The 7 best things to do in Lecce, Italy

If you imagine Italy as an elegant leather boot, Puglia is the high heel – often overlooked but playing a key role in supporting the nation. The farms and vineyards of Puglia produce more than a third of Italy’s olive oil and rosé wines, and a quarter of the durum wheat used to make the nation’s pasta, while the port of Bari is a busy gateway for boat traffic to the Greek islands.

But it’s in Lecce that Puglia’s historical richness shines. Salento – a region within Puglia – has its origins as a Greek colony in the 8th century BCE, but Lecce rose to prominence from the 16th century to the 18th century, when the city’s Spanish rulers filled the streets with grand baroque churches and elegant residences.

Lecce’s urban architecture has its own distinct style known as barocco leccese, characterized by the elaborate and intricately detailed decorations that adorn the facades of its palazzi (mansions) and religious buildings. At the heart of the city, baroque Piazza del Duomo is a feast for the eyes, while the city’s pale stone alleyways and courtyards glow warmly during the golden hour. 

If you’re looking for Tuscany-level history and architectural grandeur without the crowds, here are the best things to do in Lecce, Puglia. 

1. Soak up Lecce’s baroque splendor

Admiring the exuberant architecture of Lecce’s historic center is one of Southern Italy’s great pleasures. From the 16th century onward, Lecce's Spanish rulers built extravagant new buildings in the city's lanes and piazzas, fully embracing the flamboyant decorative flourishes of the baroque movement. 

To visit the many baroque churches in the city, you’ll need to buy a ticket via the LeccEcclesiae website. Start the architecture tour at the Basilica di Santa Croce, a baroque masterpiece whose facade is a riot of statuary and swirling patterns contoured by fantastical creatures, with a rose window that seems almost too delicate to be real. Inside, the opulence continues in the form of decorated altars and ceilings that make you feel like you’ve entered a different world. 

Not far away, the Piazza del Duomo is a stunning enclosed square that feels like a baroque stage set. Designed by Giuseppe Zimbalo in 1659, the Cattedrale di Lecce – aka the Duomo – dominates the scene with its dramatic facade and bell tower, but the nearby Palazzo Arcivescovile and the Palazzo del Seminario add to the overall grandeur. 

Take a stroll through the old city, looking out for the Chiesa di San Matteo, another Zimbalo creation with a dynamic, concave facade, and the Chiesa di Sant’Irene, famed for its grandiose interior. As you explore, you’ll start to understand that Lecce isn’t just about grand buildings – it’s about a feeling of awe and wonder. 

Planning tip: LeccEcclesiae offers a range of tickets for the city’s churches and monuments – buy a “full ticket” to take in the view from the top of the Duomo bell tower. LeccEcclesiae also offers informative guided tours of the city's churches and palazzi.

2. Go on a quest to find Lecce’s best pastries

A warm, golden pastry shell filled with creamy custard, the pasticciotto was first baked in the charming town of Galatina, not far from Lecce, and it’s very much part of Lecce’s culinary heritage. The most common variety has its filling enriched with delicious black cherries. Enjoy it with a morning espresso but be aware that it’s heavy in both weight and calories. 

Recommended places to try pasticciotti in Lecce include Bar L’Incontro, a small cafe away from the historical city center, and Pasticceria Citiso, which serves top-notch pasticciotti, almond pastries and mimosa cake. Other good pastry stops include Natale Pasticceria, by the Piazza Sant’Oronzo, which also serves a wide selection of creamy gelato, and popular breakfast stop Bar Cotognata Leccese. 

Planning tip: Another breakfast treat to look out for is the cornetto di pistacchio – a croissant-like pastry, stuffed with pistachio cream. 

3. Wander Lecce's public gardens 

For a gentle afternoon stroll as the warm light of golden hour settles over the city, head to the Giardini Pubblici Giuseppe Garibaldi, behind the Basilica di Santa Croce. This pretty public park was founded in 1830, and its leafy walkways are dotted with dainty pavilions, fountains and sculptures of great Italians, including Giuseppe Garibaldi, the 19th-century general who set the independent kingdoms of Italy on the path to unification.  

Planning tip: Grab some tasty gelato to slurp while you walk from Natale Pasticceria on Via Salvatore Trinchese or Baldo Gelato by the corner of Via Idomeneo and Via Umberto I. 

4. Explore Lecce’s squares at night

Anyone seeking movida (evening fun) in Lecce should head to the city’s historic piazzas. After exploring the city's baroque churches and Piazza del Duomo by day, you'll discover a different side to the city's historic heart as evening arrives. 

