Day trip to Alberobello from Bari: how to get there and what to see among the trulli

To get from Bari to Alberobello, I’d go for the direct bus, which takes about an hour. There’s no admission charge for the town, and half a day is enough to wander among the trulli. My advice is to set off early in the morning, buy the ticket in advance and make a point of finding the quieter Via Galileo Galilei.

Quick factsby Milan Bez Mapy

Bari to Alberobello

Direct bus from the Largo Sorrentino stop by the station, about an hour; a return cost about €10 back then

Watch out for

The stop isn’t signposted; buy your ticket online and arrive half an hour early

Admission

The town itself is free; you only pay for some trulli with museums, such as Trullo Sovrano (a few euros)

How long

Half a day without a car; go early, as the town fills up quickly during the day

My tip

Via Galileo Galilei, away from the centre: fewer tourists and photos of trulli without people

Tette delle monache

The typical dessert; I found it bland, but try it so you know what I mean

How do you plan a day trip to Alberobello from Bari? Alberobello was the main reason my mum and I chose Bari. Here’s how to get there, what to see and why the trulli are shaped so oddly.

Where is Alberobello?

Alberobello is in southern Italy, in the region of Puglia (Apulia), about 55 km from Bari. The town is famous for its trulli, white stone houses with conical roofs, and its historic trulli districts have been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1996. Most of them are in the Rione Monti district, which has more than a thousand. The Aia Piccola district is quieter, and locals still live in its trulli.

How to get from Bari to Alberobello

Flights to Bari and getting from the airport into town

Low-cost airlines fly to Bari from several airports near Slovakia. Trains from the airport to central Bari run roughly every 20 to 30 minutes and take about 20 minutes.

Bus or train to Alberobello?

I’d take the bus. The regional operator FSE (Ferrovie del Sud Est) also runs trains to Alberobello, but the bus is usually faster and there’s no change. My mum and I took the direct bus from the Bari Largo Sorrentino stop by the main station, and the journey took about an hour.

Calling it a bus station would be generous, though. It’s a street where buses park, and there’s no proper signage anywhere. In the end we worked out which bus was ours by finding the longest queue. Welcome to Italy. Back then our return ticket cost about €10.

• Tip from Milan I’d buy the ticket online and get to the stop at least half an hour early. Some people couldn’t squeeze onto the bus and had to wait an hour for the next one. When we travelled, you also had to check in online before boarding, using the link in the email with your ticket. Yes, even for a bus. Don’t ask me why. Since September 2024, Trenitalia has validated its digital regional tickets automatically, so you shouldn’t need to check in any more. Still, read the instructions on your ticket, just to be safe.

In Alberobello the bus stops outside the railway station, and the centre is a ten-minute walk away. It pays to get there early in the morning, because the town fills up with tourists quickly as the day goes on.

Exploring Puglia by car

If you want to see Polignano a Mare, Monopoli, Ostuni or Matera as well as Alberobello, a car is worth it. Getting between these towns by bus is slow.

When you hire a car, a credit card for the deposit comes in handy. If you don’t have one, read my guide on how to hire a car without a credit card or deposit.

Do you have to pay to enter Alberobello?

No. This was the thing I was most curious about before the trip. My mum thought it would be a fenced-off open-air museum with an entrance fee. We were both pleasantly surprised. The trulli are spread all over town and house hotels, restaurants, cafés and souvenir shops. The only thing you pay for is entry to certain trulli that are now museums. I like it when historic places are lived in rather than locked behind a fence.

You’ll find tours of Alberobello and day trips from Bari here:

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Why are trulli shaped the way they are?

Trulli are built from dry stone, in other words without mortar. The walls are thick, so they keep the inside cool in summer and warm in winter. They were once used as homes, storerooms and field shelters.

