11 Amazing Things to Do in Alberobello, Italy’s Trulli Town

Boasting over 1,500 trulli, gorgeous views, and lots of nooks and crannies to explore, there’s no doubt that the best things to do in Alberobello rank among the most iconic spots in Puglia… which is remarkable, considering that Alberobello is an inland town in a region famous for its coastline!

While you’ll find trulli throughout Puglia, Alberobello is rightfully famous for having the largest concentration of this unique architectural style. The Trulli of Alberobello are even a recognized UNESCO World Heritage Site!

Many travelers opt to visit Alberobello on a day trip from places like Bari, Polignano al Mare, or Monopoli, staying just long enough to sample a few of the town’s top attractions. If you can finagle your Puglia itinerary to include at least one overnight stay in Alberobello, though, we think you’ll be glad you did.

This is a destination that deserves to be savored, ideally from inside your own trullo and well after the day trippers leave. We loved every minute of our stay in Alberobello, and left confident that we’ll return more than once in the future.

Here’s exactly what to do in Alberobello, Italy’s unique trulli town!

Planning your Alberobello visit at the last minute?

Don’t have long to plan your trip to Alberobello?

We’ll cover all of these things in much more detail below, but here are the top tours we recommend in this blog post:

• Guided Walking Tour of Alberobello’s Trulli (great introduction!)
• UNESCO Day Trip to Alberobello and Matera (from Bari or from Monopoli)
• Alberobello Tour Via Golf Cart or Tuk-Tuk (if you need to rest your feet)

Wondering if you should spend the night? We did and loved it!

Here’s the trullo we loved spending the night in.

We arrived via road trip in a rental car, which made our trip very flexible.

11 Best Things to Do in Alberobello, Puglia

Meander through Rione Monti.

While you’ll find trulli all over Alberobello, the highest concentration of them can be found right in the hilly and stunning Rione Monti (AKA the trulli district).

This is a place to wander down small side streets, snap photos of gardens and alleyways, and simply marvel at being in a place so unlike most corners of the world.

Rione Monti is predictably touristy (restaurants, attractions, and souvenir shops abound), but still wonderful. If you have a chance to take a walk through it in the early morning or evening, though, we highly recommend jumping on the opportunity!

Check into your own trullo for the night.

One of our absolute favorite things we did in Alberobello was check into our very own trullo (the singular form of trulli) for the night!

We checked into the family-owned Trullo d’Aia (they also offer the Miratrulli Apartment, but we opted for the traditional trullo) and had a magnificent time. It’s not every day that you stay in a home that has been home to the same family for generations, and where photos of its earlier inhabitants hang on the walls!

The trullo itself was comfortable and cozy, and the walkable location excellent, but being shown around by the owner, who grew up in the trullo, was the true highlight.

You can find trulli for rent all over Alberobello, both in the center and located a short drive outside of town, and we think that spending the night in one is easily one of the best things to do in Alberobello!

Check prices & availability for the same trullo we loved today!

Admire the view from Belvedere Santa Lucia.

For a picture-perfect postcard view of Alberobello and its collection of trulli, head to Belvedere Santa Lucia!

You can find gorgeous views all over town, of course, but I have to admit that there’s something special about this one.

Personally, we found the view particularly captivating at sunset (which is also conveniently after many of the crowds of day trippers have dispersed for the day). It’s more beautiful yet when enjoyed with a gelato in hand!

Step inside Trullo Sovrano.

The striking Trullo Sovrano offers a rare opportunity for visitors to step inside a trullo they’re not paying to spend the night in!

It’s a bit of an unusual example of the architecture, as it’s believed to be the only trullo built in Alberobello with two livable floors, but it’s well worth a visit.

Today, it operates as a small, local house museum that showcases what traditional trulli life looked like in centuries past, complete with authentic furnishings.

For a small fee, you can head inside and see it for yourself!

Admire the Casa d’Amore.

One of the most famous structures in Alberobello, Puglia’s Casa d’Amore doesn’t have anything to do with love (though you’d be forgiven for thinking so).

Built in 1797 by Francesco d’Amore, the Casa d’Amore famously used mortar in its architecture, which differentiated it from the mortar-less trulli homes that predate it.