Near the remains of the city's Roman amphitheater, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II offers plenty of appealing places to stop in for a drink and a bite – Alibi Creative Club and Urban Cafe are popular spots for an early evening spritz. Another rewarding place to visit after dark is Piazzetta Castromediano Sigismondo, close to the Basilica di Santa Croce; cafes and bars hem the square and you can see traces of the city’s Roman foundations through glass panels on the ground.

At the south end of the old city, you’ll find the Convitto Palmieri, chosen by director Ferzan Özpetek as the filming location for one of his most famous movies, Mine vaganti (Loose Cannons). Fronted by a column-lined courtyard, the building has been restored several times over the centuries, but it was built as a convent in 1273. Have a drink in one of the nearby bars and sit on the steps of the convent, just like the characters in the movie.

Planning tip: For an elevated Lecce view to go with your aperitivo (pre-dinner drink), head to the Sira Rooftop Bar at the Patria Palace Hotel, where you can quaff cocktails gazing towards the rose window of the Basilica di Santa Croce.

5. Admire the city’s historic palazzi

The architects who designed Lecce’s flamboyant basilicas didn’t stop at churches. The period of Spanish rule also saw the construction of numerous grand palazzi for the city’s wealthy residents, featuring similarly eye-catching ornamentation. 

Next to the Basilica di Santa Croce, the Palazzo dei Celestini (Palazzo del Governo) was built in the 17th century as a convent for Celestine monks, and it now houses the offices of the local government. Nearby is the Palazzo Adorno, built by a Genovese aristocrat in 1568 in the classic Renaissance style, with fine stone carving on its interior walls. 

Close to the Porta Napoli, a preserved gateway from Lecce’s 16th-century walls, the Palazzo Guarini is a tasteful example of the mature baroque style, designed by Emanuele Manieri for an 18th-century Leccese aristocrat. Piazza del Duomo, meanwhile, is graced by the 15th-century Palazzo Arcivescovile and the Palazzo dell'Antico Seminario, a baroque masterpiece containing an elegant chapel, a museum of sacred art, and an ornate well in its central courtyard. 

Head to the lanes south of the Duomo to see elegant mansions such as the Palazzo Morisco d’Arpe, built in the 1400s by Maria d’Enghien, the queen of Naples, using stones reclaimed from the ancient Roman city. Nearby is the Palazzo Tamborino Cezzi, a lavish home arranged around a column-lined atrium. 

Planning tip: Specialist tour guides, such as Francesco Arditi di Castelvetere, can arrange tours that visit the interiors of the city’s palazzi.

6. Go clubbing in Gallipoli 

A slow train line connects Lecce to the beach town of Gallipoli – not to be confused with the Gallipoli in Türkiye (Turkey) – where young Puglians gather for a night on the town. Strung out beyond the stone-lined old town, Gallipoli’s stellar beaches turn into discos after sunset, so you can spend a day chilling on the sand, then dance the night away at hip spots such as Praja Gallipoli. 

Perhaps the top nightlife destination is Riobo, one of Italy’s most famous clubs, nestled in the hills of San Mauro about 8km from central Gallipoli. Tradition dictates finishing the night at nearby Lido delle Conchiglie for impromptu pizzica (Puglian folk dance) moves on the beach until sunrise. For a different vibe, head to Parco Gondar, where an annual program of live bands and DJ nights fills a wide green space with music. 

Planning tip: In the streets of Gallipoli’s old town, Osteria del Vico is the place to try gamberi viola, a variety of shrimp that the town is known for. 

7. Stay in a fortified farmhouse

The countryside of Salento is famous for its masserie – medieval farmhouses protected by fortified walls, a holdover from the days when Puglia faced regular raids by sea from other Mediterranean powers. Staying in a masseria is a great way to soak up the tranquility of the Puglian countryside, along with some homestyle cooking, and there are some fine examples near Lecce. 

About 35km south of Lecce in Scorrano, Masseria Le Pezzate has attractive rooms with exposed stone and wooden beams around a pool and a silent and beautiful inner courtyard. Around 10km north of Lecce, Masseria Trapanà is an elegantly modernized 16th-century masseria that makes the most of its olive grove location.

Detour: An hour south of Lecce near Otranto, Masseria Montelauro is a perfect place to soak up the rural tranquility of Salento, with vaulted bedrooms, fine meals and a pool, set close to a rocky stretch of shoreline.

This article was adapted from Lonely Planet’s Italy guidebook, published in April 2025.