Sorrento is one of the gateway cities to the beautiful Italian Amalfi coast. I’ve been writing recently about my week long trip to the region – the full itinerary can be found here.

For our trip, we chose Sorrento as our base to explore and were so glad we did. Sorrento is a coastal town which faces the Bay of Naples, perched on top of cliffs that separate the town from its busy marinas. I found the historic centre to be picturesque, full of nice restaurants and an interesting warren of narrow alleys which were fun to explore.

We used one day of our week long trip to explore Sorrento itself and here are my top 5 highlights of the city, all do-able in one day.

1. The Marina

One of the prettiest corners of Sorrento, the marina is a lovely area to stroll around. There are lots of restaurants around this area as well, and we ate at both Porta Marina and Bagni Delfino. Both were absolutely delicious.

2. I Giardini di Cataldo

A unique spot for a little stroll is a traditional lemon grove which sits in a park just outside the centre of town. There is also a little cafe in the park which sells delicious Limoncello and other lemon goodies.

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3. Villa Comunale

This park sits atop of the cliff and provides spectacular views out across to Mount Vesuvius and down to the beaches and marinas of the city. It’s a lovely spot to sit and enjoy a traditional Gelato while watching the world go by.

4. Basilica di Sant’Antonino

Named after Sorrento’s patron saint, the town’s oldest church barely looks like a church from the outside. The interior is stunning though with Roman artefacts, medieval paintings and ornate ceiling. It’s a lovely place to take a moment of contemplation, or just get out of the blazing sun for 15 minutes or so.

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5. Piazza Tasso

Piazza Tasso is the central point of the city, and is named after the poet Torquato Tasso. In the main square is the baroque Church del Carmine, and also lots of yummy ice-cream shops where you can sample traditional Gelato. We also went inside a couple of the churches on the square, and visited a nearby Leonardo da Vinci inventions museum which was interesting.

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Sorrento was a beautiful place to have as a base for our Amalfi coast trip, and a full day in the town was enough to do it justice. We combined a visit here with multiple other places on the trip, which you can find the posts for here:

• Full Itinerary (post coming soon)
• Pompeii
• Positano & Amalfi
• Ravello, Mairo & Minori
• Capri
• Naples
• Mount Vesuvius
• Herculaneum

Thank you for reading! Hope you’re all doing OK in continued forms of lockdown across the world. Fingers crossed we can get back to travelling soon. Stay safe and happy travelling!