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29 best things to do on the Amalfi Coast, tried and tested
Whittling down a list of the best things to do on the Amalfi Coast is no mean feat. One of Italy’s most celebrated destinations, the dreamy Costiera Amalfitana – the rugged southern shore of the Sorrentine peninsula – has it all: jaw-dropping coastal scenery, achingly picturesque towns and villages clinging to near-vertical cliffs, chic beach clubs where you can bathe in the impossibly blue sea, fabulous restaurants and some of the most glamorous hotels in Italy. It’s one of those places where every bend of every road reveals yet another ‘stop-the-car’ photo op.
In these days of over-tourism, the area is usually packed, even in the so-called ‘shoulder seasons’, so be prepared to negotiate lots and lots of people along with the endless steps. Of the 13 villages dotted along the southern shores of the peninsula, the most famous – and crowded – are Positano, Ravello and Amalfi, but gems like the fishing village of Cetara and quiet Praiano remain relatively under the radar, and you can always escape by hopping on a boat for a spin up the coast.
Unless you want to spend your holiday sitting in a traffic jam, it’s best to move around by sea wherever possible; the ferry services linking the main towns are efficient, although subject to weather conditions and less frequent out of season.
This is our choice of the best things to do on the Amalfi Coast and nearby.
Visit under-the-radar Oplontis
Not far from the ancient city of Herculaneum, and accessible by train to Torre Annunziata, lies one of the area’s true under-the-radar gems. The opulent and remarkably under-visited Roman villa of Oplontis, buried by the AD79 eruption of Vesuvius, was thought to have belonged to Nero’s second wife, Poppaea Sabina and has some of the finest examples of the second Pompeian style of wall painting still in situ anywhere. The bucolic, rambling site includes the opulent, collonaded villa, a baths complex, a huge piscina bordered by lemon trees and oleander and lovely gardens.
Website: pompeiisites.org
Learn about paper making in Amalfi
These days, Amalfi is famous for its lemons and day-glow limoncello, but how many visitors know that it was a pioneer in the history of paper-making in Europe? Since the 13th century, the town has leveraged its natural setting, wedged into a steep gorge that opens to the sea; streams gushing down sheer hillsides provided the power to drive machinery. The Amalfitani learnt to make paper from the Arabs and produced a heavy parchment known as bambagina, fashioned from cotton and rags. Until a century ago, the area was full of mills. There are only two left today, but you can still buy the beautiful, thick ragged-edged paper; the best shop is La Scuderia del Duca. To learn more, visit the Museo della Carta housed in a 15th-century paper mill.
