Gallipoli in 2 days, on foot

This 2-day self-guided walking plan for Gallipoli covers 12 narrated sights in an easy day-by-day order. Each day is split into a morning and an afternoon loop, and every stop has a two to three minute audio story in the Gingerguide app.

You set the pace: this is a suggested order, not a schedule. Walk it in 2 days, or stretch it out. Reorder freely; Gallipoli rewards a detour.

Day 1

Morning

1. Gallipoli Old Town: The ancient Greek-founded island city connected to the mainland by a bridge, one of the most perfectly preserved and visually dramatic historic centres in southern Italy, surrounded on all sides by the Ionian Sea.
2. Gallipoli Beaches: Some of the finest white sand beaches in Italy, Baia Verde, Punta della Suina, Rivabella, stretching north and south of the historic island city along the crystal-clear Ionian coast.
3. Castello Angioino: The imposing coastal castle guarding the bridge to Gallipoli's island, one of the finest examples of medieval coastal fortification in southern Italy, with circular towers and sea-level access to the Ionian waters.

Afternoon

1. Cathedral of Sant'Agata: Gallipoli's magnificent baroque cathedral, a treasury of painting and sculpture built during the city's most prosperous commercial period, containing remarkable works by the finest Neapolitan and Salentine artists of the 17th century.
2. Fishing Harbour & Fish Market: The active fishing harbour of Gallipoli and its ancient fish market, the Peschiera, one of the oldest commercial fish markets in Italy, operating under the bridge of the old town with daily landings of Ionian Sea catches.
3. Fontana Greca & Santa Maria della Pietà: The Renaissance fountain of Gallipoli, the elaborately carved 16th-century Fontana Greca, one of the most celebrated fountains in southern Italy, and the adjacent baroque church of Santa Maria della Pietà, two monuments of the city's old town.

Day 2

Morning

1. Gallipoli Marina & Lungomare: The modern harbour district and seafront promenade of Gallipoli, a lively area of restaurants, bars, and seafood stalls facing the Ionian Sea, with views back to the illuminated old town island.
2. Underground Olive Oil Press (Frantoio Ipogeo): The extraordinary underground olive oil press network beneath Gallipoli's old town, the physical infrastructure of the city's historic commercial wealth, with enormous stone presses and storage cisterns carved into the living rock.
3. Neretina & Salento Wine: The exceptional wines of the western Salento, Negroamaro and Primitivo from some of the oldest vines in Italy, produced in the area around Gallipoli and Alezio, with a depth of flavour unique to the Ionian coast.

Afternoon

1. Bastion Walls Circuit: Walking the perimeter of Gallipoli's island city along the 16th-century artillery bastions, a complete circuit of sea walls with the Ionian Sea on one side and the baroque old town on the other.
2. Greek Fountain Area & Sant'Agata Festival: The spiritual heart of Gallipoli's historic identity, the annual festival of the patron saint Sant'Agata and the Greek fountain form the oldest layers of the city's urban memory.
3. La Taranta and Salento Music: The ancient musical tradition of the Salento, the taranta, the pizzica, and the extraordinary contemporary music scene centred on the Notte della Taranta festival in nearby Melpignano.

Full Gallipoli guide and all stops →