Panorama doesn’t expect you to spend the day waiting for the music to start.
As the festival begins after sunset, you’ll have the whole day to explore the region before hitting the dance floor. Spend the afternoon swimming in crystal-clear water, discovering coastal towns, following recommendations from locals rather than algorithms, and experience the slower pace that characterises life in Salento.
There’s no one right way to spend a day in Puglia.
So let yourself drift between the coast, culture and the water.
And as the sun begins to set, head to Cave del Duca.
☕ If you want to start the day gently
Puglia isn’t really one for rushed mornings.
Start your day the way many locals do – with an espresso, or better still, a caffè leccese, the region’s signature iced coffee sweetened with almond syrup.
Pair it with a warm pasticciotto – Salento’s much-loved custard-filled pastry – and find a seat outside Caffè Alvino in Piazza Sant’Oronzo to watch the city come to life.
If there’s one thing you learn quickly in Puglia, it’s that mornings aren’t just something to get through – they’re something to enjoy.
Panorama Tip: Order your coffee exactly as the locals do. Once you’ve tried almond syrup in your espresso, there’s a good chance you’ll spend the rest of your trip wondering why it isn’t served that way everywhere else.
🏛️ If You Want to Wander Without a Plan
Some of the best afternoons start with no plans at all.
Lecce rewards curiosity. Nicknamed the Florence of the South, it is a city where ornate Baroque churches, quiet courtyards, artisan workshops and lively piazzas seem to appear around every corner. Wander until you stumble upon a bookshop tucked away in a stone-paved alley, an open-air wine bar or a hidden piazza that somehow escaped the guidebooks.
If you’ve hired a car, carry on.
Drive north towards Ostuni, where whitewashed buildings spread across a hilltop, or take a trip to Alberobello, home to the iconic trulli houses found nowhere else in the world.
Don’t worry about seeing everything.
Around here, letting yourself be pleasantly distracted is usually the better option.
🌊 If You Need to Cool Off
Some afternoons are perfect for the beach.
Others are calling for something a little different.
Head to Porto Selvaggio, where a short walk through a fragrant pine forest leads to a rocky cove fed by cold freshwater springs. It’s one of the few places where the journey feels just as memorable as the swim itself.
Do you prefer soft sand? Choose a beach based on the wind – a tip every local knows. North wind? Head for the Ionian coast. South wind? Head to the Adriatic.
Spending just five seconds checking the forecast can completely change your day.
🍝 For our foodies
This is Puglia.
Planning your day around food isn’t lazy.
It is encouraged.
Start with orecchiette with turnip greens, the region’s signature pasta, before trying ciceri e tria, a Salento speciality that combines chickpeas with both boiled and fried pasta to create an irresistible contrast of textures.
If you’re exploring Bari, don’t leave without trying riso, patate e cozze, the city’s much-loved baked dish of rice, potatoes and mussels. In Salento, you’ll often hear it referred to as taieddhra, a reminder that recipes here vary slightly from town to town.
And before the day is out?
Find another pasticciotto.
Trust us.
The second one somehow tastes even better than the first.
🚲 If You Want to Move Before You Dance
Not every memorable day in Puglia takes place by the sea.
Cycling and hiking routes wind their way through olive groves, vineyards and stretches of countryside that have changed remarkably little over the centuries. Some even follow roads first built by the Romans, linking small villages where a midday espresso is never far away.
If you’re looking for somewhere quieter, Rauccio Natural Park, just outside Lecce, offers peaceful walking trails and shaded woodland that provide a natural contrast to the bright lights of Panorama.
Sometimes the best way to get ready for a night of dancing is simply to spend the day in the countryside.
🍷 If You Don’t Want to Be Anywhere in Particular
Here’s a piece of advice you won’t find in the guidebooks.
Leave room for the unexpected.
Stop whenever a vineyard catches your eye. Order the local wine because you don’t recognise the name. Sit down at the restaurant that’s full of Italian families rather than tourists. Pull over to take in a view that wasn’t marked on the map.
Some of the best stories you’ll bring home from Puglia start exactly like that.
Before the Music Begins
Puglia has a way of making you want to slow down.
You’ll notice that none of these days are particularly busy.
That's on purpose.
It’s not because there’s less to do, but because every experience feels a little richer when you stop trying to squeeze three more things into the afternoon.
But when the lights dim and give way to the glow of the limestone around Cave del Duca.
The conversations we had over lunch turn into plans for the evening ahead.
And just like that, another day in Puglia gives way to another night at Panorama.
