Exquisite Puglian cuisine and nightlife, fueled by the city’s university population, add to the complexity of Bari (BA-ree; pop. 329,000), the main Italian transportation hub for travel to Greece. On every street, clothing shops and gelaterie tempt pedestrians, and the sea is never more than a few blocks away. Amid the commotion, reckless drivers zoom about the modern city’s wide avenues and pickpockets dart down alleys in the small medieval section. Although Bari does not figure prominently on most itineraries, its cosmopolitan vibes and urban grit make it a worthwhile divergence from southern Italy’s more touristy cities, if only for a brief visit. Just ask the locals, who say Paris could be a piccolo Bari (little Bari) if it only had the sea.
Flights: Palese Airport (☎ 080 58 00 200; www.seap-puglia.it), 8km west of the city. Alitalia, Air France, British Airways, and Lufthansa fly to major European cities from Bari. Shuttle bus #16 leaves ...more
Via Sparano runs from the train station to Piazza Umberto I, Bari’s main square. The end of V. Sparano intersects Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and the edge of the old city. To walk to the port, skirt ...more
The top-notch hostel La Nuova Arca , C. Alcide de Gasperi 320, is inside the Parco di Cagno Abbrescia, 6km away. Take bus #4 from C. Benedetto Croce behind the station; ask the driver to stop at ...more
Looks like Mom and Dad were wrong—there really is a Santa Claus, and the Basilica di San Nicola proves it. Sixty baresi sailors tomb raided St. Nicholas’s remains from Turkey in 1087 ...more
Bari is Puglia’s cultural nucleus. Teatro Piccinni, C. V. Emanuele 86, offers a spring concert season and year-round opera. (☎ 080 52 10 878; www.fondazioneliricabari.it. Open M-F 10:30am-12:30pm ...more
Take the FSE trains from Bari to “Grotte di Castellana Grotte” (1hr., every 50min. 7:07am-5:05pm, €3). ☎ 080 49 98 211; www.grottedicastellana.it. Caves are across the parking lot and ...more
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For 52 years, we have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.
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