Welcome to Sorrento and Positano, Italy

Perched on opposite shoulders of the same dramatic peninsula south of Naples, Sorrento and Positano are the twin jewels of Italy's most celebrated coastline. Sorrento gazes north across the Bay of Naples toward Mount Vesuvius from its clifftop terraces, while Positano tumbles down the Amalfi Coast in a cascade of pastel houses that seems to defy gravity.

Together they distil everything that makes southern Italy irresistible: lemon groves climbing the hillsides, fishing boats bobbing in tiny harbours, world-famous food served with a sea view, and la dolce vita lived at an unhurried pace.

Base yourself in either town and the whole coast opens up — cliff-hugging drives, boat trips to Capri, sunset aperitivi, and some of the most photographed views in Europe. This is a corner of Italy that lives up to every postcard.

The Sorrentine Peninsula from the coast road