Take a walk down to the Grand Marina
by Treasam
Take a walk down to the Grand Marina and sit on the beach in the sun watching the waves. This place is so quaint and peaceful. Sorrento is so civalised. The food and service are excellent. The people warm and friendly. We felt safe walking around at night. The views are breathtaking.
Souvenirs from Sorrento
by toonsarah about various
From what we saw, shopping for souvenirs seems to be a favourite occupation for visitors to Sorrento. The narrow streets are lined with shops all selling very similar things, although the quality was variable. Among the items I saw were silk scarves, ceramic wall decorations, leather goods, linen (e.g. table cloths and napkins), beauty products scented with lemon, oddly shaped bottles of limoncello (e.g. in the shape of Italy), scented candles and food products from the region (many involving lemons). As it was November there were also a lot of lovely (and some less lovely) Christmas decorations.
We only window-shopped so I can’t say anything about the prices.
The Red Lion
by kentishgirl about The Red Lion
The name suggests that this is a tacky British bar in the sun!
Do not be fooled it isnt!
It is a reasonably priced restaurant offering everything Italian! We ate here a few times, enjoying Pizza - Margheritas and one with sausage and Brocoli!!?!
The Bruscetta Pomodoro is brilliant, the beer is cheap and you get Grappe after your meal!
We ate here, 2 people with drinks for less than 20 Euro everytime.
The service is brillliant and you can eat Al Fresco or inside.
Pompeii
by SallyM
It's very easy to visit Pompeii from Sorrento. Just take the 'Circumvesuviana' train from Sorrento to 'Pompeii Scavi/Villa dei Misteri'. There are several entrances to the site - the one nearest this station is the Porta Marina.
Pompeii was buried under ash and rock when Vesuvius erupted on 24 August AD 79, preserving the Roman city for future generations to explore.
It is a huge site (it is a whole town after all). The town covers an area of 66 hectares, or which 45 hectares have so far been excavated. Don't expect to see it all in a day trip. Some of the highlights for me included the Basilica (court house), and the house with ‘cave canem’ mosaic (to deter burglars) at the entrance. The streets had no drainage, so the pavements were high, with stepping stones (just narrower than width of chariot wheels). We also saw the only official brothel, which had recently been re-opened to visitors. Our guide was so excited about this that he had brought his own camera. We also saw lots of ‘fast food’ shops, which we were told often had a room at the back for a 'lady of the night'.
If visiting in summer, make sure you have plenty of drinking water and a hat - it's very hot and there is not much shade.
Marina Piccola
by leics
The Marina Piccola is where the ferries and hydrofoils dock. To get there you can walk down several hundred steps (well, that's what it feels like..I didn't count), walk down a switchback hairpin-bending road or take a bus from Piazza Tasso (the main square).
There are a couple of cafes/bars, and a tiny bit of sand, and a great deal of evidence of how the cliff face has been used in the past for storage, building and so on. It's quite amazing to see existing buildings literally clinging to the sheer rock faces.
To the left is the Marina San Francesco, with a myriad of small landing stages to wander past, to the right the large concret quay which functions as the ferry/hyrdofoil stop.
You'd probably only go there to catch one of the ferries/hydrofoils, but it is worth allowing yourself some extra time to have a bit of a wander along the quaysides. Do some people-watching, gaze into the super-clear water to see the fishes, look at the cats enjoying their seaside existence (fishy titbits from the fishermen, I suspect!). Maybe have a glass of something whilst sitting in the sun gazing over the bay to Vesuvius and Naples.
A pleasant place to sit awhile and watch the world go by.