The old fishing harbour sits in a shallow curve below the castle walls, packed with the brightly painted wooden boats — the gozzi — that the local fleet still uses for day trips after octopus and sea urchin. The dawn auction is gone, but the men who fish bring their catch directly to the restaurants on the quay through the morning, and most days you can buy a kilo of just-landed prawns from a boat for less than the supermarket asks.
Come at sunset, when the boats are tied up two deep and the bars along Largo Plebiscito fill with locals. The walk around the seawall to Punta Penna gives the best view back across the harbour to the castle and cathedral; on a clear day you can see all the way south to Polignano a Mare.