Naples - Amalfi - Naples, Italy

Sorrento is situated on a terrace 50 metres high, sloping steeply into the sea. This town is calm and tranquil, with only a handful of beautiful beaches. Main drawcard of Sorrento is its nature: landscapes, sea, lush greenery and salubrious air. It is ideal destination if you want to alternate the beach and water sports with enlightening tours and excursions. As for souvenirs and presents, Limoncello di Sorrento, a strong fragrant liqueur made of locally grown lemons, is probably the best option.

A pearl of the Amalfi Coast, Positano is a wonderful town with colourful cascade of houses merrily descending from the mountains right onto the sea, where fancy yachts and boats are scattered in the picturesque bay.

Just 12 km away from Sorrento, Positano, according to the legend, was founded by Poseidon himself when he fell in love with a nymph. Li Galli islands, where, according to Homer, the mythical sirens lived, are a stone’s throw away. The church of Santa Maria Assunta with an ornate dome made of majolica tiles and medieval watch towers, constructed to protect from Saracen pirates, are not to be missed.

Ischia is the biggest island in the Bay of Naples. It has been a renowned thermal springs and volcanic mud resort since antiquity, mentioned in the works of Roman authors. Hydrotherapy is a healthful and pleasant way of recreation, and many visitors come here exclusively for that. There are 29 groups of thermal springs in Ischia, with water containing sodium sulfate and chloride, radon in different proportions, bicarbonate of iron, potassium, calcium and magnesium as well as silica. DOC wines, Aragonese Castle, Ischia Film Festival, Mount Epomeo, chestnut forests, Gardens of La Mortella are just a few attractions of Ischia apart from thermal springs.

The biggest European active volcano Vesuvius, pizza, opera, football, picturesque bays, bubbling markets – Naples is quintessential Italy. Take pizza, for instance. This dish was originally invented here, in Naples. And while pizza is made in every nook and cranny of the world, here it is elevated to the form of art. No wonder UNESCO added Neapolitan pizza-making process to the intangible cultural heritage list. East of Naples you will find Pompeii and Herculaneum, Roman towns buried by Vesuvius eruption. No other place gives you a deeper insight into life and ways of Romans. The towns today look almost exactly the way they did in 79 A.D., before the eruption.