Since the use of mortar was restricted by law in Alberobello before this point, the Casa d’Amore marks an important turning point for the development of the area!

Istvánka, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

… and the Trullo Siamese.

On a walking tour of Alberobello’s Rione Monti district (guided or self-led, your choice!), be sure to take a quick look at the Trullo Siamese!

These twin trulli are technically separate buildings, but they appear connected from the outside.

Their unusual appearance makes them among the more famous trulli in Alberobello.

Head to the top of a shop to enjoy a lesser-visited view of Alberobello.

Several restaurants, bars, and even souvenir shops in Rione Monti have a not-so-secret bonus feature: beautiful views of Alberobello from their rooftops!

For the price of something like a coffee, a lemon soda, or a few Alberobello-themed kitchen towels (all firsthand examples from our trip), you can access a beautiful view of the trulli from above.

This is well worth the indirect cost of admission, and in the case of souvenir shops, can help your memories of Alberobello live on well after your trip. I just used one of those kitchen towels at home today!

Pay a visit to Sant’Antonio Church.

For a more modern take on what a trullo can look like, look no further than the Church of Saint Anthony of Padua!

Completed in 1927, its trullo architecture was specifically chosen to help the structure blend in with the surrounding neighborhood.

Admire the Rione Aia Piccola.

Set just a walk away from Rione Monti, Rione Aia Piccola is the “other” trulli historic district, and it feels worlds apart from its more famous cousin.

While Rione Monti is primarily a commercial and tourist district these days, Rione Aia Piccola is a quiet residential district where locals tend to live in their trulli homes.

Because of that, it’s extremely important to be respectful when exploring Rione Aia Piccola (no trespassing, no disruptively loud noise, etc.), but it is a wonderful place to explore.

We loved our morning walk amongst the quiet streets!

Nearby, you’ll also find the Regional Museum, once known as Casa Pezzolla, which explores different trulli construction styles through time. However, note that the museum is quite small and gets mixed reviews.

Enjoy a Pasqualino or two.

One of the absolute delights of traveling in Italy is indulging in hyper-local dishes… and in Alberobello, that means sampling a Pasqualino!

This locally famous sandwich is traditionally made with tuna fish, capers, salami, and cheese, and it makes up one of those flavor combinations that simply has to be tasted to be understood.

It makes for a delicious (and budget-friendly) local lunch, and it’s well worth seeking out when exploring the best things to do in Alberobello!

You can find a Pasqualino on the menu at just about any sandwich shop in town.

Check out the Chiesa di Santi Medici Cosmo e Damiano.

Dedicated to the town’s patron saints, this must-see Alberobello church bears a somewhat unique distinction for this list of things to see in Alberobello: it’s not a trullo!

It is beautiful, though, and a beloved feature of Alberobello’s skyline.

The church’s roots reach back as far as the 17th century, but the currently beloved facade only dates to the 1880s.

Bernard Gagnon, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Where to Stay in Alberobello

When it comes to choosing where to stay in Alberobello, we can heartily recommend the family-run Trullo dell’Aia that we stayed in!

More broadly, though, our recommendation is to stay in a trullo within walking distance of the best things to do in Alberobello. The town is fairly small, so the location isn’t a bit ask!

There’s not many places on the planet you can sleep in a trullo, though, and that fact combined with how many trulli are available for rent in Alberobello means that we personally wouldn’t consider any other kind of accommodation!

Check rates & book your stay in a trullo today!

A Sample One Day Alberobello Itinerary

When it comes to sightseeing, Alberobello is both small and compact. Its top attractions also include a lot of brief viewpoints and short stops, rather than solely things that take a long time to see.

With one day in Alberobello, we recommend starting at Trullo Sovrano to get a feel for what trulli are like inside before continuing on.

Trullo Sovrano is also located at one end of the historic district, which means that a fairly direct walk through town from there will take you past most of the top things to see in Alberbobello. Those stops include but aren’t limited to Chiesa di Santi Medici Cosmo e Damiano, Casa d’Amore, Trullo Siamese, and many small shops, restaurants, and viewpoints.

Be sure to keep an eye out for signs advertising viewpoints!

At the other end of Rione Monti from Trullo Sovrano, you’ll find the Church of Sant’Antonio.

