Taranto travel guide
Spartan origins, two seas and the gold of Magna Graecia
A port and naval city in Apulia founded by Spartans, with an island old town between two seas and a major archaeological museum. Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons, and Holy Week brings its hooded processions. One or two days is enough. Costs are above average, and Schengen rules apply.
Founded by Spartans in 706 BC, Taranto sits on the inside of Italy's heel between the open Mar Grande and the lagoon-like Mar Piccolo. It is a working city of steelworks and naval yards, home to the Italian navy's main base and far from the tourist trail. The old town fills an island between the two seas, joined to the mainland by a swing bridge on one side and a stone bridge on the other.
On that island stand the Cathedral of San Cataldo and the Romanesque-Gothic San Domenico Maggiore, reached up a baroque staircase. Two Doric columns of a 6th-century BC temple rise near the Aragonese Castle, which guards the channel and opens for guided tours. Across the swing bridge in the new town, the MArTA archaeological museum holds the finds of the Greek city, including its gold jewellery.
Seafood rules, above all mussels from the Mar Piccolo. Il Porto in the old town is a reliable seafood address, and Raffo, the local beer, is poured everywhere. For an overview, the Tour Due Mari boats run by Kyma Mobilità, the city transport company formerly called AMAT, make a guided loop of both seas. Holy Week is the time for tradition, when hooded processions move slowly through the old town.
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Top things to do in Taranto
Greek gold, an Aragonese castle, an island old town and a boat tour of two seas.
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Best time to visit Taranto
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Comfortable for the old town and the boat tour of the two seas.
Hooded processions through the old town over Easter; book rooms early.
Hot; the castle opens late into the evening and the boat tour is the coolest way to see the city.
The Holy Week processions are Taranto's biggest event, so book accommodation well ahead if your trip falls over Easter.
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Getting there
Fly to Brindisi or Bari
No regular passenger flights land at Taranto itself. Brindisi's Aeroporto del Salento (BDS), about 70 km away by fast road, is the nearest, with efficient shuttle buses and plenty of car hire desks. Bari (BRI), about 100 km away along the Adriatic motorway, has more routes and cheaper fares from across Europe.
- Brindisi airport
- About 70 km, with shuttle buses
- Bari airport
- About 100 km by motorway
- Taranto station
- A few steps north of the old town
- Taranto station sits a few steps north of the old town, with direct trains from Rome, Milan, Bologna, Rimini and Bari.
- Long-distance coaches from across Italy and beyond use the bus terminal on Via Cristoforo Colombo, near the commercial port and the stone bridge on Via Napoli.
- By road, Lecce is about an hour away via Brindisi, and Naples about 3 hours 15 minutes through Basilicata.
- Hire a car at Brindisi airport if you plan to explore the Apulian coast and countryside beyond the city.
Where to stay
Island rooms in the Città Vecchia or the Borgo's seafront grid
Accommodation is limited and mostly geared to naval and industrial business, so there are few places with real character. The useful split is between the island, where B&Bs occupy restored palazzi among half-empty streets, and the Borgo across the swing bridge, the 19th-century new town where most shops, restaurants and evening life now sit.
- Città Vecchia
- B&Bs in restored palazzi near San Cataldo and the castle; striking views over both seas, but some lanes are derelict and very quiet after dark
- The Borgo, around Via D'Aquino
- The pedestrian shopping street and its side streets, near MArTA and Ricci; the liveliest and most practical base
- Lungomare Vittorio Emanuele III
- Rooms facing the Mar Grande along the Borgo's seafront promenade, a short walk to the swing bridge
- Near the station at Porta Napoli
- Convenient for early trains and coaches, but the area borders the industrial Tamburi district and has little to keep you there
- Over Easter, rooms in both the island and the Borgo go months ahead because of the Holy Week processions.
Getting around
Over the swing bridge, Kyma buses and the Tour Due Mari boat
The old town island is small and walkable, joined to the new town by the swing bridge and to the station side by the stone bridge at Porta Napoli. Kyma Mobilità, the former AMAT, runs the city buses; buy tickets before boarding from authorised sellers or in the Kyma Mobilità app.
- Kyma Mobilità buses
- Tickets from authorised sellers or the Kyma app
- Tour Due Mari boat
- Guided loop of the Mar Grande and Mar Piccolo
- The same company operates the Tour Due Mari, guided boat trips around the Mar Grande and Mar Piccolo that pass the old town, the modern waterfront and San Pietro island, with separate summer and autumn timetables.
- Check the Kyma Mobilità website for the day's boarding times, which change with the season.
Know before you go
What makes Taranto worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- The gold jewellery at MArTA, finds from the wealthy Greek city.
- The castle tour above the channel where ships pass between the two seas.
- A plate of Mar Piccolo mussels with a cold Raffo.
Good to know
- This is an industrial city, with steelworks and refineries on its edge; come for the history, not the beaches.
- Book Easter early, as the Holy Week processions fill the city's limited hotels.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Taranto, month by month
Month-by-month climate figures for Taranto are being researched.
Greek gold at MArTA and a boat round both seas
Begin at MArTA, the National Archaeological Museum, for the gold jewellery of ancient Taras. Cross the swing bridge to the Aragonese Castle, see the Doric columns and the Cathedral of San Cataldo in the old town, then take the Tour Due Mari boat round the Mar Grande and Mar Piccolo.