The most intriguing part, though, is the tax story. It’s said that the Counts of Conversano, who owned the land, didn’t want to pay the King of Naples a tax on new settlements, so people had to build without mortar. Whenever a royal inspection was on its way, pulling one stone out of the roof was enough to bring the house down. Instead of a town, the officials found nothing but piles of stones. There’s no way to check whether it happened with every trullo, but the story does explain why the whole town looks the way it does.

What to see in Alberobello

• The Basilica of Saints Cosmas and Damian
• Trullo Sovrano and the Gelateria Dulcis café
• Casa D’Amore and Casa Nova
• Trullo Siamese
• The trullo-shaped Church of St Anthony
• Villa Comunale Belvedere park
• Via Galileo Galilei

The Basilica of Saints Cosmas and Damian and Trullo Sovrano

I’d start away from the centre, where there are fewer people. My mum and I began at the Basilica of Saints Cosmas and Damian (Basilica minore dei Santi Cosma e Damiano). A short walk away stands Trullo Sovrano, the only two-storey trullo in town. Built in the 18th century, it’s now a small museum with a garden. Inside you can see how people once lived in a trullo. Tickets cost a few euros. Right next door is the Gelateria Dulcis café, where we had a good coffee.

Casa D’Amore and Casa Nova

You can’t miss these two houses on the way to the centre. While Alberobello was under the counts, nobody was allowed to build a house with mortar. That changed in 1797, when the town came under the king’s direct rule, and Francesco D’Amore became the first to build a house with mortar. Its wall still bears a Latin inscription saying it was the first building put up by royal authority. Casa Nova, just nearby, is now a pizzeria.

Trullo Siamese

Trullo Siamese is in the centre, so you’re bound to see it. Unlike ordinary trulli, it has two domes joined together. Legend has it that two brothers lived here and fell in love with the same woman. She was engaged to the elder brother but fell for the younger one. Every guide tells the ending a little differently.

The trullo-shaped Church of St Anthony

The Church of St Anthony of Padua dates from the 1920s. At first sight it looks like a giant trullo. Smaller domes surround the main one, and they all have the typical conical roofs. The tower and the other buildings beside the church have the same roofs.

Villa Comunale Belvedere park

As a park it didn’t do much for me: there isn’t much greenery. But it has a lovely view over the historic part of Alberobello and its trulli roofs, which makes it worth a stop.

Via Galileo Galilei, a quiet street of trulli

I came across this street by chance while my mum and I were wandering around town. It’s further from the centre, so there are fewer tourists, which means photos of trulli with nobody in the shot. A few trulli here are open to visitors, and there are several hotels. It’s a good place to stop on your way back to the bus.

• Tip from Milan If you’re planning another trip to southern Italy, have a look at my tips on what to see in Trapani in Sicily.

What do the symbols on the trulli roofs mean?

Many roofs have symbols painted on them in white. Their meanings aren’t always reliably documented, and interpretations have changed over time. These are the most common explanations:

• Religious symbols such as a cross or a heart were meant to protect the house and the people living in it.
• The sun and the planets stand for warmth, life and prosperity.
• Signs of the zodiac may have been linked to the people who lived in the house or to astrology.
• The decorative stone at the top of the roof (pinnacolo) often bore the signature of the builder or the family.

Some symbols probably predate Christianity; others are pure decoration. And that’s exactly what makes them interesting. As you walk around, you’ll find yourself looking for them on every roof.

Try tette delle monache

Tette delle monache, literally ‘nuns’ breasts’, is the typical dessert of Alberobello and the surrounding area. It’s a light sponge filled with cream and dusted with icing sugar. And yes, the shape that gave it its name is deliberate. Almost every café sells it. I didn’t like it. It tasted bland, and I should have had the cheesecake instead. Still, you have to try it, if only so you know what I’m talking about.

You can see Alberobello on a half-day trip from Bari, with no car and no stress. All it takes is an early start, a ticket bought in advance and a willingness to let the little streets lead the way.

Happy travels!