Articles > Beauty and the Beast: The Amalfi Coast from Naples

The gritty port city of Naples leads you on to the Amalfi, Italy’s most seductive coastline. Combine a holiday to both destinations and you will sweat through the streets of Naples, the most uncoiffeured of Italian cities, before disappearing around the Sorrentine peninsula towards Amalfi’s sweeping coastal highways.

For first-timers
The landing stage of the Amalfi, Sorrento, is one of those towns that spawned the phrase ‘a woman in every port.’ Once grand and elegant, now rather faded, Sorrento does the dusk tradition of a slow stroll, the passeggiata. Find a chair at Fauno Bar and people-watch from the terrace across Piazza Tauno. It feels like a wake to the stolen afternoons of sailors on leave.

In Naples, the Museo di Capodimonte is housed in an 18th-century palazzo surrounded by lush parkland – perfect for a picnic of dense Neapolitan bread and ripe red tomatoes. Inside the museum is a stunning collection of 15th- to 17th-century paintings including Caravaggios and Lippis. Sweep up the marble staircases and find masterpieces like Botticelli’s Madonna and Titian’s Danaë.

Naples is the home of pizza and Lombardi’s is one of the locals’ favourites, just off the main square Piazza del Gesù on via Benedetto Croce. Join the queue for an oven-baked Margherita topped with tomato, basil and the stringiest, freshest mozzarella. Ask them to saw up your slices and head to the front steps of the church Gesù Nuovo.

Set aside at least half a day for Pompeii, Italy’s most popular tourist attraction. Almost two thousand years ago, the volcano Vesuvius erupted and the falling ash preserved this entire Roman town, stopping the clock for its 20,000 residents. Get some insight into daily Roman life wandering around the ruins of villas, theatres and temples.

From Naples, take a ferry to the beautiful rock-island of Capri that has played sanctuary to exiles, misfits and refugees. The voyage across the glittering seas feels like a pilgrimage towards a safer liberated outcrop, where outlandish and eccentric behaviour may be condoned. On the quay, porters will carry your luggage to a bus or convertible taxi, for a terrifying ride around twists and turns to your hotel destination.

If that didn’t get the pulse racing, try a shot of Limoncello homemade liqueur, lounging on the terraces of Capri’s Piazzetta. Served ice-cold, limoncello is made with locally grown lemons and is the typical aperitif of the Amalfi. If you want something softer, go for a creamy bacio flavoured ice cream made with chocolate and hazelnut pieces.

The most famous sight on Capri is the Blue Grotto where the blue light reflecting off the water inside the cave has a brilliant luminescent glow. Take a round-the-island boat trip from Marina Grande that also includes stops at the green and white grottoes.

John Steinbeck called the Sirenuse a ‘first class hotel, spotless and cool’, and little has changed since he penned those words in the 1950s. Splurge on a few nights at this Positano hotel, clinging to the skirts of the mountains and looking across to the island of the Mermaids. The Sirenuse still has flawless service, simple antique furnishings and a divine menu. Sit on a sundeck for a light lunch or chase sundowners at dusk.

Across from the Sirenuse Hotel, visit the Emporio boutique and be tempted by Allegra Hicks’ silk kaftans or some bright-striped Etro swimming trunks. For the girls, there are perfect Positano leather sandals, simply strapped or stone studded.

In the medieval town of Ravello, dine at one of the finest of restaurants along this coastline, Rossellini’s, housed in Palazzo Sasso hotel. This restored 12th-century merchant’s house has glorious terraced views down to fishing villages along the Bay of Salerno.

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In Naples, the new subway stations boast contemporary art works like Marisa Albanese’s seated fighters or the enormous copy of Farnese Herbules made by students of the nearby Academy of Fine Arts. When you need some respite from the chaos of Naples, go underground and find these gems, like Raffaella Nappo’s artificial flower and Mimmo Paladino’s colossal hand reaching out to stop you in your tracks.

In the old quarter of Naples, Piazza Bellini is the hot spot – with its literary cafés, internet cafés and the most chilled, the Palestinian café L’Arabo. Daytime, sit under shady palms and night time, be part of the buzz while local musicians busk on the terraces.

Become a member of Naples’ Albergo del Purgatorio, an intriguing concept mixing B&B with boutique magic. The creators have invented a character Robert Kaplan, always travelling, who gives the keys to his home to people he meets on his journeys. Get caught up in the wild imaginings behind this flamboyant palazzo – and enjoy the hospitality of this ephemeral host who takes care of his guests remotely, with soft beds and fantastic artwork.

Reserve a private box at Naples’ San Carlo opera house, the south’s hottest competition to La Scala in Milan. This is Europe’s oldest working theatre and the interiors are a beautiful wedding cake of tiered white and gold boxes, from floor to ceiling. For tickets, contact the box office on +39 0817972331, www.teatrosancarlo.it.

Climb Vesuvius. It is a thirty-minute trek from the car park up to the cone – from where you can peer down into the crater and ponder Pompeii’s fate. Take heart: the next eruption is not due for twenty years. From Ercolano train station, take a bus or taxi to Parco Nazionale del Vesuvio.

From the main square in Capri, follow signposts to the Arco Naturale. Less than half an hour along the path, you come across the restaurant Le Grotelle perched on a cliff. Here, they bring a dish of flapping freshly-caught fish to your table and you select which one you would like gently simmered in lemon juice and Italian herbs. After lunch, walk down to the phenomenon of the Natural Arch, before curving around the coastal path back to Capri town.

In Capri, find Blu – a fabulous den of gorgeous one-off items, fusing French chic, Italian cut and Asian textiles. Some of the most delicious handbags are for sale here as well as unisex cummerbunds and silk-lined jackets (via Le Botteghe 57).

Head up to Anacapri, the stars’ favourite hideaway above the main town. This is the most exclusive and unspoilt part of the island. Sip a Bellini at the Bar degli Artisti in the Capri Palace Hotel or indulge at the beauty farm. If you can stretch far enough, take the Megaron £1,500-a-night suite with a private swimming pool on the roof garden.

In Positano, eat on the terrace at Chez Black right on the beach. This is a blend of French brasserie and Italian home-style cooking – with lots of seafood, like the amazing baby squid. It is teeming with locals and tourists alike, so call ahead to reserve one of the shamelessly voyeuristic outer tables (via del Brigantino 19, +39 089875036).

Early morning in Ravenna, head to the Mercato Communale, a grand 19th-century covered market piled high with fresh fruit, fish and vegetables. Grab a piadini from the stall frying up thin, savoury pancakes and then take a wander through the town’s tidy streets past Gothic, medieval and Venetian-style houses. Stop by the 6th-century Basilica di San Vitale for dazzling mosaics.

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