Best places to see in the Amalfi Coast
The entire Amalfi Coast, perched along the rugged shores of southern Italy, boasts an array of remarkable towns, each with its own unique blend of beauty and charm. When creating your Amalfi Coast itinerary, you will want to include as many of these coastal gems as possible.
Amalfi and Atrani
Amalfi, set in a wide cleft in the cliffs, is the largest town and perhaps the main attraction of the coast. It has been a recognized seaside resort since Edwardian times when the British aristocracy found it a pleasant place to spend the winter. Amalfi is known from much earlier times: in Byzantine times it was an independent republic and one of the great maritime powers with a population of about seventy thousand people.
Even today, however, rare remnants of Amalfi's former glory can still be found here, and the town's whitewashed courtyards and alleyways have a crumbly appeal that is a pleasure to wander through. There's also a decent, mostly sandy beach to the left of the busy promenade, as well as the attractive neighboring resort of Atrani.
Ravello
The best coastal views are in the interior of the island, high above Amalfi, in Ravello: a famous place that, as André Gide wrote, is “closer to the sky than to the seashore”, and justifiably so. For a while Ravello was also an independent republic, and for a while an outpost of the city-state of Amalfi.
It is now no more than a large village, but its unrivaled location atop one of the coast's mountains makes it more than worthy of a thirty-minute bus ride up the steep terraces up from Amalfi.
Positano
Positano doesn't have many attractions: a couple of decent beaches, an interesting Duomo, and plenty of boutiques; the town has long specialized in linen, georgette, and cotton clothing, as well as handmade shoes and sandals.
But its location, pyramidal above the water, has inspired thousands of postcards and helped turn it into a wealthy resort that ranks second only to Capri in celebrity popularity.
Ever since John Steinbeck wrote about the place in rapturous tones back in 1953, the town has enjoyed a fame completely disproportionate to its size. Franco Zeffirelli is just one of the many celebrities who have villas nearby, and the people who come to lounge on the beach consider themselves a cut above the average sunbather.
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