August 21, 2022
Once Italy’s shame, now a unique destination
Matera is an ancient town with a dark history, and is truly one of the most beautiful cities in Europe that we have seen so far. We think that Matera should be at the top of your Italy travel list. It makes for a perfect European city break with romantic cave hotels, a national park on your (literal) doorstep, and endless narrow alleys to explore. This Matera travel guide covers the best things to do over a long weekend in Italy at any time of the year! We provide a travel budget for shoulder season travel to show you how to get the most bang for your buck so you can enjoy more aperitivo.
Suggested: Looking for more Italian destinations? Read our guides to Puglia, Piedmont and Venice here. We also have a skiing guide to the Dolomites, and a road trip guide to the Dolomites in winter.
Matera is located in the south of Italy, just outside of Puglia, and is easily reached by flying into Bari. We took direct flights with RyanAir from Dublin for under €100 each in the shoulder season. From there it’s only an hour to Matera.
There are direct buses from the international airport in Bari for under 11 euro return! Buses run into the evening. As you can see, the one below leaves Bari airport after midnight. Use Omio to plan and book your trip and ensure that the timetables line up with your flights.
You will need to walk 20 minutes to get into the ‘sassi’ from where the bus will drop you off in Matera. Regardless of how you arrive in Matera you won’t be able to drive into the old town. Consider this when packing, and try to take bags that you can carry easily.
Of course there are trains as well but these are not direct, and frankly not as convenient. You can check Trenitalia and the Ferrovie Appulo Lucane websites for exact times and connections.
The other option is obviously to hire a car. It’s straight up the highway from Bari airport and even if you’re new to driving in Italy, you will be fine. If you’re planning on seeing other towns in the area, this is going to be your best option.
Check out our guide here on what else to see and do in Puglia over just one weekend, you’ll be surprised at what you can fit in.
We chose to hire a car as we wanted to see a couple of other towns on our last day before flying out. Organising parking with the hotel was incredibly easy. They gave us directions to a secure parking garage in the new part of town. It cost €20 a day including a shuttle to and from the hotel. Check with your hotel or Airbnb to see if they have an affiliated secure-parking arrangement. Make sure it will be open when you get there. The garage we parked in was just about to close at 11pm when we arrived, so keep this in mind if you’re flying in after work on a Friday. You can also self-park if you can find a free spot outside of the traffic-restricted area of the sassi (more on what this is below).
Matera is not a busy destination. How that is possible is beyond us, but great news for those who don’t enjoy hoards of tourists. However, summer is still the peak season and you will pay more. We think Matera is a perfect shoulder season destination and would be stiflingly hot in summer anyway.
We went in April and the weather was beautiful. You will need a light jacket, but you will be able to explore the sassi without breaking a sweat (there are a lot of stairs!). It won’t be so cold that can’t enjoy your aperitivo outside as the sun goes down though, perfect! We visited Matera on the weekend right before prices started increasing for the season. We managed to book our hotel for half the price it would be in July. Late Autumn would offer beautiful colours across the ravine into Murgia National Park. As the weather cools again, it will be more pleasant to stroll the sassi and you will be able to find great deals again with hotels.
We’re already planning our trip back to Matera, and we will definitely be staying at Sextantio Le Grotte Della Civita again. The hotel is located in the oldest part of the heritage listed sassi, and faces out over the expansive Murgia park. The rooms have all been renovated to preserve the history of the place. They have beautiful modern touches like freestanding tubs and handmade bath products. Our stay here, nor anything in this post, are sponsored. We just really, really loved our experience and had the most romantic weekend in our cave room.
Two full days is perfect. People frequently visit Matera as a day trip, but missing sunset over the sassi is a mistake you don’t want to make. The sassi (Italian for stones) are two districts famous for their cave dwellings and will take up most of your time while in Matera. As dusk hits and the lights start to twinkle on, you will want to spend some time wandering the streets to find the perfect vantage point to enjoy a glass of wine or espresso.
Without spending a night in Matera, you’re also going to miss out on the experience of sleeping in a cave hotel. Usually accommodation isn’t a huge consideration for us. However, for our trip to Matera we couldn’t resist the unique hotels the town has to offer.
The below is a realistic budget for two people travelling during the shoulder season. It shows exactly what we spent for 3 nights / 4 days. The easiest way that you could reduce your costs would be to catch a bus to Matera from the airport.
| Activity | Cost |
|---|---|
| Flights (Dublin to Bari) | €180 |
| Accomodation | €588 |
| Car, Insurance and fuel | €240 |
| Parking (including shuttle bus to hotel) | €60 |
| Travel Insurance | €32 |
| Activities | €18 |
| Food and Drink | €400 |
| Total | €1518 |
Imagine you have just woken up in a cave in one of the longest inhabited cities in Europe (9000 years!). You start off your day with breakfast in an ancient church “Cripta della Civita”. You’re choosing between freshly baked focaccias set out each morning by the in-house chef.
We stayed at Sextantio Le Grotte Della Civita and highly recommend it. Breakfast was included in the rate. The novelty of drinking our morning espresso in a stable at the back of a cave never got old.
