A Mini City Guide to Taranto, Puglia

The deep blue ocean isn’t the first thing you notice when you arrive in Taranto. And it’s not the city’s Greek legacy or nineteenth century avenues, though they’ll grab your attention within seconds.

No, the first thing you’ll realize is that you’re the only tourist. “Finally”, you may think to yourself. Or, “I didn’t realize places like this existed”. But Taranto is one of the rare Italian cities you’ll visit without crowds.

As you explore Taranto, you’ll feel like you’ve stumbled on a hidden secret. While the city’s historic district can feel rundown with churches crumbling into skinny buildings next to Greek ruins, it retains its allure. And you won’t want to miss the evening passeggiata (the legendary walks Italians take en masse at seemingly set points of day), which takes place along Via Federico di Palma in the city’s new district. At this time of day the city buzzes with locals popping into shops, sipping on spritzes at outdoor cafes and chatting with neighbors. 

In this guide, we’ll share an itinerary that will set you on the path to uncovering all the hidden gems Taranto has to offer. You’ll discover the coolest local spots, the surprising best bar and the historic details missing from most guidebooks.

What’s Included:

• Where Is Taranto Located in Italy?
• How Do I Get to Taranto?
• What Is There to Do in Taranto?
• When Should I Visit Taranto?
• Where Should I Stay in Taranto?
• The Ideal Taranto Itinerary
• Activities to Extend your Stay

Where Is Taranto Located in Italy?

Taranto is located in Puglia, the southern region frequently referred to as Italy’s heel. Taranto sits in the instep, southwest of the region’s capital, Bari. The city faces the Ionian Sea.

How Do I Get to Taranto?

Taranto is the perfect stop to add on to a tour of southern Italy as it’s accessible from multiple regions. The national rail service, Trenitalia, operates trains to Taranto from Bari and Naples, both of which have many connections to other regions. You can also get a direct train from Lecce, further south in Puglia’s Salento area, and from Salerno in Campania via the high-speed Frecciarossa train. 

In 2019 and early 2020, some cruise lines began discussing docking in the city. While the pandemic derailed this movement, we think it could be an amazing opportunity to shine a light on the area’s innumerable charms.

What Is There to Do in Taranto?

We’ll be completely honest here: visiting Taranto isn’t like visiting Florence or Venice, and not just because tourists rarely frequent the area. Taranto’s does have a few  amazing museums and historical buildings but its main attraction is the relaxed pace of life. We recommend that you wander through the streets, enjoy an aperitivo, and embrace taking an afternoon nap.

The city’s archeological museum is one of the stand-out attractions. If you encounter other tourists during your stay in the city, you’ll find them here. The museum boasts one of Italy’s most impressive and extensive collections of Greek artifacts. From pottery to ceremonial masks to the world’s largest collection of Greek terracotta figures, you’ll easily spend hours exploring the collection. And unlike many regional museums in Italy, it’s evident that money has been spent to spruce up the exhibits. All that’s missing is the hordes of visitors.

After you see all the Greek artifacts behind glass, go see some real ruins at the Temple of Poseidon. Dating back to the 6th-century BC, two columns are all that remain of the Doric temple. Yet the two columns suffice to give you a sense of the structure’s imposing presence, even today they seem to tower over the surrounding buildings.

Despite Taranto’s rich history, one of our favorite things to do in the city is revel in its modern rhythms. There’s no place better to feel like a hobnobbing local than on Via Federico di Palma. This is the new district’s main pedestrian thoroughfare. It bustles in the morning with people grabbing coffee, empties out around midday as residents retreat from the heat, then resumes its bubbling atmosphere in the evening as locals fill into cafes for pre-dinner drinks and browse shops.

When Should I Visit Taranto?

Since Taranto isn’t a huge tourist city, you won’t need to plan your trip around avoiding crowds. As we recommend in our Puglia guide, the region reaches its peak in summers when locals flood the beaches and spend time mingling outdoors. We’d avoid visiting in winter, which can be gray (though not freezing) and have a muted social scene.

Where Should I Stay in Taranto?

Given its distance from Italy’s tourist track, Taranto isn’t well-served by major hotel chains. Instead, we recommend booking a room in a local-owned bed and breakfast. This type of accommodation used to be called a pensione, but today it’s more akin to an apartment rental, or an Airbnb.

Some of these rentals will offer coupons for breakfast at local bars, however we typically find this a useless amenity. The bars they choose may be local, but they don’t tend to offer the best quality pastries. Since Italian breakfasts are usually quite affordable – it shouldn’t cost you much beyond 3 euro per person – we recommend focusing on other perks, like Wi-Fi and proximity to the city center.

• Duca 70 – Located about five minutes away from Via Federico di Palma, the clean rooms at Duca 70 are one of the best deals you’ll find in the city with rates starting at 40 Euro. The frills are minimal and service bare: you’re essentially staying in a two-room apartment with a lock on your door, albeit one that feels like a boutique hotel.

• Corso Umberto Apartment – Not only do we love the surprisingly swish design of this apartment, we also adore its ultra-central location (perfect for visiting the archeological museum). The apartment has a kitchen and washer-dryer, making it a great option if you’re stopping in Taranto at the end of a longer tour. Plus, it’s hard to beat the price of roughly $50 per night.

