Wonderful apartment in the heart of Lecce's atmospheric and beautifully-preserved historic centre. Accommodation consists of two enormous rooms connected by double doors. Each room has a magnificent star-vaulted ceiling and double-glazed French doors which lead onto a narrow balcony. It's a bit like living in a monastery but with all the modern conveniences, including beautiful wood floors, an open-plan fitted kitchen and a noiseless split air-conditioning system. The latter is quite important because it gets very hot in Lecce in the summer and the apartment faces west so it heats up in the afternoon. It's worth mentioning
the Caffe Paisiello which is literally across the street from the apartment. It's open from early morning until about 9 p.m. and serves all sorts of pastries and sandwiches as well as some hot dishes. The reasonable prices and large covered terrace make it a popular spot amongst both locals and tourists. For grocery shopping, there's no supermarket in the historic centre (quite right too), the nearest one I found was the Supermercato di Lecce located on the Viale dell'Universita which is a pleasant 15 minute walk away. Opposite the supermarket is a small indoor fruit and veg market which is well worth a visit. I found Lecce to be a good base for exploring Puglia, even without a car. The seaside gems of Otranto and Gallipoli can easily be reached by train or bus, whilst to the north the beautiful regional capital of Bari is just over an hour away on the Frecciarossa high speed train, an experience not to be missed!