Our travels around the southern region of Puglia have brought us here,
Gallipoli. Whether you like your 15th century architecture or wonderful seafood
this is the city for you. Let's go check out the old town.
Coming up, we walked you around the main attractions of this charming
coastal fishing city, lapping the Ionian sea,
and find out why it's a great place to stop and relax for a couple of days.
Make sure you watch till the end for the golden glow and vibe of the city at night.
Gallipoli seems to be split into two halves really. You've got your
old town which is kind of on little islet which is full of your 15th century buildings, churches,
there are some restaurants there, bars to choose from and then the amazing sea views pretty much
from everywhere. Currently in the new town if you like, which is kind of centered along this big
main road Corso Roma. Buildings here are kind of nondescript but there's more restaurants and
a couple of churches to look into if you're interested. I had a look on google maps and
there's some interesting places for dinner so i think we'll probably come back here later
for a pizza maybe. Gallipoli can also be reached by train or bus and if you plan on arriving by
train you'll arrive, obviously at the train station which i'll show you in a second.
It's probably about a 15-20 minute walk from there into the center of the old town.
Crossing over the bridge now from the new town into the historic quarter
and this bridge sort of connects the old town. It's on like a little island and as you walk over
you sort of pass by the, i don't know if it's a citadel or whether they class it as a castle,
but the water around here is absolutely beautifully
clear you can see the fish and it's really delightful just walking across.
It is indeed a castle and dates back to medieval times in the past the old town would have only
been accessible via a drawbridge castle now houses a museum whilst we chose not to go in
apparently the echoing towers that held the cannons is quite impressive.
Once you get over into the old town area then the parking situation is restricted and
it's difficult to find a space and only at certain times of the day you're able to do it, so
do check that out before you come this side and go across into the old town area.
As you dive into the centrio storico the first thing you'll notice is that it's a complete mix
of busy trading streets and quiet picturesque residential lanes. The maze of alleyways make it
easy to lose your bearings but it doesn't really matter there's always something beautiful to see
and eventually you'll end up on the outer city wall promenade that
encloses and protects the old town. Just like most other old towns we've visited on our travel series
the shops are a good mix of ceramics, italian staples like, quality olive oil and dried pasta.
Dotted in between all of these are cafes and restaurants that line the streets and piazzas
many of which become very popular after dark as you'll see later.
So now's probably a good time to browse the menus get some ideas for dinner
maybe pop in and book a table. So something to note when you're in italy if you ask for
a latte make sure you ask for a cafe latte otherwise you really will just get warm milk.
If you're looking for something historical as you ramble through the narrow alleyways then head for
the center and Cattedrale di Santa'Agata built in the 1600s it has a wonderful baroque facade.
Local builders used local stone to create its imposing structure and chiseled figurines.
At night it glows golden bathed in light.
If you like that sort of design, don't miss next week's video on Lecce,
as much of the city looks like this inside. Fresco's adorned the ceiling and walls
it's usually quieter in the daytime and is free to visit.
The Diosesan museum of Gallipoli exhibits religious art and objects
in an 18th century baroque building worth noting lots of places closed between 1 30
and 5 30 pm for siesta so don't try and visit during those times.
In one of the side streets we found a golden coloured statue of padre pio
who was made a saint by the catholic church.
Why the statue is here i was not able to establish maybe you know in the comments.
Having weaved our way through the streets let's break out to the outer
island walls and walk around the sea promenades which are just stunning.
Walking around the island you've got amazing sea views and
it's really old almost like falling down. Some of the buildings giving off kind of
like a havana vibe not that i've ever been but kind of what i imagine havana to be like.
In the northern part of the promenade a very popular sandy beach gives way to crystal clear
swimming water. Many locals and tourists alike relax here for a day with restaurants, bars and
snack vans selling paninis close by, meaning you never need to stray too far away from the water.
A private boat harbour was recently added so people can sail down the coast and dock for a few
hours. It's also here that people like to do rock jumping and snorkeling just off the sea brakes.
Gallipoli is a number of other beaches along the coastline, some public and others that
require an entrance fee. They are mostly like beach clubs with DJs and a bar and
can be fun with a group of friends. The rocky beaches whilst not so comfortable still attract
visitors for a more quiet place to relax and swim and watch the boats and kayaks go by.
