Amalfi Coast

A steep flight of steps up from the piazza to a striped Arab-Norman facade. The ticket covers the Cloister of Paradise, the basilica and the crypt holding the relics of Saint Andrew; the cathedral itself is free during services.

The Path of the Gods, running the ridge from Bomerano above Agerola to Nocelle with the sea a long way below. Walk it west to east and downhill, take water, and finish with a long staircase down to Positano or the local bus.

Gardens ending at the Terrace of Infinity, a stone balustrade lined with busts and nothing beyond it but air and sea. Worth the walk out through Ravello even on a hazy day.

Moorish cloisters and terraced gardens that Wagner used for Klingsor's magic garden. The Belvedere concert stage cantilevers out over the drop and hosts the summer festival.

One of the smallest comunes in Italy by area, ten minutes on foot from Amalfi through a tunnel, and almost nobody makes the walk. A piazza, a beach and no souvenir shops.

Seasonal boats run from Salerno and Sorrento to Amalfi, Positano and Minori, roughly April to October. They are faster than the bus, spare you the road, and cancel in rough seas — so always have a land plan for the return.

The blue SITA Sud buses run the Amalfitana between Sorrento, Amalfi and Salerno and up the hill to Ravello. Buy tickets before boarding at a tabaccheria or bar, validate on board, and expect to stand for the whole ride.

The SS163 is one lane each way with blind hairpins and coaches coming the other way. Parking in Positano and Amalfi is scarce and priced like a hotel room, and several comuni restrict non-resident traffic in high summer.

May to mid-June and late September: warm sea, everything open, and the road still moves.

November to March is cheapest by far, but many hotels, restaurants and all the ferries shut completely.

July and August, when the bus takes two hours to cover twenty kilometres and rooms triple.

Take the early SITA bus up to Ravello before the coaches, and be in the Villa Rufolo gardens as they open.

Walk out to Villa Cimbrone and the Terrace of Infinity, about twenty minutes through the town on a stepped lane.

Eat in Ravello, up out of the crush, where the prices are marginally saner than on the water.

Bus back down to Amalfi for the cathedral and the paper museum, then walk through the tunnel to Atrani for a swim.

Dinner in Amalfi once the day-trippers have gone, with the piazza and the cathedral steps lit up.

Seasonal ferries from Amalfi and Positano, plus year-round boats from Sorrento and Naples. Go early, take the chairlift to Monte Solaro, and leave before the last returns get crowded.

Three of the best-preserved Greek temples anywhere, on the plain south of Salerno and reachable by regional train. Almost empty compared with anything on the coast.