09/20/2026
Puglia Without a Car? These 7 Beautiful Places Are Connected by Train
One of the biggest misconceptions about Puglia is that you need to rent a car to enjoy it properly.
A car is useful if you want remote beaches, countryside masserie and tiny villages, but for a first trip you can actually see a beautiful slice of Puglia almost entirely by train.
The easiest strategy is to use Bari and Lecce as your main bases.
From Bari, start with Trani. The station is close enough to walk into the historic centre, and within minutes you can be beside one of Puglia’s most spectacular sights: Trani Cathedral rising directly above the Adriatic.
Then travel south.
Polignano a Mare is one of the easiest coastal stops. Get off the train, walk into town and suddenly you’re above those famous limestone cliffs and turquoise water.
A few minutes farther south is Monopoli. This is one of my favourite places for travellers without a car because the old town, harbour, restaurants and waterfront are all easy to explore on foot.
Alberobello takes a little more planning because it uses the local Ferrovie del Sud Est network rather than the main coastal railway, but you can still reach the trulli without renting a car.
Then continue to Lecce.
I would spend at least one full day here rather than treating it as another quick stop. Lecce is made for walking: baroque churches, honey-coloured stone streets, hidden courtyards and cafés everywhere.
From Lecce, you can also reach Gallipoli by local train and finish the trip on the Ionian coast.
An easy route could look like this:
Bari + Trani
Polignano a Mare
Monopoli + Alberobello
Lecce
Gallipoli
The important part is not trying to include every famous place in Puglia.
Ostuni, Cisternino and some of the smaller towns are beautiful, but their stations are not always conveniently placed beside the historic centre. Once you start adding buses, taxis and awkward connections, the “easy train trip” quickly stops being easy.
For a car-free trip, choose places that work with the railway rather than fighting against it.
Seven beautiful stops, two useful bases, and no need to spend your holiday worrying about parking, ZTL zones or driving unfamiliar roads.
