Where to Stay in Matera

Stay in or right beside the Sassi. The guided walking tours on this site meet in the upper town, a short walk above the two old districts: Martulli Viaggi’s two-hour walk checks in near Via Alessandro Volta, and Passi nei Sassi meets on Via Don Minzoni and starts in Piazza Vittorio Veneto. That makes the choice about how you arrive more than about distance. A cave hotel in Sasso Caveoso or Sasso Barisano means stairs with your bags and no car while the ZTL gates are active. The Civita, the ridge around the cathedral between the two Sassi, gives the same old-town feel with views into both. The new town around Piazza Vittorio Veneto has flat streets, parking outside the ZTL and Matera Centrale, the FAL station for trains from Bari.

Quick picks

• A night in a cave room: the Sassi, at hotels such as Corte San Pietro or Caveoso Hotel.
• Cathedral views and a central base: the Civita, at Sextantio Le Grotte Della Civita or Palazzo Viceconte.
• Arriving by car or with heavy bags: the new town, at Hotel San Domenico Al Piano, with private parking.
• An early FAL train: Albergo Roma, about 400 yards from Matera Centrale.

The Sassi: cave hotels

Sleep here if a room cut into the rock is the reason you came. Sasso Caveoso faces south and rises in terraces like a theater; Sasso Barisano faces north-west, with carved portals. Both are part of the UNESCO site, and the streets are public, so you can walk out of your door and into the lanes at any hour.

The trade-off is access. Casa Grotta di Vico Solitario warns that stairways and constant ups and downs are typical of all the Sassi, and the Comune advises exploring them on foot. The Sassi gates on Via D’Addozio and Via Bruno Buozzi are active 10:00 to 24:00 from 1 July to 15 September and 10:00 to 20:30 the rest of the year. Hotels register guest plates through the Comune’s platform, so ask yours before you drive in, or use the partner car park many of them list. The walk up to the tour meeting points in the upper town is uphill, which is easy on the way back down.

• Corte San Pietro: stone rooms with private entrances around a courtyard on Via Bruno Buozzi, a 5-minute walk from the cathedral, with a partner car park.
• Caveoso Hotel: on Piazza San Pietro Caveoso; some rooms are set in a grotto and some have a small balcony over the Sassi.
• Aquatio Cave Luxury Hotel & SPA: inside the Sassi, with a restaurant and 60 minutes of spa per guest (sauna, hammam and a heated indoor pool).
• Locanda Di San Martino Hotel & Thermae Romanae: a 3-star on Via Fiorentini with an indoor pool and spa, luggage storage and a 24-hour front desk.
• Hotel Sassi: a terrace with views across to the cathedral, some rooms with balconies, and a partner car park.
• See all stays in the Sassi on Booking.com.

The Civita and Piazza Duomo

The Civita is the rock between the two Sassi, topped by the 13th-century Romanesque cathedral on the ridge that forms the highest point of the city. UNESCO calls it the first inhabited nucleus of Matera. Stay here for views down into both districts and a short walk to either. The streets up the Civita are walkable only on foot, so plan your luggage the same way as for the Sassi.

• Sextantio Le Grotte Della Civita: rooms and suites in large caves on Via Civita, with antique furniture and a terrace over the Murgia park.
• Palazzo Viceconte: a historic palazzo around the corner from the Duomo, with frescoed halls; most rooms have panoramic views.
• See all stays near the Duomo on Booking.com.

The new town, near Piazza Vittorio Veneto

Choose the new town if you arrive by car, carry heavy bags or catch an early train. You stay outside the Sassi ZTL, the tour meeting points are close, and the Belvedere Luigi Guerricchio on Piazza Vittorio Veneto looks straight across Sasso Barisano to the cathedral. FAL trains from Bari end at Matera Centrale, and FlixBus stops on Via Don Luigi Sturzo. FAL rail service is suspended on Sundays and holidays, when buses replace the trains, so check the timetable for your travel day. Our Bari to Matera guide covers the train, bus and drive.

The trade-off is the room itself: conventional hotel rooms, not caves. You walk down into the Sassi for the evening.

• Hotel San Domenico Al Piano: on Via Roma, yards from Piazza Vittorio Veneto, with private parking and about 550 yards to Matera Centrale.
• Albergo Roma: also on Via Roma, a 3-minute walk from the entrance to the Sassi and about 400 yards from Matera Centrale, with a 24-hour front desk.
• Hotel Del Campo: outside the center, 1.9 miles from the Sassi by the SS7 bypass, with free parking, an outdoor pool and a garden. Choose it only if you have a car.
• See all stays in central Matera on Booking.com.

Map

Use the map to compare hotels in the Sassi, on the Civita and in the new town.

The three areas side by side

Booking tips

• Book the tour first, then the room. The Matera: Sassi Tour with Cave House and Rupestrian Church costs $33 per person, is rated 4.7 from 7,953 GetYourGuide reviews and can be cancelled free up to 24 hours before.
• Do not bring your bags to the tour. That walk lists luggage and large bags as not allowed, so check in or store them at the hotel first.
• Driving? Ask your hotel to register your plate for the ZTL before you arrive, or park outside the gates and walk in.
• Expect a city tax. Matera collects a per-person, per-night tax through your accommodation, and many booking prices do not include it.
• Arriving on a Sunday or holiday by train? FAL replaces trains with buses on those days.

If you prefer to skip the stairs, our tuk-tuk tour page covers the vehicle tours, and the sunset tour page is a good reason to book a second night. The comparison on our homepage sets the main walking tours side by side, and our breakdown of the two-hour Sassi walk covers the cave house and church it includes. Already booked a room? Check availability for the walk.