I have always wanted to visit Matera and often see pictures of it pop up on my Instagram feed. When we visited it honestly felt like we had stepped back in time.

If you have read my blog before you will know I am a big fan of Italy , but Matera is without a doubt the most unusual city I have been too and holds some very special memories for me.

Matera is a UNESCO site with cave dwelling districts called Sassi. For many centuries and until the 1950s families were living in these caves, surrounded by dirt and disease. The families were then moved to more modern and clean housing and now many of the caves have been converted into hotels and restaurants.

There is so much to explore in Matera and we stayed in there for two nights which gave us plenty of time to wander around the old town and also do some walking in the hills around the city.

Where to stay

If you can I would really recommend staying in a converted cave hotel in the Sassi district. It is a really amazing experience!

We stayed at the Conche Luxury Retreat which is located in the heart of the Sasso Caveoso. The hotel is beautiful and right in the centre so we could easily walk to shops and restaurants in the evening.

The interior of the room was beautiful. On our arrival the room was lit by candlelight and with the light reflecting off the cave walls it looked magical.

Although you feel like you have stepped back in time the room has all the modern appliances that you would expect (air conditioning, electric lighting and plumbing!)

There is a small shared terrace area outside the rooms which we enjoyed sitting on in the evenings with a drink.

Breakfast was served in the main hotel building. There was a great choice of food incuding cereals, yoghurt, pastries, meat and cheese.

What to do in Matera

One of the best things to do in Matera is to just wander around and get lost in the old part of town. We would often find we were the only people on a certain street and it was amazing to walk around and see the history of the place come to life. As well as the developed buildings there are still a lot of abandoned buildings and caves that you can explore.

There were photo opportunities everywhere and one of my favourites was from higher up in the city, overlooking the Sassi districts.

I had most wanted to see Matera at night and it didn’t disappoint! It is hard to capture properly but the view over the city with the lights sparkling was incredible.

We went back to this spot every night and it wasn’t a view I think I could ever get tired of!

Our second morning in Matera we went walking in the valley around the city. It was a baking hot day and the views we got of Matera from the other side of the valley were beautiful.

You can explore the caves in the valley where people used to keep animals and store food. There are also some Rupestrian churches which you can visit which have faded frescos on the walls.

Where to eat

Being in Italy we were spoiled for choice with where and what to eat. The traditional food in Matera is quite simple, for example most restaurants served cereal type soups, dried peppers (which I really recommend) and of course different pasta dishes.

We had the best meal of our holiday in Matera at a restaurant that seemed too good to be true, Ristorante Le Bubbole. We were lucky enough to get a seat on the terrace overlooking the city as we ate.

The menu was small but everything we chose was delicious. The pasta was the best I have ever eaten! It was Raviolo filled with black pork sausage, caciocavallo foam and candied lemon.

For our mains we also had lamb and cod fish with leeks. So tasty!

I would definitely recommend a weekend in Matera. There weren’t many tourists there so it felt quite undeveloped and unspoilt and we were lucky to have some beautiful weather.

If you are looking for a longer holiday, the Puglia region is not far and is a great place to visit for a mix of beaches and old Italian cities!