There's less facilities out here so be sure to bring some food and water if that looks appealing.
We've just stopped off at cafe del mar a couple of apparels of course i thought we'd get a light bite
for lunch got a margarita pizza nice and simple and Si's gone for some tuna and capers bruschetta.
My pizza was five euros and Si, i think it was like seven euros, so yeah not bad. Prices for food and
drink are reasonable and the old town perimeter has a good choice with that all-important sea view.
Several interesting churches are along the perimeter of the old town facing the sea.
Most allow you to just walk in and grab some shade whilst looking at the architecture.
So behind me is a little bar called Bueno Vista
and a good tip is if you want to sit somewhere and have a drink as the sun goes down then this is the
spot to do it and everybody seems to come here and we'll pop by later and you'll be able to see
how busy it gets but what a beautiful sunset you can have on a sunny day.
As you're walking around town you'll see all the fishing boats
and Gallipoli is famous for its seafood. On the menus in restaurants you'll see fresh tuna,
swordfish, prawns and some more kind of unusual things like sea urchins also seem to be pretty
popular.
It's quite interesting just to watch the fishermen at this time of day. They're sort of
cleaning out the boats and mending nets because all the fish has already been sold
to the restaurants today and that'll be on ice all the way through the day and in the evening
it'll be put out on display just outside the restaurants for you to pick what you want.
As the sun starts to drop down towards the horizon, the energy of the old town starts to
grow and people appear from everywhere to grab a space on the fortified walls to take in the sunset.
Those left on the beach sit and stare others fill the seafront bars quickly ordering a drink
camera ready for what turned out to be a lovely sunset .
If you're looking for something informal and fishy then head to the fish market at
dusk right next to the castle. The little stalls have opened
up displaying a wonderful array of seafood ready for you to pick. It's then cooked and
served to you on some rustic no thrilled seating it's really popular and bustling.
Select what you fancy and then they'll cook it up there and then for you.
very fishy isn't it so fishy!
The bridge connecting to the new town became a street market with vendors selling everything
from olive oil, sea sponges and tourist ceramics and trinkets.
In fact as we walked into the new town for dinner the Corso Roma
was full of stalls lining the street.
So last night we were in the old town and pretty much every restaurant around there
is south italian cuisine so it's really heavy on the fish tonight we've come into the new
town we really fancied something a bit more meaty so we found this place it's called the
brasserie it's quite cool you order off an app and we've gone for a couple of burgers and a
couple of interesting sounding kind of like italian meatball things we think. We'll show you.
Here's our starter we've gone for some cornflake chicken,
these are the italian meatballs and some onion rings let's dig in.
Here we are the main event has arrived two massive burgers, mine has loads of cheese and some
sun dried tomatoes. Si yours looks like double burger, cheesy, maybe some onions in there as well.
If you fancy something a little bit non-italian head to brasserie it's pretty good.
Did you like that?
yeah very nice. Decent service which is kind of hard to get in italy sometimes, but yeah decent place.
Back into the old town the place is buzzing after dark. This is the busiest
time of day and when the restaurants bars and cafes really do fill up for the evening.
We visited in August and so many italians were holidaying here
from other parts of italy. It may well be quieter at other times of year.
A magical feel comes over the historic quarter with everything bathed in golden yellow lights.
Despite the crowds it's the perfect place to be on a warm summer's night just strolling
around the streets you probably walked earlier in the day. It really feels like a different place.
The great thing about wandering around as you always see new things and deep in one of the
alleyways was this imposing entrance to the public library, one of the oldest in the region. It has a
magical entrance through the old stone staircase, i imagine the tree is a few hundred years old too.
There is loads to see in doing Gallipoli and
it definitely should be one of your destinations when in southern italy.
If you like Gallipoli then you're sure to love next week's adventure
when we dive into the baroque provincial capital of Lecce on the last leg of our Puglia travel series.
Whether you like finding hidden piazzas, gazing up ornate baroque architecture or lazy lunches with
a good glass of red wine, Lecce has it all. We'll take you through all the sites including our stay
in the sumptuous royal suite at Torre del Parco a medieval fortress dating back to the 15th century.
Don't miss it by subscribing now and setting notifications!
Thanks for watching and we'll see you next time on the Memoryseekers. Happy Travels!