Hotels in Bari

The beachside city of Bari is Puglia‘s capital, and it’s also a major port city for southern Italy in general. It’s easy enough to see Bari as a passing-through place, but there’s plenty to see and do (especially if it’s water- or beach-related) if you stop and stay awhile.

Bari Vecchia, the old town on its small peninsula, is the reason to stay. Its lanes lead to the Basilica di San Nicola, where the bones of St. Nicholas (yes, that St. Nicholas) have drawn pilgrims since Bari sailors carried them off from Myra, in what is now Turkey, in 1087. In the lanes around the Arco Basso, women still make orecchiette by hand at tables outside their front doors. Eat focaccia barese topped with tomatoes and olives, a fried panzerotto, and if you’re brave, the raw seafood locals eat down by the harbor.

Bari is also a practical base. Fast trains from Rome take about four hours, a train connects the airport with the city center, and ferries leave the port for Greece, Albania and Montenegro. The trulli of Alberobello, the cliff-top town of Polignano a Mare and the cave city of Matera are all easy day trips by train or bus.

Click any pin on this map of hotels in Bari for reviews and current prices.