Trani in October 2025 Trip Report

 We arrive in Trani from Otranto, where we spent 6 nights and our stay in Trani is the last few days of our long trip to Puglia in October 2025 which started off with a week in Porto Cesareo and a week in the south of the Salento area in Felline.

It's not the first time we've been to Trani. It's our favourite town in mainland Italy and I'm starting to lose count of the number of times we've stayed. 

This is why I love Trani.

These are some of the things you can do in Trani.

This year we arrive on a Monday afternoon after visiting Acaya and San Vito di Polignano on the way. We get to Trani at about 4pm and park just in front of our B&B Germinario where we always stay in Trani. Our host Giorgio is friendly and is one of the few hosts nowadays who actually stay at the tiny reception morning and afternoon-evening not only for check-in and out and to welcome guests but just simply to be there to answer questions and wish you a good day. A rarity. There’s also the excellent breakfast at the nearby bar-pasticceria and the fact that the room is actually a studio flat because there’s a small kitchen corner where you can prepare a simple meal.

Once we’re settled in we go out to say hello to Trani – truly a dear friend. We also buy far too much fish and eat it a little too late – talk about never learning our lesson!

After the excellent brioche and cappuccino at Biancaneve, on Tuesday morning we go to the market in Trani. Considering that we decided not to buy much, we are quite loaded down by the time we come back. There are green beans and ‘razza’ left over from the evening before and then we go for coffee at Bar Europa and Andrea has a typical cake while I’m still too full. We then planned to go for a walk, but it starts raining, so we nap and rest and I book the final night’s accommodation for Saturday to break the drive home. When the rain seems to be stopping, we go out, but it doesn’t. We take refuge in the cathedral, as beautiful as ever and then since today is a special day, we stop to buy a small version of the typical ‘Gallipoli’ cake to add to our supper – leftover vegetables and the last of the fish and a focaccia barese. The cake, despite being made up of ingredients which I individually don’t like – sponge, lemon, etc, is surprisingly good!

On Wednesday we visit Corato and Castel del Monte and on Thursday morning we go to Andria.

Friday is a beautiful sunny day and so we decide to go for a walk. We head south down the promenade after the Villa Comunale park. There have been some improvements since we last did this walk. The area of a disused factory right next to the water has now become a restaurant - pescheria area and also offers a beach club in season. Many of the apartment blocks along the promenade have been painted or small maintenance repairs made. It's a lovely walk, next to the sea. We get to the Colonnate area and as usual, the church is closed. As we head around the promontory towards the beach, we're surprised to see quite a few people sunbathing or going into the sea and then drying off at one of the closed beach clubs on the rocks. Why not? It's a warm and sunny day and they are all locals, not tourists. We continue our walk, first along the beach and then heading south to the new pedestrian area, the second ‘lungomare’ of Trani which is more recent. It continues past Baia del Gruccione and on to Matinelle on the headland. It’s a very pleasant walk and work is in progress to continue it until the ‘border’ with Bisceglie, the next town to the south. Every time we go to Trani we discover something new and beautiful!

It's quite a long walk by the time we get back, via the centre, where I buy some melanzane alla parmigiana for supper. For lunch we finish up the fish, and then go out again to see our favourites – back to Villa Comunale to wait for the fishing boats to come in, a last visit to the cathedral and also to the church of the Templars which is open early evening on Friday. A last day in Trani, but we are already planning our next stay.