• Petite Maison TA – If you’re planning to spend your mornings and evenings embracing the passeggiata, this centrally-located apartment will be perfect for you. It’s relatively barebones, apart from an impressive kitchen set-up, including a well-stocked mini-bar that would give a boutique hotel a run for its money.

The Ideal Taranto Itinerary

We recommend devoting two nights, or about a day and a half to exploring Taranto. This should give you enough time to see the sights, while also letting you soak up a bit of the atmosphere. If you plan to use the city as a jumping off point to nearby beaches (see our recommendations at the end of this post), extend your stay.

Day One

The easiest way to arrive in Taranto is by train. Unfortunately, the train station is located on the far outskirts of the city, about two miles to the city center. While the walk is doable, and you’ll have a sea view most of the way, we advise looking for a taxi to take you to your accommodation. Licensed taxis will be white, avoid jumping in a car with anyone who offers you a ride, or at least agree on a price beforehand.

After dropping your bags, get your bearings with a walk around the new town. Via Federico di Palma is the main pedestrian thoroughfare, and worth exploring for its bustling activity, shops and restaurants. Also worth visiting is Corso Due Mari, which overlooks Taranto’s old town and offers splendid ocean views. Follow this up with a stroll along Taranto’s lungomare, a tree-lined promenade that runs along the southern edge of the new town. Cap off your walk with a drink at Le Premiere, a bar on Via di Palma that shakes up its spritzes fresh to order.

For dinner, head to Le Due Fontane, which serves ultra-fresh seafood in an attractive seaside location.

Day Two

Start your day with breakfast at ZTL Coffee, either throwing back an espresso in the zippy metallic interior or people watching over a cappuccino and cornetto at an outdoor table. The bar is located near the archeological museum, which should be your next stop. Plan to spend the rest of the morning there, an easy task given the museum’s vast collection. Unfortunately, because of staffing issues the museum opens each floor one at a time and for an hour only. You’ll need to peruse the exhibits at a steady clip in order to see them all.

For lunch, either stop for a casual sandwich at Come Vuoi, a made-to-order sandwich shop that offers hyper-fresh and extremely local ingredients as fillings. While you’re assured of a gourmet meal at Come Vuoi, if you’d rather sit at a full service restaurant, you can’t go wrong with pizza at Ricci Pizzaioli, located along Via Federico di Palma. 

As the heat of the afternoon increases, retreat to your hotel for a quick nap or afternoon reading break. Head out in the early afternoon – 3:30 if you’re restless, 4-4:30 if you’re tired – to explore the Old Town. Taranto’s cathedral is the main attraction, which blends an austere nave with a gaudy, marble-laden apse. Otherwise, there’s not much left in the area beyond fishing boats bobbing along the lungomare. The houses are visibly crumbling, which can make for an almost eerie atmosphere in the still-deserted early afternoon.

While you’re wandering through the old town, stop by Castello Aragonese. This fort was built in the late fifteenth century on top of ancient Greek fortifications from the 4th century BC. It was used as a gun storage until the early 18th century, when the Hapsburgs turned it into a prison, with an admittedly envious view. You can go on free tours in the early afternoon, but they’re held in Italian. Honestly, we think the fort is best viewed from afar.

As afternoon turns to evening, head back to the center of the new town for another aperitivo. If you’re keen to try local wine – and why wouldn’t you be?! – visit Primovino Wine Club, which offers a variety of local wines and dishes to whet your appetite. Fueled up for a bit more walking, stroll along the main streets, popping into and out of shops as the locals do.

For your farewell dinner, we advise heading to La Pignata, located on the Viale Magna Grecia, a decent walk away from the bustling center. The authentic, rich local dishes are worth the hike, especially the pasta. If you’d prefer something more convenient, we recommend Trattoria al Gatto Rosso, which mixes local dishes with an upscale ambiance. 

And for dessert, save room for a gelato at Cremeria Vienna, which is sure to be packed with locals picking up an evening treat.

Activities to Extend your Stay in Taranto

While we think this two day itinerary will immerse you in the best Taranto has to offer, if you’d like to stay a few more days, these excursions are well worth your time.

• Take a sailboat ride. Taranto is intimately linked with the sea, so it’s no wonder there’s a wealth of different boat rides that will allow you to venture through the environs on water. We advise booking a day tour with lunch involved. We recommend heading to Viator or Airbnb to get an up-to-date selection of offerings for your trip.

• Delve deeper into ancient Greek ruins at Metaponto. If you’re renting a car, and are an enthusiast of Greek history, book in an extra day to make the journey to Metaponto. Less than an hour away from Taranto, Metaponto houses the Metaponto Archaeological Park. This open air museum features the remains of temples and buildings from 500 BC, including a temple dedicated to Pythagoras, who spent the last few years of his life in this southern Italian settlement. There’s also an archeological museum in the modern town of Metaponto that houses artifacts collected during excavations.

• Bathe in crystalline water at Marina di Pulsano. Barely thirty minutes away from Taranto by car sits this rugged beach, where shrub-speckled rocks jut into the water and locals tan on the sun-bleached sands. It’s popular with locals, but still feels like enough of a tourist secret to hold its allure.

• Add on any destination in our complete two-week Puglia itinerary. We love Taranto, but we love it even more as a city to explore in the wider context of Puglia. Whether you spend a day in its glitzy cousin Bari or its baroque neighbor Lecce, you’ll have a better appreciation for what makes Taranto unique after spending more time in the region.