Best things to do in Martina Franca

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Zoosafari offers a safari, zoo, and theme park experience. Drive through the safari area and spot wildlife from all over the world, including water buffalo, lions, bears, elephants, zebras, giraffes, and more. Walk along the zoo's trail to see gorillas, chimpanzees, gibbons, leopards, panthers, and lemurs. You can also explore a large mammal lake, bird exhibit, tropical room, penguin house, and dolphinarium. Check at the entrance for animal show times. Head to the amusement park section to ride rollercoasters, a log flume, and bumper cars.

One of Italy's best-preserved medieval settlements, I Trulli di Alberobello - World Heritage Site is a World Heritage site. Nestled in the Puglia countryside, the town is known for its rows of white, cone-shaped stone houses known as trulli. These now host craft shops, restaurants, and accommodations. Wander the narrow, cobblestone streets, and peer into the small dry-stone huts to admire the vernacular architecture. Walk up to the main church on the hillside for a view of the fairytale-like village. The town is well-known for its pastries and sweets, so consider a stop at a bakery.

Explore underground Italy with a visit to Grotte di Castellana, a cave system of inestimable importance for the world’s natural heritage. These limestone caves, discovered in 1938, are the country’s longest natural subterranean network of passages. The caves teem with a huge variety of native wildlife, and contain an extraordinary range of underground landscapes, with some of the world’s most astonishing stalactite and stalagmite formations. Inside these caverns, natural light streams in through the ceiling, filtering down into the darkness and creating curious visual effects, which change according to the time of day and the season. Don’t miss the so-called "White Cave," which is often described as the most shining cave in the world because of the whiteness of its alabaster walls. Guided tours are available daily, but be sure to check the official website for exact times before you make the trip.

The castle Castello Aragonese dominates the center of the craggy island of Ischia. Walk through a tunnel or take an elevator to the entrance. The sturdy walls here once protected the island's small population from pirate raids. However, Hiero I of Syracuse built it in 474 BCE long before the threat of pirates. Inside the tunnel is a chapel dedicated to St. John Joseph of the Cross, the island's patron saint. Walk or take a public bus to access the island via a stone bridge built by Alfonso V.