Welcome to Lecce
If Puglia were a movie, Lecce would be cast in the starring role. Bequeathed with a generous stash of baroque buildings by its 17th-century architects, the city has a completeness and homogeneity that other southern Italian metropolises lack. Indeed, so distinctive is Lecce’s architecture that it has acquired its own moniker, barocco leccese (Lecce baroque), an expressive and hugely decorative incarnation of the genre replete with gargoyles, asparagus columns and cavorting gremlins. Swooning 18th-century traveller Thomas Ashe thought it 'the most beautiful city in Italy', but the less-impressed Marchese Grimaldi said the facade of Basilica di Santa Croce made him think a lunatic was having a nightmare.
Top experiences in Lecce
Amazing hotels and hostels
We've pre-picked the best hotels, hostels and bed and breakfasts to make your stay as enjoyable as possible.
Lecce activities
Traditional Home Cooking Experience in Lecce with Dinner
Live an authentic culinary experience in Lecce, the baroque capital of Apulia. Enter the home of Giovanni, and enjoy an amazing hands-on cooking followed by a convivial dinner with his family. Giovanni' home is in a typical farmhouse located just outside Lecce´s historic center. With his wife, he welcomes curious travellers into his great hall, complete with fireplace, as if it is your own home. Both of them are passionate for cooking, fine wine and art. They also organize cooking courses and guided tours of wine cellars, if you wish. Giovanni adores cooking and hosting guests, together with the help of his wife, who is originally from the southern region of Puglia. Together they have refined a menu of Pugliese specialties, using products and raw materials from the region, like fish and vegetables from the local market, and olive oil from Salento. Get ready to learn some of the secrets of our cuisine and enjoy the meal with your friends and family. This is a typical menu you will prepare and taste: • A Puglia speciality as an appetizer • Cream of broccoli with burrata cheese and anchovies • Cavalieri spaghetti with ‘hung’ tomatoes • Negroamaro pot roast with creamed Galatina potatoes • Salento pasticiotto flan.Don't miss the chance to live this unique culinary experience.
Lecce Bike Tour
Visit Lecce's most important tourist attractions like piazza Sant' Oronzo, piazza del Duomo and Basilica of Santa Croce. Admire the amazing remains of the Roman Theater and Amphitheater and the wonderful Baroque churches. Follow your guide and reach the monumental doors, the sumptuous palaces with their courts full of thousand-year history and the most hidden corners, rich in legends and anecdotes. During the tour it will be possible to visit the local handcraft boutiques and taste delicious local wine and food. You will venture into the real Lecce and immerse yourself in the lively local life and traditions of this enchanting city. This tour is suitable to everybody with no cycling difficulties. Lecce is a flat and sunny city and is, therefore, perfect to be visited by bike during the whole year.
Lecce Walking Tour with Papier-Mâché Workshop
Explore lecce and discover picturesque and hidden corners with an expert guide and join a private and customizable tour, back to ancient times and far from stereotypes. Meet a local artisan and join a papier mâché workshop in a typical atelier and aafter that taste delicious local products like cheese, salami, primitivo wine, home-made gelato. Live a unique experience among culture, arts, tradition and folklore.Tour begins visiting the main attractions of the old town such as Porta Napoli, the city monumental entrance; the charming SantaCroce Basilica with its Baroque style and Saint Oronzo square.Tour goes on along the authentic narrow streets to discover the roman vestiges of the amphitheater and theater as well as theother minor squares and churches to find out the original artistic development of the Baroque style in the city.Tour ends meeting Mr. Claudio, a local artisan, who will teach us the papier maché tecniques and unveil the secrets of his famousatelier. During the workshop and together with him we will create a real small statue to take back home.
Salento in One Day from Lecce
Galatina, a real gem of art, history and traditions. Of extraordinary beauty is, in particular, the Basilica of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, second only to the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi for the presence of many frescoes inside, which were created by Giotto's disciples.Other monuments to visit are the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul, and the ancient "courtyard houses" and the buildings situated in the historical centre.Otranto is Italy’s easternmost town and is well-known as “Porta d’Oriente” (literally, “Door to the Orient”). The splendid Cathedral, the Church of Saint Peter in perfect Byzantium style, the Castle, the Towers, the mighty Pelasgi Bastions and the Walls that surrounded the whole of the ancient city make Otranto one of the most interesting cultural destinations in South Italy.Santa Maria di Leuca sits on the southernmost tip of the Salentine peninsula, bathed by two seas, the Ionian Sea to the west and the Adriatic Sea to the east. Santa Maria di Leuca is a tourist center famous for its colourful natural landscape that blends in with its majestic architecture.Located on the Japigo promontory is the Basilica of Santa Maria De Finibus Terrae (at the ends of the earth). From the Basilica you can reach the old port on foot via two ramps of 300 steps each.Gallipoli is considered the pearl of Salento: This Greek city can be divided into two areas: the old city and the new village, where the tourist facilities and modern buildings arise. The old part of the city is located on a limestone island connected to the mainland by a 17th century bridge. It is surrounded by defensive walls built mainly in the 14th century. It is characterized by a labyrinthine weave of narrow streets, home to traditional shops of local handicrafts, numerous impressive Baroque churches and aristocratic palazzi.Also worth seeing are the Cathedral dedicated to St. Agatha, one of the best examples of Baroque in Salento, the Angevine Castle built in the 13th century and the Greek Fountain, one of the oldest fountains in Italy.
Lecce Sightseeing Bike Tour and Papier-Mâché Workshop
Explore lecce and discover picturesque and hidden corners with an expert guide and join a private and customizable tour, back to ancient times and far from stereotypes. Meet a local artisan and join a papier mâché workshop in a typical atelier and aafter that taste delicious local products like cheese, salami, primitivo wine, home-made gelato. Live a unique experience among culture, arts, tradition and folklore.Tour begins visiting the main attractions of the old town such as Porta Napoli, the city monumental entrance; the charming SantaCroce Basilica with its Baroque style and Saint Oronzo square.Tour goes on along the authentic narrow streets to discover the roman vestiges of the amphitheater and theater as well as theother minor squares and churches to find out the original artistic development of the Baroque style in the city.Tour ends meeting Mr. Claudio, a local artisan, who will teach us the papier maché tecniques and unveil the secrets of his famousatelier. During the workshop and together with him we will create a real small statue to take back home.
Lecce Half-Day Cooking Class and Market Visit
Meet your local host in Lecce and stroll the local market for some food shopping. Start to learn how to recognize the local ingredient, how to choose them and use in the local recipes. Your shopping continue with a transfer to nearby village overlooked by the tourist crowd, to visit the local stone oven and get local specialities, stop over to our friend to get some fresh eggs and continue (subject to season) with more harvesting of organically grown vegetable at our garden , for a complete fam to table experience. During the class you will focus on the preparation of a typical traditional lunch, including a hands on "fresh pasta" workshop, to learn how to make the orecchiette "ear shaped" pasta and maccheroni (Italian for macaroni). The class is held in a private house immersed in the an acre of olive groves, veg garden and typical salentine landscape, not in a cooking school for tourist. The menu can also be arranged based on the client needs, taste, and food diet. The cooking class includes a lunch with selected local wines, dessert, and coffee. Pick up and drop off included.