Guide to Amalfi

'A tiny jewel pressed into the breathtaking Sorrento Peninsula, Amalfi is a joy for sightseers and lovers of the dolce vita.'

Your imagination would be hard pressed to conjure up somewhere as gorgeous as Amalfi. Embedded like a jewel in the jagged sides of the Sorrento Peninsula, it's so lovely that you may have to pinch yourself to believe your eyes.
It's not an artificial beauty either – Amalfi's stunning through and through. Within the town, you'll discover elegant mansions, vaulted passages and fountained piazzas. While the magnificent humbug-striped Duomo Sant' Andrea, fronted by a sweep of 60 steps, forms the centrepiece. Wander the steep, narrow streets and you'll also find the serene marble courtyards, as well as monuments testifying to the town's past as a maritime power.
Yet Amalfi isn't stuck in a timewarp. Modern Neapolitan life is very much alive here. You can taste it in the frappes served along the palm-studded waterfront, hear it in the buzzing Vespas and see it in the brightly-coloured sunshades and pedaloes parked on the shingle beach.
When you've done all these sights justice, a long list of must-sees await further north along the Bay of Naples – Pompeii, Sorrento and Herculaneum to name just a few. Nearer still are Positano with its charming tiers of houses set into a rock face and the ornate gardens of Villa Rufolo opening out onto stupefying views of the coast below. And don't miss the nearby Emerald Grotto, with its luminescent-blue underground lake.
Come sundown, take a seat at one of Amalfi's lively restaurants to enjoy the region's famous seafood. Linger over fresh mussels and spaghetti washed down with a crisp white Ravello wine whilst gazing at the town's twinkling lights climbing up the cliffsides above.

Amalfi has retained its traditional Neapolitan feel, complete with whitewashed houses cascading down the rock-face to the sea below. During the Middle Ages Amalfi was a powerful and prosperous maritime state and the impressive buildings which cluster around the main square serve as reminders to the town's past glories. Despite its international popularity, Amalfi upholds a relaxed pace of life and is the ideal choice for a tranquil break away.

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