Spending one day in Alberobello is much more about the atmosphere than a sightseeing checklist, but by structuring the bulk of your day along the walk from Trullo Sovrano to the Chiesa di Sant’Antonio, you’ll have a chance to see Alberobello’s best sights while still leaving plenty of time to wander.

After this, we recommend heading over to Rione Aia Piccola for a walk through a quieter grouping of trulli, and possibly a visit to the Regional Museum.

When you’re ready to break for lunch, we recommend opting for a pasqualino if you’d like a quick option.

Prefer to sit down? We had a tasty lunch on the rooftop of Ristorante Il Pinnacolo.

Traveling to Alberobello, Italy

To get to Alberobello, on the face of it, you have your choice of train, bus, car, or organized day trip.

Here are the pros and cons of each option (and here’s the simplest, set-it-and-forget-it one).

Traveling to Alberobello By Train + Bus

While Alberobello has a train station located a 10-15 minute walk outside the city center, you may or may not want to use it.

There are limited, efficient regional trains to Alberobello from Bari, but many visitors (us included) travel to Alberobello from one of Puglia’s smaller towns, which means traveling by train can require a change or two and a decent time commitment.

Buses are simpler and plentiful. For example, the fastest buses between Monopoli and Alberobello take just over an hour, though it’s best to plan for 1.5-2 hours for an average journey.

The Trenitalia website is a great place to check train and bus schedules for visiting Alberobello.

Traveling to Alberobello By Car

Personally, we visited Alberobello as part of our broader Puglia road trip, and we highly recommend that option!

Not only will that make your trip much more flexible, but it also means that you can combine a visit to Alberobello with stops in Martina Franca and/or Locrotondo (highly recommend!).

If you’re road-tripping from the coast to Matera, Alberobello is more-or-less on the way, too.

If, like us, you need to rent a car for your trip to Puglia, we recommend renting a small car through Discover Cars, which will allow you to compare the prices and inclusions of multiple companies at the same time and choose the best car for you from there.

Check rates and book your rental car for Puglia today!

Prefer to keep it simple?

Don’t want to navigate buses or drive to Alberobello?

If so, an organized day trip like this one can be a great way to visit Alberobello without worrying about the planning.

Most day trip start from the coast (usually from Bari, and sometimes from places like Monopoli or Polignano al Mare), and typically include 2-3 locations, with possible visits to Locorotondo, Martina Franca, and/or Matera beyond Alberobello.

They make for long, but memorable, travel days, and are a great option if you have very limited time in Puglia but want to make sure to travel inland a bit.

Shop day trips to Alberobello today!

Getting Around Alberobello

Once you’re in Alberobello, you won’t need anything other than your own two feet to get around!

If you’d like to mix it up, though, e-bike tours and even golf cart tours (great for those who need to rest their legs) are available and increasingly popular.

How long do you need to visit Alberobello?

In order to do a quick pass through most of the top places to visit in Alberobello, you really only need half a day or so there.

However, this is a place that’s more about the atmosphere than the sightseeing, and it benefits from having a bit of extra time and elbow room.

If you can set aside long enough to spend a night in Alberobello, I think you’ll be glad you did!

Not only does that give you time to spend the night in a trullo (the highlight of our own visit), but it also ensures you can make the most of the evening and early-morning hours.

When the day trippers aren’t present and the crowds are significantly lighter, Alberobello has a much different and more relaxed atmosphere.

And, assuming that you’re visiting Puglia in the summer like us, the evenings and early mornings are also generally a much more pleasant temperature!

Read More About Visiting Southern Italy + Beyond

Excited to visit Puglia soon… and maybe some other incredible Italy travel destinations?

If you found this Alberobello blog post helpful, we’d love to continue to be part of your travel research here on Our Escape Clause!

You can browse our roughly 150 Italy blog posts here, read more about us here, or check out these guides:

• The Perfect 7 Day Puglia Road Trip Itinerary
• 11 Best Things to Do in Taormina, Sicily
• The Ultimate 3 Day Amalfi Coast Itinerary
• How to Visit the Cave of Poetry, Italy (Grotta della Poesia)
• 17 Things to Do in Palermo, Sicily’s Surprising Capital City

Map of Alberobello Attractions

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