New Year’s Day 2026 in Apulia: what to do to celebrate it

The switch from the old to the new year can be a perfect opportunity to visit new destinations or explore well-known spots of our country in a very different gaze, filtered through a sizzling festive mood. So the atmospheres of a vibrant and fascinating territory like Apulia, a top destination during last summer, may be perfect for you.

Thanks to its mix of centuries-old traditions, decorated and illuminated locations and many captivating events, this charming region can give you an everlasting memory, whether you are in a couple, with family or with friends. Many parties and events have been confirmed for the end of 2025, and whichever city you choose among those we suggest, New Year's Day 2026 in Apulia will be a unique experience; here we want to give you a sample of what it will be like.

Dinners at masserias and fireworks over the sea are just a couple of the options you can consider to leave 2025 behind and celebrate the arrival of 2026 in Apulia, but there are others you may not have considered. Even this year, the most famous and lesser-known landscape beauties, towns and villages are dressed up with illuminations and markets and in the major squares, the population comes together to celebrate and dance, but also to welcome tourists who wish to discover a region keeping its charm alive even when beaches, umbrellas and muggy heat are now a far away memory.

For New Year's Eve 2025, we have obviously chosen Bari, the regional capital city but also a leading venue for events and entertainment in Puglia, followed by Taranto, Alberobello and its curious buildings, as well as Salento and small towns in the province, such as Tricase and Monte Sant'Angelo.

If you wish to experience this beautiful area during a totally different time than summer and explore its historical sights from a different perspective, discover our selection of enchanting places dedicated to the New Year's Day of 2026 in Apulia.

The unquestionable beauty of Bari's historic center has an extra edge at this time of year. Amid decorations and luminaries, the main event on the 31st of December in the city is definitely the annual concert, which is held every year in Piazza della Libertà by the local Radio Norba and we know that thousands of visitors will be there. Joining citizens and tourists to wait for midnight will be the best artists from the Italian music scene and more - last year, for example, Emma Marrone and Michele Bravi lined up - and after the countdown it's still time for dancing with a series of DJ sets by Radio Norba and Radio 105, a famous italian station. Further artists have to be confirmed yet.

And if the weather doesn't scare you, on the morning of the 1st of January, you can open your New Year's Day 2026 in Apulia with the traditional dive into the sea, the climax of the Marcialonga Nicolaiana (a long marathon for St. Nicholas) ceremony. This is a highly appreciated and much-followed ritual that includes a Mass at the Basilica of St. Nicholas, the city's patron saint, a march along the promenade, and finally the first swim of the year from the Pane e Pomodoro beach: will you be brave enough?

For a perfect end of the year 2025 and a joyful New Year’s Day 2026, we recommend a visit to the village of Monte Sant'Angelo, in the province of Foggia, home to the impressive Sanctuary of St. Michael. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site, just a short walk from the Umbra Forest, visited by millions of pilgrims every year. A stone staircase also provides access to the cave attached to the shrine, a place with a conciliatory and contemplative atmosphere where the Archangel Michael is said to have appeared for the first time.

Here you can admire a series of ancient runic symbols, inscriptions and drawings, witnessing the many civilizations that succeeded one another in these places. But most of all, you can appreciate the breathtaking view, thanks to the promontory overlooking the Gulf of Gargano, perfect for an exceptional cheers and a postcard-style photo. 

Monte Sant'Angelo can be reached by bus or by car from Foggia, a journey of about 44 km.

If for New Year's Eve 2025 you are considering a romantic evening with your sweetheart, here we want to recommend a truly original place, that is the lighthouse of Punta Palascio, in Capo d'Otranto, in Salento.

Perched above the gulf of the same name, where the Ionian and Adriatic seas merge in an embrace, one of the most fascinating lighthouses in Italy has dominated the scene since 1867, in the role of silent guardian of the most easterly location in Italy. And for this very reason, at Punta Palascia you will be amazed at the sight of the country's first sunrise, a tradition that has for a long time inaugurated the new year for all those who gather there, braving the temperatures. That is why, over time, musical events, performances and exhibitions have been organized to accompany this magical ritual. 

Punta Palascia is only 6 km from the town of Otranto and 40 km from Lecce.

Among the most celebrated towns in Puglia, Alberobello and its trulli are dressed up for the Christmas season: in December and January, it holds the Li.Fe Alberobello Light Festival, a festival where luminaries and lights are projected directly onto the town's peculiar buildings. To mark the 30th anniversary of the inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List, the festival concept is called Light For Life and the theme will be environmental sustainability in relation to the artistic repertoire, with light as the connecting thread. 

 Among the subjects that can be glimpsed there is the ultra-original light nativity scene, a journey featuring more than 30 luminous human figures inspired by the Nativity, narrated by a voice over. And if you are lucky enough, you can admire this fairy-tale spectacle surrounded by snow. Can you imagine a more magical place than this for your New Year's Eve in Apulia? 

Easily reach Alberobello by train from Bari or Taranto and visit daily from dusk to dawn.

For an opulent New Year's Day 2026 in Apulia in the Taranto area, a visit to the Aragonese Castle and its romantic view of the sea is a must, before setting your sights on one of the clubs in the historic center and toasting the New Year.

The Aragonese Castle, a well-known name for Castel Sant'Angelo, is a wonderful example of medieval architecture, whose structure has been modified several times over the centuries; given its location, the building was born for defensive purposes but in time became home to a maximum-security prison. Today, the castle is a destination for many visitors, and during the Christmas season it is dressed in lights and decorations and enriched with markets of gastronomic and handicraft products, with the impressive Ferris wheel in the background. Here you can enjoy the traditional New Year's Eve delicacy, the pettole, or fried balls of yeast dough seasoned sometimes with sugar and sometimes with anchovies and capers.

Let’s close our path for the New Year’s Day 2026 in Apulia, a short drive from Lecce, in the heart of Salento. Here lies the small village of Tricase, where the highlight event is certainly the Living Nativity.

It is one of the most important nativity scenes in Apulia and one of the widest in Europe, which has been attracting thousands of visitors from all over Italy since 1976, and boasts a permanent structure among the village streets on the Monte Orco hilltop. Even this year, thanks to the participation of more than 200 performers, a truly realistic reconstruction of ancient trades and local folk traditions comes to life: the stonemason, the leatherworker, the papier-mâché maker perform their work, while chatting with passers-by. Of course, while you warm yourself at the hearth with them, you can enjoy many local specialties.

The Living Nativity in Tricase awaits you with free admission on December 25, 26, 27, 28 2025 and January 1, 3, 4, 6 2026 from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.; you can reach it by train or bus from Lecce.

After this journey through the the wonderful venues of the Apulia region, we know you're spoiled for choice, but we also know that among those we've suggested, you're sure to find the event and venue that will make your New Year's Day 2026 stunning.

 Whether you want to go wild in the square or contemplate the sunrise overlooking the sea, choose to spend your last night of 2023 in beautiful Apulia for an unforgettable memory with your loved ones.