old town

walking through here is like a stroll in a time machine what a beautiful place so relaxed a great day out

We spent a wonderful week in this lovely town with a great beach. We happened to pass through Vieste, totally unplanned, and decided to stay. Friendly people, beautiful old town, good restaurants, perfect for strolling and looking around, never boring. I just fell in love with Vieste and will happily return.

Although the locals can drive up and find parking spots you will probably have approached the town by the wider quieter streets at the western end of the Viale 24th May and walked past the lovely indoor market (see other entries). Half way along this road, that has several fine gelateria and some good specialist shops, there is a shady (by day) or well lit (by night) triangular tree filled park. Here a road to the right climbs steeply up to the old town. At the top is the old town gateway where there is a very lively scene after 9 at night. You will be spoiled for choice for restaurants there, and if you climb up the stone steps to the right of the gateway you will find the lovely old cathedral with its painted ceiling and also the massive walls of the castle tower that is illuminated by a blue light by night. Everywhere else is a golden colour from the street lights. Night time is also the best time to find all the shops open too.

Lovely old town. Beware of the afternoons though: the fiesta is almost total! But at night the place comes to life with well lit little streets to explore with unexpected sea views and a lot of restaurants some of which are very good indeed.

Small town easily walked round. Lots of steep steps. Plenty of places for coffee and snacks. Large old cathedral and old town.

Vieste centro is a must, to be able to experience life as a local. Specially the evenings. Young and old go out for a walk, to have a aperitivo, later a meal or just hang out in the square.

Narrow alleys, some touristy but others quintessentially Italian - balconies almost touching, screaming kids, old ladies in the shade etc.

This must be one of the few places left in Southern Italy that combines so e touristic infrastructure with a a town centre that has been overdeveloped or even done up. This is what the old Italian sea side towns must have looked like 59 years ago. Not much has changed sine in Vieste, which makes it a charming place.

Loved walking round the traditional streets with lots of balconies and restaurants. Tried the Dragon restaurant very nice.

Happy to be here again in this charming city. Feel myself in Greece! So beautiful city! Great place for a vacation. Great beaches, nice people, terrific food and wine.

Vieste old town is nice and special and the atmosphere there reminds you of Spain and Greece. The small pedestrian roads with their pubs, restaurants, shops, monuments, will help you to forget about the thousands of steps to get up and down

Fully pedestrianized but hilly. There are lots of artisan type shops and a the best restaurants in town

We spent a lovely day meandering round the old town, with it's narrow streets and old buildings. Not for the feint hearted, quite a few steps and hills, but well worth the effort. We stopped off for lunch and ice cream at one of the many restaurants and ice cream parlours. Being careful to check prices, there are some excellent meals at good prices, but watch for cover charges and be sure of the price before you order. Some in our party paid more than they intended for lunch.We had a lovely meal overlooking the sea and the lower part of the town towards the church. Sunny day, in shade, good food, glass of wine at a reasonable price, what more can one ask for?

The old town with its stepped narrow lanes had lovely shopping, lots of restauranthoices and a very nice, sophisticated atmosphere. The modern town is only metres away too, with other bar and dining options. If you are not looking for a beach location, the old town is the perfect place to stay for a night or two .Lovely views over the sea from various locations as it is positioned on a peninsula.

This is a town with a long history and a year-around population of 13,000. The statistic is valid because many southern Italian towns swell at summer holiday periods. Crusaders passed through the region on their way to the Byzantine empire and the Holy land,taking time,as pilgrims and tourists still do today,to visit the Santuariodi San Michele and its grotto in the nearby hill town of Monte Sant'angelo,where the archangel Michael was supposed to have visited in AD. 490. The road to the village rises up to the main street,Corso Fazzini,with lovely public gardens along a wide avenue in full bloom to the left, then arrives shortly in the town's central plaza,Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II. Nobody,however, seems to refer to the piazza by its name. Instead,because it is a level lower then the original medieval old town,where the fortified castle stands,it is known as Pizzadel Fosso oril Fosso ( the ditch). Facing the piazza are several terrace sidewalk cafes,and in the centre is an octagonal bandstand where concerts are held on feast days and on some summer evenings. We eventually emerged into a charming tiny piazza with a stone fountain in the centre,crowded by building on three sides,looking on the fourth side over a low wall onto the Adriatic 100 ft below. At the top of the cliff we circled the fortified castle with its stunning views of Viesta and the distant slopes of olive groves inland and the sea to the east. The fort was built by the Romans and expended and fortified in the 13th century at the direction of Fredrick II,the eccentric and enlightened Swabian Emperor who occupied Apulia at the time,parading through the town with his elephants and dancing girls and Arab and Italian court. A man after my own style! The alleyways are lined with private apartments,with drying laundry like flags waving from lines overhead. Ceramic artisans and other artists work in shops along these causeways displaying their glossy,stylishly colourful creations in the windows. The art of shaping clay on the potter's wheel to make bowels and flasks for water,wine and oil is an ancient tradition in the region. The old town,including the buildings of the 17th century expansion,cling to the cliff edge,the narrow alleyways extending out onto a tongue of land at the point of which another church,San Francesco- a modest straightforward structure,once part of a convent that was closed by the French under Napoleon in 1819. From here one can look back along the southern coast with its harbour and its esplanade under a sweeping canopy of palm trees. It is but a short walk back to the Piazza Fosso,where a sidewalk table at the cafe is a perfect vantage point for observing the pedestrian life of the town's citizens going about their daily business, very much as they always have.