Sorrento Italy travel guide: best things to do and see, hotels, restaurants

The five-star Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria in Sorrento

published 31 May 2023

On the Sorrentine Peninsula, directly south of Naples, Sorrento is a charming enclave built on jagged cliffs and from the bay its pastel-coloured buildings seem to cling to the mountainside.

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In the town, Sorrento’s warren of alleyways and streets are lined with artisan shops and hidden architectural gems that open out into lively squares, the most popular being the central Piazza Tasso, which is abuzz with cafes, cars and tourists. In spring the lemon and orange trees for which the area is famous are heavy with luscious fruit. At the base of Sorrento’s cliffs are inviting beaches set against pristine Mediterranean waters.

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Near the ferry dock at Marina Piccola, Sorrento’s petite beaches, sandwiched between the vertiginous cliffs and sparkling waters, offer a perfect afternoon of dolce far niente (translated as “sweet idleness”). Heading west toward the Marina Grande you’ll come across a selection of private beach clubs with colourful shacks where changing rooms, sun-loungers, swimming areas, bars and restaurants are on offer, each club situated on jetties or elevated pontoons that jut out over the water. Some offer pedalos and canoes for rent: grab your sunscreen and look for signs to Peter’s Beach, Marameo, Leonelli’s Beach and Bagni Salvatore. Sunseekers can also crowd onto the smaller private beach, but wherever you lay your towel you’ll find clear water, balmy rays and gorgeous views. For refreshment, restaurants and cafes abound in Marina Piccola, or take the public lift that links the marina and the Villa Comunale Park high above and stroll to Sorrento’s town centre for a drink and dinner.

While away a Sorrento day with shopping and people-watching. After downing a cappuccino at Fauno Bar on the bustling Piazza Tasso, give your credit card a workout on Sorrento’s Corso Italia. The cobbled pedestrianised street features designer shops including high-end boutiques such as Max Mara, Harmont & Blaine, and Ermenegildo Zegna. Raise your handbag game by checking out Solitalia, jammed full of tasteful Italian-made bags and purses, or take a short detour to Mary’s Shop, where the De Martino family has been crafting impeccable leather goods for five generations. Enjoy a pit stop at Prosit, a 100-year-old wine bar and prosciutteria where the signature drink is a Pros-It Spritz, an upgrade on an Aperol Spritz made with local limoncello. Don’t leave without sampling a board of their cold cuts that includes a melt-in-the-mouth prosciutto. Dropping down any side street transports you to an old-world maze of ancient alleyways crammed with shops, historic curiosities, chapels and hidden restaurants. Here, smaller boutiques sell lemon-themed souvenirs as well as furniture and boxes featuring the impressive local craft of intricate wood inlay – for a vast selection, make your way to A. Gargiulo & Jannuzzi just off Piazza Tasso.

Sorrento’s historical wonders include the cathedral, located in a small square just off the Corso Italia. An unassuming 20th-century frontage of the Cathedral of Saints Philip and James yields to a Tardis-like interior of pink marble pillars, alcoves full of statuary, a frescoed ceiling painted on cloth and lots of marquetry (inlaid wood). Do check out the wondrous creche immediately on the left as you enter the church – a highly detailed and captivating 3D nativity featuring flying angels and an 18th-century Neapolitan village scene including a butcher and baker. Back on the Corso Italia or from various side streets, catch a glimpse of the cathedral’s yellow-and-red 15th-century bell tower – with ancient pillars at street level, the bell tower predates the cathedral and is not connected to it but is an eye-catching landmark. Churchaholics mustn’t miss The Basilica of San Antonino just a few minutes’ walk away on a piazza of the same name, its interior a glimmering Romaneque shrine of white and gold with a spectacular nave.

Arriving on the ferry to Marina Piccola, visitors’ first view of Sorrento is of the Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria, an imposing five-star establishment perched on the town’s stunning bluffs and commanding unrivalled views of the bay and Mount Vesuvius in the distance. Visitors can be whisked up to the hotel by a private elevator from the seafront or, if the lift is closed for maintenance as it was during our visit, can phone the hotel to send a porter in a golf cart whizzing to the marina to fetch you.