Morning: start at the MArTA, the National Archaeological Museum on Via Cavour in the new town, which opens at 08:30 from Tuesday to Saturday, later on Sundays, and is closed on Mondays. Give it a couple of hours for the Greek pottery, sculpture and, above all, the gold jewellery of ancient Taras.
Midday: cross the swing bridge to the Aragonese Castle for a guided tour of the walls above the channel. Outside, look at the two Doric columns of the Temple of Poseidon, then walk into the old town for the Cathedral of San Cataldo and the baroque staircase up to San Domenico Maggiore. Have lunch at Il Porto on Via Porto.
Afternoon: join the Tour Due Mari boat for a guided loop of the Mar Grande and Mar Piccolo, if the day's timetable allows. Evening: head back to the new town for pizza or panzerotti at Ricci on Piazza Maria Immacolata, and end with a bottle of Raffo.
Mar Piccolo mussels and a bottle of Raffo
Taranto's signature food is mussels farmed in the Mar Piccolo, served raw, steamed, stuffed or with pasta. Il Porto on Via Porto is a good seafood address in the old town, and Ricci on Piazza Maria Immacolata has made pizza and panzerotti since 1963. Drink Birra Raffo, Taranto's own beer.
Taranto eats from its two seas. The Mar Piccolo has been farmed for mussels for generations, and they turn up raw, steamed, stuffed or tossed through pasta in every seafood restaurant in town. Order whatever fish came in that morning, and ask what the kitchen is doing with it.
In the old town, Il Porto on Via Porto is one of the best places to try local seafood and classic Italian dishes; check its current opening days before you go. In the new town, Ricci on Piazza Maria Immacolata has been making pizza since 1963 and also does salads, burgers and Apulian panzerotti, fried pastries filled with mozzarella and tomato.
The drink to order is Birra Raffo, Taranto's own beer, a fixture of local life that you will find in almost every bar and restaurant. For a wider choice of beer, TaBir, a birroteca on Via Cavour near the MArTA, is a good stop after the museum.
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How we research our Taranto travel guide
MArTA museum hours, Kyma Mobilità buses and the Tour Due Mari boat timetables are seasonal, so they are rechecked against the Comune di Taranto website and Italia.it.
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Checked against trusted sources:
Official website of TarantoItalia.itUNESCO World Heritage Centre
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Taranto.
General
Brindisi (BDS) is nearer at about 70 km and has shuttle buses. Bari (BRI), about 100 km up the motorway, usually has more routes and lower fares.
The National Archaeological Museum on Via Cavour, holding finds from the Greek city, including gold jewellery.
The Italian navy, which still owns the fortress, leads the visits along its walls above the channel; in summer some tours run into the evening.
Yes. Kyma Mobilità, the city transport company, runs the Tour Due Mari, guided boat trips round the Mar Grande and Mar Piccolo on a seasonal timetable.
Sometimes, though most kitchens steam them, stuff them or toss them through pasta. Order them with a Birra Raffo, the city's own beer.
Yes, if you start at the museum when it opens, on any day except Monday. Stay a second night over Easter to see more than one of the Holy Week processions.
Spartan settlers founded the city as Taras in 706 BC, and it grew into one of the leading cities of Magna Graecia; much of what they left is now in MArTA.
Taranto's two seas: the Mar Grande is the open bay, and the Mar Piccolo is the enclosed inner basin, linked by the channel beside the Aragonese Castle.
The old town island is small and walkable, joined to the new town by the swing bridge and to the station side by the stone bridge at Porta Napoli. Kyma Mobilità, the former AMAT, runs the city buses; buy tickets before boarding from authorised sellers or in the Kyma Mobilità app.
Getting there
Yes. The station stands just north of the Città Vecchia, and the stone bridge at Porta Napoli brings you onto the island in a few minutes on foot.
No regular passenger flights land at Taranto itself. Brindisi's Aeroporto del Salento (BDS), about 70 km away by fast road, is the nearest, with efficient shuttle buses and plenty of car hire desks. Bari (BRI), about 100 km away along the Adriatic motorway, has more routes and cheaper fares from across Europe.
Timing & weather
During Easter week, when hooded processions move slowly through the old town.
The best time to visit Taranto is Apr to Jun, Sep to Oct. Warm enough for the boat tour and walking, without peak summer heat.
- Best overall: April - June, September - October (Comfortable for the old town and the boat tour of the two seas)
- Holy Week: March - April (Hooded processions through the old town over Easter; book rooms early)
- Summer: July - August (Hot; the castle opens late into the evening and the boat tour is the coolest way to see the city)
Visa & documents
Schengen rules apply in Italy. Citizens of the EU and of many other countries, including the US, UK, Canada and Australia, can visit visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180-day period; other nationalities need a Schengen visa. The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) records non-EU travelers' fingerprints and a photo at the border.
Health & safety
Violent crime against visitors to Italy is rare. Pickpocketing is the main problem, especially on buses and metros in Rome (bus 64 is notorious), at Roman and Florentine sights, and at Termini and Naples Centrale stations. Wear your bag across your body and zip it, and use only licensed white taxis or official ride apps.
