Everyone goes to Rome, Florence, and Venice—but what if the most unforgettable parts of Italy aren’t in the cities at all?
What about escaping to Sicily, the Dolomites, or… Today I’ll show you why Puglia—with its olive groves, quiet villas, and nonnas making pasta from scratch—might just be the Italy trip you actually need. This is the slow, soulful side of the country, where there’s no need for skip-the-line tickets, €20 spritzes, or five-hour waits for photos. Just sunshine, good wine, and the space to actually feel Italy.
🛵 Want to experience Italy to the fullest? Download the Italy Insider E-Guide now! https://bit.ly/3Zom90m
Tenuta Cefalicchio, where I stayed: https://maps.app.goo.gl/AtN4bmML3YnVuK3C6
📧 Newsletter
Join my newsletter email list for free travel tips, hacks, and exclusive content. https://gregor-brown.kit.com/53b0eef2d7
👉Ways you can support me:
⭐Join my Patron Inner Circle
https://www.patreon.com/c/gregorbrown/membership
🙋🏻Join The Global Insiders for direct travel help and free guides.
https://www.patreon.com/c/gregorbrown/membership
📺Watch the next unreleased video by becoming a channel member
https://www.youtube.com/@GregorBrown/join
👍 Or simply just give a thumbs up, that’s free and much appreciated, too.
🙏And please subscribe for all the latest videos https://www.youtube.com/@GregorBrown?sub_confirmation=1
✈️ My TRAVEL INSURANCE recommendation 🩺 https://bit.ly/42FeDx0
⚙ Gear I use for travel:
Plug adaptor: https://amzn.to/3HeyMAr
Power strip (plug into an adaptor): https://amzn.to/3JefEVP
Portable USB Charger (a must!): https://amzn.to/3kzrZcM
Italian phrase book: https://amzn.to/3wynZMv
Sleep eye mask: https://amzn.to/3IS7u4n
Ear plugs for sleeping: https://amzn.to/3IMOUuu
Toiletry Kit bag (I got the camo one): https://amzn.to/3Z2AM6B
Travel Bottles for Toiletries: https://amzn.to/3xT3WZN
…or get clear refillable ones: https://amzn.to/3ktjEHU
Samsonite hard shell luggage: https://amzn.to/404ZlRa
Rimowa Essential Cabin Luggage: https://amzn.to/3b1v94l
(If you buy using this links above, I receive a commission via the Amazon Affiliate Program.)
21 Comments
Puglia – The Italian Escape You Didn’t Know You Needed. Find out here: https://youtu.be/DyAr_Wg5Hfc?si=W_qIzBz2oAzA7kOL
What you say is basically true, but… South Italy can be very traumatic if it's your first time in Italy and don't know "how things goes" here. I can't imagine how traumatized a Japanese tourist, for example, would be if he chose Naples as the first Italian city to visit, where "everyone screams" and seeks physical contact; or a US citizen, used to being waited on hand and foot, having to deal with infrastructures (like trains in the South) that work well half the time and are almost never on time, while shops remain closed for 3 hours during lunch break and are completely closed on Saturday afternoon and Sunday! Personally, I recommend visiting the South the second/third time you come to Italy.
Heavenly for an introvert
I’m looking forward to be in Puglia next month. Hope to see you if you’re still there.
Just got back from two weeks in Puglia and Basilicata. What a great trip! My grandpa was from Basilicata. It was my first trip to the area, and it was the best. The atmosphere was laid back, the people were friendly, the food was the best, and the scenery was excellent. I would live there in a minute. I don't know if it was the place, the ancestral heritage, or what. Whatever it was, I can't say that any other place felt like home to me.
I very much enjoy your videos. I will be travelling to Italy in July and one thing that is difficult to determine are places to stay or visit that are accessible to wheelchairs. Have you ever thought about doing a video highlighting this? Meanwhile, I will keep enjoying your content! 😎😎
Basilicata is the new Rome🎉🎉🎉😢
Absolutely! Puglia and neighboring Basilicata are wonderful. Slower paced, natural beauty, quiet. The best.
How hot does it get in Puglia? I notice there are few trees tall enough to provide shade overhead. It's nice when there is a tree canopy to walk under.
Awesome thank you!
Villa st Andrea! ❤❤❤
Gregor, you're too young to be sounding like an old man (that's me). In my youth, I used to go, go, go. Now I slow travel and don't need to see everything. After all, you've seen one ruin, cathedral, etc. you've seen them all.😁 You can always go back?
I'm at a villa in Panzano in Chianti right now. I agree with what you are saying 100%
Puglia is on my list, definitely want to wander about the quiet parts of Italy with no tourists if possible ❤
I’m heading to Italy next week and this time I’m exploring some new places—like Puglia—for a change, instead of just the usual big cities. Really looking forward to it! 🇮🇹
Congratulations! You are an excellent observer of everything around you. According to the data, 70% of foreign tourists who arrive in Italy every year concentrate on only 1% of the territory. They are mostly people driven to know the world, to cultivate the idealization of the past, to mythologize past eras, because in truth they feel lost in their present. In Italy they have been defined as the so-called "hit and run" vacationers, because with their quick passage they are accused of destroying the landscape like locusts, altering local cultures, abusing the environment, etc. etc. And with the volumes that are always increasing, overtourism in some places has become an increasingly less manageable problem. I don't know if the majority of tourists realize all this. Despite the myth of a hospitable land that many have attributed to Italy, not only among the Florentines and Venetians there is now unfortunately a large band of residents in various parts of Italy, quite hostile to the mass arrivals of tourists. Finally, your objective comments for better or worse about what Italy represents are worthy of great respect.
Florence has ton of tourists but if you walk away from the tourist areas you start to feel more local areas, food, and markets
I just got back from Firenze, and Ive been to Rome a couple times aswell as Venezia, Napoli, Milan and briefly to Pisa. My most memorable trip, however, was driving around in Sicilia around Mt Etna with my parents. For me, the real Italy is its countryside, nature and a slow pace.
I highly recommend anyone to see Firenze and Rome if you can go off-season. For my next Italy trips , however, I will be renting a car and stay in quiet, small towns in Toscana
👍
Please don’t do the Basilica region, the last thing we want is to be overrun with influencer tourists . Thanks
Honestly, Puglia has its fair share of mass tourism as well, if you walk the route of the trulli in Alberobello. But it is true, pace of life in Basilicata and most parts of Puglia is slower, people are as friendly as can be and most importantly, less and less loud tourists. In fact, most of Tuscany outside the main towns and Florence is also still calm and ‘dolce vita’, so is Lazio, just stay away from the main tourist traps. Italy is a big country and even after visiting it for a mere 50 years almost evey summer, I still discover parts I haven’t seen before.