Sorrento Peninsula

Less rugged than the Amalfi Coast to which it leads, the Sorrento peninsula, which lolls out to form the southern edge of the Tyrrenhian sea and the Bay of Naples, is also rather more built-up. Nonetheless, this a tongue of land still has its share of wide-open spaces and stunning views, particularly when you reach its eastern coast with its outlook towards the island of Capri, off whose magnificent cliffs the Emperor Tiberius used to chuck inconvenient houseguests from his various villas. This and the Bay of Naples in general, are the scene of a good deal of Italy's more modern international history, fought over by Brits and Spaniards and Turks in the age of colonisation; Capri was briefly British territory until they were besieged and driven out by the King of Naples in 1808. Sorrento is a fine medieval city more recently suburbanised and turned into a Mediterranean leisure resort; but it absolutely validates a decent visit and is an excellent jumping-off point for the vast range of must-see walks and sites that crowd this area.

Like the Amalfi coast, much of the peninsula was criss-crossed until relatively recent times with paths and mules-tracks that formed its main means of communication, and, despite the area's increased population, a good number of these paths remain intact. Well-maintained paths lead from village to village, with new, dreamy vistas of the azure Mediterranean opening up at every turn.

You can walk round the peninsula, from Sorrento to (say) Fontanelle or futher, via Marina del Cantone near the end the end of the Peninsula, or vice versa. This is a beyond-fabulous couple of days.

We also have two particular suggestions (described in more detail under "Routes" below): a semi-urban circuit (2h 30m) through and around the elegant old town of Massa Lubrense and its coast, and a two-hour extension which winds out and back through gorgeous, unmechanised farmland to the village of Termini. Both are easy, and both afford a series of spectacular views out over the Mediterranean to the island of Capri.