City of Bari

Bari is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in southern Italy. It is the second most important economic center of mainland Southern Italy, a port and university city. The port of Bari is traditionally considered Europe’s door to the Balkan Peninsula and the Middle East and is a multipurpose port able to meet all operational requirements.

Bari offers about a day’s worth of sightseeing – that is, if you want to explore thoroughly, enjoy a long lunch and visit the local art gallery. If you have less time, you’ll find that you can see Vecchia Bari – Old Bari – and the town’s highlights in just a couple of hours. The interesting bits of town can all be visited on foot, though if you get bored of trekking through the newer car-filled streets you could catch one of the local buses. Bari is made up of four different urban sections. To the north is the closely built old town on the peninsula between two modern harbors, with the Basilica of Saint Nicholas, the Cathedral of San Sabino and the Hohenstaufen Castle built for Frederick II, which is now also a major nightlife district. To the south is the Murat quarter, the modern heart of the city, which is laid out on a rectangular grid-plan with a promenade on the sea and the major shopping district.