Amalfi Coast
& Bay of Naples

The coast's signature hike. Seven kilometers of clifftop trail, mostly downhill if you start in Bomerano, with views across the entire coast that no road can match. Three to four hours at a slow pace. End in Nocelle, take the bus down, swim. Best mid-morning, after the first wave of group hikers and before the heat.

The Terrace of Infinity is a marble balustrade lined with classical busts, opening onto a thousand-foot drop. Get there before 10 a.m. or after 5 p.m. for a clean shot. The gardens take an hour to walk.

The other great Ravello garden: 13th-century, with two terraces and an Arab-Sicilian cloister. The Ravello Festival (early July to late August) hosts orchestral concerts on a stage built over the cliff at the lower terrace. Buy festival tickets months ahead.

The trail that connects Maiori and Minori through working lemon groves. Far less famous than the Path of the Gods and the more direct route into how the region actually grows its food. Stone-walled terraces, some 800 years old.

Pompeii is the famous one; the heat, crowds, and scale make it a slog without a guide. Herculaneum is smaller, better-preserved, and a fraction of the visitors. Pair either with a half-day on Vesuvius and a stop in Naples for pizza.

Spaccanapoli is the straight line that bisects the old city: markets, shrines, palaces, churches stacked on top of older churches. End in the Sanità neighborhood.

A micro-jungle of mossy rock, cascading streams, and freshwater pools hidden under ancient chestnut trees, less than thirty minutes inland from the Amalfi coast. Counterpoint to the cliffside glamour: cool, green, slow, almost no one. Bring a swimsuit and reef shoes; the lower pools are worth a swim.

Built by Swedish doctor Axel Munthe at the turn of the 20th century (construction begun 1895) on the ruins of a medieval chapel on a site once occupied by a Roman villa of Tiberius. Roman antiquities, perfumed gardens, and a shaded pergola overlooking the gulf. Pair with the Monte Solaro chairlift, which leaves from the same village. Owned today by the Swedish Foundation Munthe established in his 1948 will.

Hands-on Campanian cooking in a working family kitchen above Ravello. Lemon cake, pasta from scratch, eggplant parmigiana, end the morning eating what you made on a terrace with the gulf below. Mamma Agata started cooking professionally as a teenager; her daughter Chiara runs the classes now.

Vines grown on terraces above the cliff at Furore, producing Costa d'Amalfi DOC whites from native grapes (fenile, ripoli, ginestra) and reds (tintore, piedirosso). The winery names two flagship labels, the Fiorduva white and the Furore Rosso Riserva.

An organic buffalo farm producing mozzarella di bufala on site. Tour the dairy, see the buffalo, watch the cheese being made, eat it within an hour of production. Pair with the Greek temples at Paestum next door. Worth the day.

Vietri is the ceramic town of the Amalfi Coast; the brightly painted tiles you see on every dome and stair riser are made here. Walking the main street is a half-day in itself: dozens of workshops, real artisans, prices a fraction of what the same pieces cost in Positano boutiques. Most ship internationally.

Limoncello on the coast is made from sfusato amalfitano lemons. Done well, it's a digestif. Done badly, it's syrup. Skip the gift shops; book a producer tour instead: Villa Massa in Sorrento walks you through the lemon groves and the production process, then a tasting on a terrace over the Gulf of Naples.

Italian beach clubs are an institution: rented umbrella, two sun loungers, a waiter who brings cold drinks and panini, sometimes a small restaurant for lunch. La Gavitella is the rare west-facing club on this coast, but sunbed service wraps at 7 p.m., often before the sun is down in peak summer. Book the restaurant terrace for the final sunset view from a table.

A Capri perfumery that still bottles by hand: local lemon, wild fig, mint, rosemary. The flagship shop on Via Camerelle is small, atmospheric, run by people who know fragrance. Their Mediterraneo and Numero Uno are the house classics, both unmistakably island.

Capri's defining jewelry house, co-founded in 1947 by Pietro Capuano and Salvatore Aprea on Via Camerelle and run today by Aprea's heirs (Gabriele, Maria Elena, Costanza). The signature Campanella charm (a tiny coral or gold bell) traces back to a 1944 peace bell Capuano made for FDR; the boutique was a favourite of Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Jackie Kennedy and Greta Garbo through the 1950s and '60s. Each piece is handcrafted in Naples; vintage capsule collections are sometimes available if you ask the archivist.

Unmistakably local beach-resort wear, made on the coast for half a century. Cotton, linen, embroidered kaftans; pieces that read as costume in New York and exactly right on a Praiano terrace. Open daily; mob it before lunch or you'll wait.

Hand-painted Mediterranean ceramics in whimsical patterns: espresso cups from €20, hand-decorated platters up to €300+. The Ravello workshop has been in the same family for three generations. They ship internationally, so don't stress about luggage weight.

Set inside the original vaulted cellars of a 17th-century convent. Treatments use Santa Maria Novella products; the thermal suite includes a steam cave, hydrotherapy pools, and a tepidarium with vaulted ceilings. Day passes are limited; reserve in advance, this is not a walk-in.

Sleek white-on-white wellness space inside a small Capri hotel. Bespoke treatments, a private hammam, lymphatic drainage, aroma facials, island-sourced scrubs. Try the volcanic-stone detox ritual, the local specialty. Open to non-guests on availability; book a few days ahead in summer.

Le Sirenuse's in-house boutique on Via Cristoforo Colombo sells embroidered shirts, tailored linens, hand-blocked kaftans from the line Carla Sersale founded, now designed by her niece Viola Parrocchetti. Resort wear with taste; pieces you keep wearing for ten years after the trip.

The pool club at the Belmond Caruso, high above the sea in Ravello, open to non-guests by reservation through the concierge. Cabanas can be booked by the day. Pasta and pizza classes run daily at €88 a head and must be booked in advance.