Like any travel story, there are pros and cons regarding when you travel. We want to experience the irresistible, achingly beautiful places in Italy that everyone falls in love with and we want to go in the spring, summer and autumn between April and October.

These seven months are typically the tourist season. Hard to imagine that places swarming with tourists, be it the Amalfi Coast, Cinque Terre or the Italian lakes, virtually shut down from late October to early November. This means shops, restaurants, ferry services and tour operators all close until late March/early April. Of course, it’s not the case in cities such as Rome, Milan and Naples, but they are definitely quieter.

This is what I’ve discovered in the south of Italy in Puglia in November. In large towns like Bari (around 315,000 people), life continues as normal. However, it’s very different in Lecce, Polignano a Mare, Trani and Cisternino, as it is in all the other popular tourist towns including Monopoli, Ostuni, Locorotondo, Alberobello, Otranto and Gallipoli.

Lecce, with its rich history and baroque beauty, is a must-see destination and buzzing with tourists during the season, which we experienced in the second week of October. However, as I walked the cobbled streets in the historic centre on Sunday, the difference was remarkable. There is the odd shop open and a handful of bars and restaurants, but the vibe is missing and closed roller doors diminish the attractiveness of the streets. As much as we bemoan too many tourists, a town devoid of people takes away the lively atmosphere. Lecce is a city of 95,000 people, however in the old town, like so many places in Italy, there are considerably less residents who all seem to disappear behind closed doors when the weather turns cold.

Enchanting Polignano a Mare is immensely popular and famous throughout the world for three things: cliff diving, gelato and the great Domenico Modugno who wrote and sang the hit song Volare.

We strolled the streets on a sunny day in October amidst a lot of tourists, but it didn’t detract from discovering the whitewashed old town and breathtaking views of the Adriatic sea and coastline. However, when I retraced my steps on a crisp morning last week, what a delight to take it slowly and capture the town from a different perspective. However, it’s important to stress how much the weather plays a part in the experience. My November day may have been a little cooler, but the sun was shining brightly and there was a calmness and stillness that felt quite surreal. If I was there today, it would be a different story as it is raining with with a maximum temperature of 16 degrees.

It was time to discover a new town and Trani came highly recommended. The historic coastal town is an easy 35 minute train journey north of Bari. The old town centre, a medieval labyrinth, surrounds the charming fishing port which has a marina crammed with sailing boats and wooden fishing boats.

November is predictably quiet, but I can imagine the hive of activity during the tourist season. The many bars, cafes and fish restaurants on the edge of the port are enticing for a long seaside lunch. Although most are closed for the season, it is easy to understand the popularity of Trani. There is a marked air of prosperity, particularly with a harbour filled with expensive yachts, contrasting beautifully with big, old cluncky fishing boats.

Visible immediately upon entering the port is Trani’s iconic seafront cathedral built of creamy white limestone, one of the most impressive of any in Italy. Not far from the cathedral is another monumental marvel rising from the sea, Emperor Frederick II’s castle built in 1233. In the early 1800s it became a prison and only closed in 1974. Definitely a town worth visiting.

You have to love this about Puglia - all the towns in the Valle d’Itria are so close. A little group of delightful whitewashed towns perched on hilltops surrounded by olive trees that includes Ostuni, Locorotondo and Alberobello. The only downside is that public transport is tricky, tedious and time consuming, often involving trains, buses and taxis. Not a problem on a Ciao Italy tour with our private transfers, but if you are travelling independently I recommend a hire car.

Cisternino is ancient, destroyed by the Goths and rebuilt by Basilian monks in the Middle Ages, who built the abbey around which the town developed. The historic centre is intimate and characteristic, white, paved and filled with colourful flowerpots. Not only is Cisternino officially one of Italy’s most beautiful towns, recognised by the “I Borghi piu Belli d’Italia” association, but the town also has an Orange Flag for sustainability and hospitality from the Italian Touring Club.

As if that’s not enough, something else has made Cisternino famous, especially among lovers of good food. Fornelli, taverns where meat bombette, involtini and spit roasted chops are cooked at any time of the day, are the gastronomic pride of the entire valley with Cisternino proclaimed the undisputed capital.

Although sleepily quiet in November, this is definitely a town to visit during the season and one that is now added to the Puglia itinerary.

As much as it’s a joy to research new places and wander towns and villages with barely a tourist in sight, I think the experience is more meaningful with a lively atmosphere and a wonderful choice of places to drink, eat, shop and browse. Of course the cost of travelling in the low season is lower, but as you near the end of November into December, temperatures definitely drop and the only thing you’ll be wearing is a puffer jacket! Pros and cons.

Ci vediamo la prossima settimana.

Deb