Matera is the oldest city in Italy and was designated UNESCO status in 1993. The sassi are a sight to behold and Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita is perfectly situated for you to make the most of your time here. To truly appreciate Matera, you need to understand its history and how it came to be the place it is now.
Your first stop of the day should be Casa Noha (museum of Matera history). Entry is €6 and it will take you about 30 minutes. As you go through the different rooms of Casa Noha, you will learn about how Matera came to be known as the “shame of Italy”. You will learn about its abandonment and the subsequent interest in re-developing the city in appreciation of its outstanding beauty.
There are two sassi districts in Matera – Sasso Caveoso and Sasso Barisano. Casa Noha is located in Sasso Caveoso, where you will continue to explore for the rest of the morning. Walk towards Piazza di San Pietro Caveoso, with stunning views over the ravine towards Murgia park. The imposing Church of Saint Peter ‘Caveoso’ is located here. You will see plenty of tuk tuk’s in this area that can take you on guided tours. We didn’t do one of these tours, but you should be able to organise a 45 minute ride for €30.
If continuing on foot, make your way to San Giovanni in Monterrone (Church of Saint Mary of Idris). This is a beautiful church built into stone (a rupestrian church) that you will see rising above you throughout Sasso Caveoso. If you’re even hungry for lunch after the huge breakfast you had this morning, we recommend Osteria La Vigna del Mare. It has beautiful views over the sassi and is set back off the main streets down a small stairway. It’s location gives it a very romantic feel (and makes for a very cute photo).
After lunch, meander back through the narrow streets towards the lookout from Belvedere di Piazza Giovanni Pascoli. After soaking in the views, go to Casa Grotta nei Sassi (The Cave Dwelling of Vico Solitario). Here you will learn about how the cave houses were traditionally used. Entry is only €6, and it gives you a really good impression of what conditions people were living under before the city was abandoned. Animals were usually people’s most prized possessions, and so the stable was typically dug out at the back of the cave. The amount of animals that whole families would live with in a mere few square metres can only be appreciated when visiting one of these cave houses.
Spend the rest of your afternoon wandering through Sasso Caveoso before heading back to the hotel for some aperitivo. At Sextantio Le Grotte Della Civita you can order drinks and aperitivo at any time. Just take your pick of tables overlooking the rupestrian churches carved into the ravine in Murgia Park. It’s easy to while away an hour or two listening to the cow bells echo through the canyon before getting ready for dinner.
As it gets closer to sunset, make your way over to Sasso Barisano and up to Convento di Sant’Agostino. The views on the winding road up to the convent looking back towards Sasso Caveoso are incredible at dusk. Finish your day with dinner at La Nicchia nel Sasso Osteria Contemporanea, a two minute walk back down the street.
We didn’t do this and regretted it after seeing the views from Murgia later in the day. A sunrise bike tour will cost you €50 per person, but we definitely think it would be worth it to miss the crowds and enjoy your morning coffee overlooking the canyon. There are e-bikes available too for €65 if it’s within your budget. For those that aren’t inclined for a 7am start, enjoy a slow morning at the hotel and indulge yourself at breakfast again. If it’s nice out, don’t hesitate to ask to sit outside in the sun.
Once you’ve freshened up after breakfast, put your sneakers on and take a walk to the lookout Belvedere di Murgia Timone. If you saw the lookout on the bike tour, the walk up from town is still worth it to peek into the rupestrian churches scattered all the way up the canyon. Make sure you stick to the trails as there are endemic plant species in the area (species only found in Murgia). You could spend all day walking the trails in Murgia, just head in a direction that peaks your interest and go with it.
You’ll have worked up an appetite after your walk, so head to Il Terrazzino for a long lunch. Spend your afternoon soaking up more of Matera’s history at the Museo Nazionale di Matera. Tickets at €5 and you can buy them ahead of time online). Then grab a gelato and hop between cafes until you need to head back and get ready for dinner.
If you’re going to eat out anywhere in Matera, make it Regiacorte – Restaurant & Terrace Lounge. I had booked this place months earlier because of the views over the sassi. It was too chilly the night we went and the terrace was closed, but the restaurant is set within an enormous cave that was previously a church. The food was outstanding and worth splashing out on the tasting menu (though reasonably priced compared to similar experiences we’ve had elsewhere!).
On the off chance that you haven’t already (how haven’t you?!?), take a bath in the freestanding tub complete with locally made bath products. The rooms at Sextantio Le Grotte Della Civita are simply furnished with traditional furniture typical of the region and filled with candles that you can surround yourself with while you take a bottle of red wine to the tub.
We hope we’ve inspired you to plan a trip to stay in a cave hotel in Matera. It’s an incredibly romantic city and has been our favourite city trip in Europe so far. If you have any questions, please let us know, and to keep up to date with our new posts every week, please subscribe!
Suggested: Looking for more Italian destinations? Read our guides to Puglia, Piedmont and Venice here. We also have a skiing guide to the Dolomites, and a road trip guide to the Dolomites in winter.
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