive trees. ### Saturday · 20:30 · Dinner at Materia Hostaria A four-course tasting menu for €45 beside the walls of Otranto. Confirm by phone that it is open; if not, dine at the masseria's restaurant. ### Sunday · 10:00 · Boat to the Leuca caves An hour by car from the masseria. Three hours with Blue Marine along both coasts of the cape, with two swimming stops; from €30. ### Sunday · 15:00 · From Leuca to Gallipoli About 50 minutes along the Ionian coast. Leave your bags at Palazzo Mosco Inn. ### Sunday · 18:00 · The old town of Gallipoli The castle, Sant'Agata, the Purità and the wall at sunset. ### Monday · 09:00 · Morning in Gallipoli A swim at the Purità beach or a stroll round the harbour before leaving. ### Monday · 12:00 · Back to Bari About 190 km, two and a half hours. ## Consejos ### Book the Leuca boat In summer the departures fill up; book on the website before you go. ### Watch the wind In strong wind, the boat depends on the forecast: if it does not sail, swap Sunday for Saturday. ### Travel light You change accommodation every night; a small suitcase makes car parks and alleys easier. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### How many days do you need for Salento? With three nights you see Lecce, Otranto, Leuca and Gallipoli; with five or six, you add beach days. ### Do you need a car? For this getaway, yes: the train reaches Lecce, Otranto and Gallipoli, but not the masseria or the Leuca boat. ### When should you go? From April to June and in September and October. The Leuca boat runs from late March to late October. ### Where should you stay in Salento? In Lecce for the city, at an inland masseria if you are driving, and in Gallipoli or Otranto to have the sea at your door. ## Dónde dormir if you're flying - **Patria Palace Hotel Lecce**: A palace opposite Santa Croce The Patria Palace occupies an 18th-century palace on Piazzetta Riccardi, in the heart of Lecce's historic centre, right next to the Basilica of Santa Croce. It was the residence of the noble Petrarolo D'Anna family, then an orphanage and then the city's first inn; after Italian unification it was renamed Locanda Patria. In 1997 it became the first five-star hotel in Apulia. Today it is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. Inside it mixes Lecce stone, Art Nouveau details and contemporary design furniture. It is the option for a treat in the city: you walk out the door and in two minutes you are in front of the Salento's most famous Baroque facade. The rooms There are nine types of room, from 24 m² to 60 m², all with marble bathroom: Superior and Design Deluxe, of 24 and 26 m², facing inwards. Deluxe Barocco View, of 24 m², with a view of Santa Croce: ask for this one if you want to wake up facing the basilica. Deluxe with terrace, of 25 m², with a private terrace over the city. Junior suites of 34 and 35 m²; the Santa Croce Junior Suite has a double view of the basilica and a bathtub. Ernesto Barba and Tito Schipa Suites, of 55 and 60 m², with a terrace. Terrace Suite, of 45 m², with a large private terrace with a hydromassage tub and views of the city and Santa Croce. Eating, spa and services The restaurant Atenze has a terrace, and the Sira rooftop is a bar with Santa Croce so close it feels as if you could touch it. The Idume spa is beneath stone vaults, with a sauna. There is a gym open 24 hours, laundry and private transfers for a supplement, which are requested at the concierge. Arriving by car The hotel is inside the limited-traffic zone of the centre: on arrival, give your number plate at reception. The hotel advises putting Viale Felice Cavallotti into the satnav and following its directions from there. A valet leaves your car in a private garage for €35 a day; electric car charging costs €15 a day. From here you are about 45 minutes from Otranto and Gallipoli. - **Masseria Montelauro**: A masseria among olive trees, a step from the sea Masserie are the fortified farms of the Apulian countryside. Montelauro is on the outskirts of Otranto, on the road towards Uggiano, surrounded by olive and almond trees and close to the beaches of the Otranto coast. According to the house, it was founded around the year 1000: it was a meeting place for monks of the nearby abbeys and then a herbalist's, until in the late 19th century it took a shape similar to today's. In 2001 it was renovated by Elisabetta and her daughters, Caterina and Mercedes, who have run it since. It is part of the Dimore Storiche and received the “La Fabbrica nel Paesaggio” award from the Unesco Club. It is the rural option in the Salento: countryside, pool and silence, with Otranto's old town a few minutes by car. The rooms There are 29 rooms of four types: Classic, Superior, Junior and Suite. None is like another, because the original spaces were respected: whitewashed walls, Lecce stone vaults and floors of chianca, the local stone slab. The beds, canopies, bedside tables and lamps are of wrought iron, handmade by local craftsmen, and the wooden wardrobes and chests come from old houses. Some have a terrace and others a small patio with sofas. The courtyard, the table and breakfast The centre of life in the house is the rural courtyard, with open-air lounges, a pool and wisteria pergolas. Massages are offered on request, individual or for couples. Breakfast is a buffet that changes with the season: warm focaccia, sourdough bread, frise, their own jams, yogurt and fresh cheeses, cured meats, fruit and vegetables from the house's organic garden and eggs from its hens. The restaurant Fimmine (“women”, in dialect) is also open to non-guests. The menu changes often: vegetables, fruit and oil from the garden, and cereals, cheeses, meat and fish from small nearby producers. Tables are booked on WhatsApp at +39 351 558 1375. Getting there It is on provincial road 358, between Otranto and Uggiano la Chiesa. You need a car: to go to Otranto's old town, the cathedral and the coves to the south. Lecce is about 45 minutes away. - **Palazzo Mosco