Things to do in Salento: the towns, the two seas and a hosted New Year break

The best things to do in Salento, the heel of Italy, are its towns: Baroque Lecce, the whitewashed lanes and underground oil mills of Specchia, Otranto on its rock above the Adriatic, Gallipoli's island old town on the Ionian, and Santa Maria di Leuca, where the land runs out. For a first visit with the planning done, Spice Escapes takes a small group of people travelling on their own, with a host, to Lecce, Specchia and Galatina over New Year: New Year in Puglia with WingsItaly.

Below: the inland towns, the coast, then the New Year break day by day.

Inland: Specchia's white lanes and oil mills, and our base at Poggiardo

Specchia is listed by I Borghi più belli d'Italia, the association of Italy's most beautiful villages. Its old centre is narrow lanes closed to traffic and broken by flights of steps, and the 16th-century Risolo castle looks over Piazza del Popolo.

Beneath the streets are oil mills dug between the 15th and 19th centuries, well worth the visit. Digging was easier than building, and underground the mills held a steady twenty degrees or so, the best temperature for separating the oil.

Poggiardo is where the group stays, a village of graceful courtyard houses a few kilometres from the sea. Its rock church of Santa Maria degli Angeli was once covered in frescoes, which now have a museum of their own at Villa Episcopo.

The coast: Otranto on its rock, Gallipoli on its island, Leuca at the tip

Otranto stands on a rocky spur high above the Adriatic. It is the city of the 800 Martyrs, killed when the Turks besieged it in the 15th century, whose remains lie in the cathedral's Martyrs' Chapel.

Gallipoli, the Pearl of the Ionian Sea, keeps its old town on an island, ringed by Roman and Byzantine walls and joined to the newer town by a bridge, with an Angevin castle and a cathedral in Lecce Baroque.

Santa Maria di Leuca is the southernmost point of Salento, the promontory that divides the two seas. Its basilica is Santa Maria de finibus terrae, at the ends of the earth, and boats from the port visit sea caves lived in during the Neolithic.

None of the three is on our New Year programme as it stands. Here is what is.

Our New Year break in Salento, day by day

New Year in Puglia with WingsItaly is 5 nights, hosted by Claire Dymond and Andrea Dal Moro, who meet you at the airport and stay with you. Spice and WingsItaly have the rooms of the superior four-star Hotel Tesoretto to themselves, five minutes' walk from the centre of Poggiardo. The programme is provisional:

• Day one: met at the airport, a private transfer, a welcome aperitivo and a dinner of Puglian cooking with local wines.
• Day two: the short transfer to Lecce, dressed for Christmas with lights and nativity scenes in old courtyards. Excursions in the city will be offered nearer the time.
• Day three: town visits, announced once the town councils confirm their Christmas programmes.
• Day four: New Year's Eve, a private five-course gala with a bottle of wine each, and a local celebration next door that guests drift between.
• Day five: a slow morning, then another town or corner of Puglia, chosen nearer the time for its festivities, with a traditional New Year's Day lunch.

The programme also names Specchia and Galatina, an elegant and less well-known town, without fixing their days yet. With a host, you do not need to track which town has what on that week.

See the dates and book online on the New Year in Puglia page: 28 Dec 2026 – 2 Jan 2027, from £1,139.

Arriving on your own, and the room to yourself

Most people on our holidays book on their own. Groups are around fifteen people, and some reach twenty. New to this? Start with our guide for first-time solo travellers.

Every Spice holiday carries a single supplement or a room-to-yourself cost, and our single supplement page explains it. At the Tesoretto, seven rooms are Jacuzzi suites at no extra charge, given first come, first served to guests in a room alone or a double.

Not free at New Year? Italy by sea, or a Croatian island, in spring

Mediterranean Cruising Italian Style with WingsItaly is 8 nights, hosted by Claire Dymond with Andrea Moro of WingsItaly. You fly to Rome a day early, then sail on the Costa Toscana, drinks and gratuities included. It runs 6 May 2027 – 14 May 2027, from £1,679.

If harbour towns and the sea drew you to Salento, Croatian Chillout is 7 nights on the island of Lošinj with Jackie Whyte, half board at Hotel Punta. It runs 1 May 2027 – 8 May 2027, from £869.

More of Italy: our holidays in Italy, solo holidays to Italy over 50, culture and discovery holidays and holidays for over 50s.

Questions people ask

What is Salento known for?

Salento is the southern end of Puglia, the heel of Italy, between the Adriatic and the Ionian. It is known for its beaches, and inland for olive groves, dry-stone walls, Baroque towns and villages a thousand years old.

Is Salento the same as Puglia?

Salento is part of Puglia, its southern end. Lecce is Salento's cultural centre, and Bari is the capital of the whole region.

Which Salento towns are worth seeing on a first visit?

Lecce for its Baroque centre, then Otranto, Gallipoli and Santa Maria di Leuca on the coast. Inland, Specchia is listed among Italy's most beautiful villages, and our New Year programme also names Galatina.

Will most of the group be travelling on their own?

Yes, most people who book Spice holidays come on their own. The break starts with a welcome aperitivo and dinner together, so you know faces before the first day out.

Your first Salento: see the dates and book online

If Lecce at Christmas and a New Year's Eve with the locals next door is how you would like to meet Salento, see the dates and book online on the New Year in Puglia with WingsItaly page. Availability today: 16 places left.

Claire Dymond hosts the break. Questions before you book, about the rooms or the days still to be fixed, can go to her through our contact page, or to Rosie, the chat on the holiday page.