The Allure of Italy's Amalfi Coast

Perhaps you have walked in beautiful mountains, gone swimming in the bluest sea, visited enchanting ancient villages, and enjoyed wonderful food, but here is the culmination of all that — a finely tuned balance of natural beauty and an old-world charming civilization. Welcome to Italy’s Amalfi Coast!

A quintessential Amalfi Coast town, Positano is certainly one of the most famous and picturesque villages along this dazzling stretch. Built on a steep mountainside that drops right into the Mediterranean Sea, the town’s colorful buildings all piggy-back one over another, creeping up the hill. For generations the inhabitants eked out a living by fishing and cultivating little terraces carved out of the mountainside. Roam the town, checking out the shops for clothing and ceramics. The beach is very accessible, and the water is inviting.

A scenic boat ride from Positano or Sorrento will bring you to the famed island of Capri. So famed in fact that there are likely to be lots of day-trippers, so accomplish the “must-do” things first: take in the charming central piazza of the town whose cafés have long attracted international jet-setters; stroll along the main shopping street where you’ll see shop after shop of the most famous fashion designers; stop at the gardens of the Emperor Augustus for a fantastic view of the rocky cliffs dropping straight down to the turquoise water. If you’re up for a nice walk, enjoy a great excursion on foot departing from the central piazza of Capri and heading out to the famous Faraglioni, the island’s signature rocks rising sharply out of the sea. Later on you can drop down to the other side of Capri to Marina Piccola, either on foot down the Via Krupp or by taxi or public bus, where there are lovely restaurants on the with terraces overlooking the sea. Then take a walk on the beach if you’d like.

The historic town of Amalfi is another good stop on the Coast. Explore this sweet little town with its noteworthy cathedral and nice shops before reaching the Valley of the Mills, so named because the Amalfitani have harnessed the power of the stream in their mills for the production of paper since the 13th century. It was from here that paper artisans introduced their technique to the rest of Europe. You can visit an ancient paper mill, now restored and converted into a small museum. Further along are terraces packed with beautiful aromatic lemon groves. This corner of the world produces a sweet strong liqueur called limoncello, of which you may grow quite fond. Stop in at the oldest limoncello factory in town to sample it. Afterwards you can head for Ravello — a stunning little village situated way up high above the coast. You can imagine the sweeping panorama from here. Ravello is famous for its top-notch classical music summer festival (Wagner composed Parsifal here) and for some dramatically beautiful villa gardens overlooking the mountains and coastline, one of which is Villa Cimbrone, well worth a visit. Ravello is a delightful little town to roam around in, grab yourself some lunch, and perhaps do some of your shopping.

A trip to the Amalfi Coast is almost guaranteed to be one of your most memorable vacations. It's the kind of place you always think of going back to sometime once you've been there...