Inn**: A 19th-century palace on the island Palazzo Mosco Inn is a small hotel in a 19th-century palace in Gallipoli's old town, the city on a limestone island in the Ionian. It is on Via Micetti, behind the cathedral of Sant'Agata, among the alleys and courtyards of a district that is still a fishermen's one. From here you do everything on foot: the cathedral, the wall, the castle and Purità beach (see the old town walk). It is the option for sleeping inside the city, without a car, with the sea round the corner. The rooms Each room is different, with furniture that follows the building's 19th-century style. Some face the old town's alleys and others the inner courtyard. There are two types: Double Standard, from 15 m²: small and well kept. Double Deluxe, from 20 m²: some have a four-poster bed, and others keep the original mosaic floor or frescoes. All have adjustable air conditioning, wifi, satellite television, minibar, safe, hairdryer and a marble bathroom with shower. The terrace and services The best of the house is up above: a terrace over the sea and the Gulf of Gallipoli, with the white walls and bougainvilleas of the old town around, for a drink at sunset. There is a small wellness room where treatments and massages are booked. The hotel belongs to the same group as the Palazzo del Corso, a five-star in Gallipoli with a rooftop restaurant, the Relais Corte Palmieri and the Relais Valle dell'Idro in Otranto. From the Palazzo del Corso, yacht outings for up to four people are organised, with a swim at Sant'Andrea island. Getting there Gallipoli has a train from Lecce run by Ferrovie del Sud Est, about 45 minutes by car. If you come by car, ask the hotel before you arrive where to leave it: the old town is a maze of alleys. ## Dónde dormir if you're driving - **Patria Palace Hotel Lecce**: A palace opposite Santa Croce The Patria Palace occupies an 18th-century palace on Piazzetta Riccardi, in the heart of Lecce's historic centre, right next to the Basilica of Santa Croce. It was the residence of the noble Petrarolo D'Anna family, then an orphanage and then the city's first inn; after Italian unification it was renamed Locanda Patria. In 1997 it became the first five-star hotel in Apulia. Today it is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. Inside it mixes Lecce stone, Art Nouveau details and contemporary design furniture. It is the option for a treat in the city: you walk out the door and in two minutes you are in front of the Salento's most famous Baroque facade. The rooms There are nine types of room, from 24 m² to 60 m², all with marble bathroom: Superior and Design Deluxe, of 24 and 26 m², facing inwards. Deluxe Barocco View, of 24 m², with a view of Santa Croce: ask for this one if you want to wake up facing the basilica. Deluxe with terrace, of 25 m², with a private terrace over the city. Junior suites of 34 and 35 m²; the Santa Croce Junior Suite has a double view of the basilica and a bathtub. Ernesto Barba and Tito Schipa Suites, of 55 and 60 m², with a terrace. Terrace Suite, of 45 m², with a large private terrace with a hydromassage tub and views of the city and Santa Croce. Eating, spa and services The restaurant Atenze has a terrace, and the Sira rooftop is a bar with Santa Croce so close it feels as if you could touch it. The Idume spa is beneath stone vaults, with a sauna. There is a gym open 24 hours, laundry and private transfers for a supplement, which are requested at the concierge. Arriving by car The hotel is inside the limited-traffic zone of the centre: on arrival, give your number plate at reception. The hotel advises putting Viale Felice Cavallotti into the satnav and following its directions from there. A valet leaves your car in a private garage for €35 a day; electric car charging costs €15 a day. From here you are about 45 minutes from Otranto and Gallipoli. - **Masseria Montelauro**: A masseria among olive trees, a step from the sea Masserie are the fortified farms of the Apulian countryside. Montelauro is on the outskirts of Otranto, on the road towards Uggiano, surrounded by olive and almond trees and close to the beaches of the Otranto coast. According to the house, it was founded around the year 1000: it was a meeting place for monks of the nearby abbeys and then a herbalist's, until in the late 19th century it took a shape similar to today's. In 2001 it was renovated by Elisabetta and her daughters, Caterina and Mercedes, who have run it since. It is part of the Dimore Storiche and received the “La Fabbrica nel Paesaggio” award from the Unesco Club. It is the rural option in the Salento: countryside, pool and silence, with Otranto's old town a few minutes by car. The rooms There are 29 rooms of four types: Classic, Superior, Junior and Suite. None is like another, because the original spaces were respected: whitewashed walls, Lecce stone vaults and floors of chianca, the local stone slab. The beds, canopies, bedside tables and lamps are of wrought iron, handmade by local craftsmen, and the wooden wardrobes and chests come from old houses. Some have a terrace and others a small patio with sofas. The courtyard, the table and breakfast The centre of life in the house is the rural courtyard, with open-air lounges, a pool and wisteria pergolas. Massages are offered on request, individual or for couples. Breakfast is a buffet that changes with the season: warm focaccia, sourdough bread, frise, their own jams, yogurt and fresh cheeses, cured meats, fruit and vegetables from the house's organic garden and eggs from its hens. The restaurant Fimmine (“women”, in dialect) is also open to non-guests. The menu changes often: vegetables, fruit and oil from the garden, and cereals, cheeses, meat and fish from small nearby producers. Tables are booked on WhatsApp at +39 351 558 1375. Getting there It is on provincial road 358, between Otranto and Uggiano la Chiesa. You need a car: to go to Otranto's old town, the cathedral and the coves to the south. Lecce is about 45 minutes away.