Accessed from the Piazza Tasso by a long path of aromatic wisteria and colourful floral displays, the elegant hotel provides a quiet oasis away from the tourist throngs and with wow factor aplenty. Comprised of three buildings set in five acres, it’s as grand as its name suggests. The hotel has long been a magnet for the great and the good – its walls feature photos of guests including Caruso, Pavarotti, and Sophia Loren – and has been owned and loved by the same Fiorentino family since it opened in 1834. Despite the formality of the setting, the hotel’s service is as friendly as it is efficient, with everyone from the concierge to cleaners issuing a cheery “buongiorno!” as you pass.

The hotel exudes a timeless, airy glamour that blends old and new. Its immaculate common rooms give off a Belle Epoque flavour, with high ceilings, eye-catching frescoes, objets d’art, extravagant plants and plenty of gilt. In good weather the hotel’s vast terrace is a focal point and meeting place that features tasteful statuary and plants dotted about; guests can enjoy light meals of salads and pasta or coffee and cocktails while drinking in the awesome panorama in front of them. Breakfast is served in a vast salon-with-a-view, where guests help themselves from buffet tables packed with a dozen varieties of Italian cakes and pastries, plus breads, cheeses and cereals, or they can order hot dishes of eggs or pancakes from a menu.

Our corner suite, one of 84 rooms, featured sublime vistas that we could enjoy from three separate balconies with wrought iron railings. It was a restful retreat of plush creams and golds, with luxe soft furnishings, off-white sofas, well-chosen antiques and honeyed parquet flooring, with a giant bed, two TVs and an anteroom with a desk. The gleaming white marble bathroom was a peaceful spot for pampering that featured a double sink, full bath and walk-in rainfall shower.

The hotel provides time out from tourist activities in the warmer months. A spectacular pool surrounded by greenery and sun loungers is a tranquil oasis away from the crowds, the best place to relax with a book and glass of prosecco delivered by waiters from its stylish outdoor bar-restaurant, L’Orangerie. The poolside eatery also serves up pizza, shrimp rolls and salads dressed with orange oil. Adjoining the pool area is a gym for energetic sorts as well as a luxe spa where visitors can avail themselves of massages and facials using Valmont beauty products. For the ultimate in romantic us-time there’s a couples’ spa suite featuring a private Jacuzzi.

For a destination restaurant perfect for a celebratory meal, you couldn’t improve on the Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria’s Michelin-starred restaurant, Terrazza Bosquet. Although a spring chill in the air made dining under the stars impossible, we still enjoyed a satisfying view of the night sky and glittering bay from the pink-and-white salon’s picture windows. Anyway, the food is the star of the show here.

Executive chef Antonino Montefusco sources ingredients locally and from artisan suppliers, deconstructing and reinventing traditional dishes in a way that surprised our tastebuds. From tasting menus entitled Sacred, Profane, Vegetarian and Greatest Eats costing between €135-€170 per person (not including wine), we feasted on an array of dishes, some of which arrived with a dramatic flourish. Standouts among them were the Bloody Mary oyster, served up with a tangy, tomato-y sauce that complemented the mollusc, as well as asparagus prepared in three imaginative ways. A sumptuous dish of red mullet served with marinated onions and green beans was a taste sensation, although just edged out of top spot by the chef’s signature ravioli Caprese filled with melting caciotta cheese from Sorrento with just the right arrangement of San Marzano tomato sauce.

The attentive waiters saved the best for last: a Sorrento lemon sorbet prepared at the table by a small army of staff. They applied flavour spritzers and liquid nitrogen to the sorbet, which created a smoke haze that briefly engulfed our entire table like a mini-Vesuvius. The sorbet itself was shaped like an actual lemon, too. The sorbet was exquisite. Quite the theatrical finish to a memorable meal.

Regular flights operate between the UK and Naples International Airport, from where you can get trains to Sorrento. The Circumvesuviana is a slower train connecting all the towns between Naples and Sorrento, while the Campania Express makes fewer stops to the peninsula. Alternatively, ferries operate from Naples’ ferry port, Molo Beverello, and take about 40 minutes in a picturesque jaunt across the bay.

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