Capri Things to Do

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...although I suspect the word 'alleyway' would not really be acceptable. Lanes, perhaps? Whatever, Capri town and surroundings is a warren of these narrow byways, far too narrow for cars. Presumably things get moved around by the trolley-thingies I saw going up and down (with suitcases, or mattresses, or pots of paint/tools etc) although originally, no doubt, it was all done by donkey.

But they were nice to wander through out of season, I must admit. You can look into people's gardens, and at people's houses/villas, and at the rather wonderful views which periodically appear, and at little farms/smallholdings/terraces as you get further out from the town. Very pleasant, worth spending an hour or so just pootling about (I don't think you'd get lost).

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It is a very nice walk to Villa Lysis (ca. 45 min.) from Capri town which can be very well included in a walk to Villa Jovis. Get a map at the tourist office or at your hotel, hiking directions are included. When being there around lunch time, have a stop at ristorante La Savardina (they offer delicious Ravioli caprese).

Open Monday to Saturday 9 - 12 and 14 - 18 h. Free entry. There is a very, very nice old guy who is willing to tell you a lot about the villa, its story and Mr. Fersen.

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Of course the must see thing to do on Capri is visit the Blue Grotto. This grotto has been well visited over the years from Roman times to present. My Grandmother told me that my Great Grandmother had visited the grotto. It is a beautiful sight to see and once you have you can mark it off your 100 things to do in life list.

It cost $15 Euro to get to Capri. Then it cost $10 euro to take a boat to the grotto roundtrip about an hour. I didn't notice this until after returning but the ticket actually shows $5 euros? Anyway, when you get to the grotto there are guys sitting in another boat that you have to pay $10 euros to enter the grotto.

They told us we will give you a discount, so it cost $9 euro. Then the row boat guy, who was quite a character, after rowing near the grotto will tell you "Since you got a discount, you give me a tip, I show you good time in the grotto, okay?" Then he rows you in and sings the Italian melody 'Volare!'. He will even take your photo if you like. After exiting rest assured he will ask for that tip. I reached for $2 euro coin. He looked at me and shrugged his shoulders, so I was obliged to give him another $2 euro coin. So let's recap, $15, $10 + $9 + $4 = $38 euro total which equals roughly $54 US.

The Faraglioni (craggy rocks) are well craggy and oh so beautiful set against the BLUE blue sea. For those nerds and scientist among vt reader-dum the Capriweb states that the term Faraglioni describes a geological formation in which high, sheer cliffs have been strongly eroded by the sea and wind to the point that sections now remain isolated from the mainland. They might be formed either of limestone (like those on Capri) or be of volcanic origin, and their isolation may have resulted from tectonic movement or progressive massing of lava. In either case, the characteristic feature is always the strong erosive action of the sea which models the rock into bare, sharpened masses.

And while you read this VT blog you can see a video of Capri and listen to the music of Renato Carosone

The Gardens of Augustus is now a park that belongs to the town of Capri. It is a beautiful garden and has very interesting history. About 30 years BCE Caesar Augustus came here and fell in love with the place. Doing what any self respecting Caesar would do he took over the Island and spent a lot of time here eating grapes peeled for him by beautiful babes (just seeing if I had your attention).

Anyway, his successor, Tiberius really loved the place and built twelve villas (one for each variety of grapes that could be peeled for you) than to ease his totally toga decedent party soul he name them after twelve Roman Gods. It was from the largest and most beautiful ville the “villa Jovis he ruled the world. The guy never went to Rome.

The gardens as you see them now were built by the Krupp family the German industrialists and they gave it to the people of Capri.

Don't be discouraged by Capri's rocky beaches. The rocks get warm but are not that uncomfortable. The water is quite cold, enjoy! There are changing rooms you can rent by the day or by the change ranging from $5 to $1 euros, restrooms are $.50 euros.

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You can either pay 7 euros (roundtrip) for the chairlift or hike up Monte Solaro. Finding the path to go up is a little hard. It's about a block away from where the chair lift starts and passes under the chairlift. We opted for taking the chairlift up then hiked back down. The views are breathtaking on top.

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The Blue Grotto in Capri can either be a good or expensive experience depending on how you look at it. At the dock, you ride a motor boat that will take you around part of the island. You get to see how the island is formed. Then you transfer to a row boat and enter a cave through a tiny hole. Inside, the water shimmers into a bright neon blue color that is amazing to see. The downside, it is an expensive experience (about 20 euros per person total) and the actual boat ride in the cave is 5 minutes max. It is estimated that they get about 3,000 tourists a day. It is nice to have done once but probably not again.