There are weekly markets all over Puglia which we can highly recommend. Try your hand at haggling in Italian, or if that fails in English or, as a final straw, use sign language to snap up that bargain!! For those in a self catering property looking to dine in, the markets are certainly a great place to pick up all your fruit and vegetables. One of our absolute favourites is the market in Ostuni every Saturday.

Or if you are a fan of antiques, try out the antique market in Gallipoli on the first Sunday of every month. You’ll uncover all sorts of hidden gems here and it’s great to spend a couple of hours browsing the stalls.

If you’re more into fashion than antiques, then you need to head to the larger towns and cities. Bari is Puglia’s third largest city and offers a lot in terms of shopping. The newer part of Bari’s town centre should certainly satisfy any craving for a bit of retail therapy. The Via Sparano is a kilometre long pedestrianized shopping street and is home to many designer stores such as Furla and D&G as well as many well known retail chains such as Zara and Sisley. Other fashion stores, with cheaper brands, can be found in both Corso Cavour and Via Manzoni, whilst there is also a market every Monday morning at Via Tommaso Fiore which is a great place to pick up bargain clothing, shoes, textiles and crafts. Bari also hosts markets at Mercato Coperto Santa Scolastica and Mercato San Nicola whch are open daily and which are the perfect place to buy your fresh food and local delicacies.

Certain towns will also have their own particular souvenirs worth taking home. As an example, Lecce has a rich tradition of papier-mache and the town is full of tiny workshops made by local artists which you can purchase to take home. You can even learn how to make papier mache pieces yourself.

And further North, you’ll find lots of lovely shops in Taranto too.

Let’s not forget about the opportunity to enjoy some outlet shopping in Puglia though. The Outlet Village Molfetta is located about 30 minutes from Bari and is home to more than 140 shops and boutiques.

Another popular concept in Puglia is CityModa of which there are three in total, one in Bari itself, one just outside Bari and a third in Lecce. The concept is the creation of many small corner shops within one large store and they are host to an array of major brands. They frequently host fashion events and also regularly offer significant promotion events to tempt in shoppers.