For travelers who see the world as one long checklist (the Acropolis, check; the Mona Lisa, check), Puglia probably won't make the cut: There are no obligatory museum stops, and the longest line you'll wait in is for a gelato, not an old-master painting. But it is precisely this off-the-map quality (tour buses are as rare as bad weather) that makes Puglia feel as if you'd wandered onto the set of Cinema Paradiso. Families come for the glorious food (locally grown figs, olives, almonds, and grapes, and just-caught seafood), the hill towns and tiny fishing villages that feel caught in time, and, of course, the climate, which while heavenly in summer is mild year-round. Best of all, the locals adore children, so prepare to be fawned over wherever you go.
Next Page: Day One: Bari to Savelletri
