Monday, August 10, 2009

Sorrento— A Coastal Jewel Of “the Boot”

A Coastal jewel of “the Boot” (Lo Stivale), Sorrento is a town of southern Italy on the Sorrentine Peninsula (named after Sorrento), separating the Bay of Naples from the Gulf of Salerno.

Sorrento is on the North coast, the Amalfi Coast is on the South coast, and the Capri Island is close to the western tip of the peninsula. Often regarded as the gateway to the Amalfi Coast, Sorrento is connected to the Amalfi Coast via “Amalfi drive,” a narrow road running around the high cliffs above the Mediterranean. The entire area is extremely popular for tourism.

Sorrento comes under the Campania region of Italy. The town is easily accessible from Naples and Pompeii. Perched on the cliffs, Sorrento overlooks the bay of Naples, and is the key tourist destination of the Sorrentine Peninsula. The town of Sorrento is famous for its mesmerizing coastline offering captivating views of Naples and Vesuvius.

Sorrento is made up of five communes with Sorrento Town itself providing the main shopping and commercial centre. The centre of Sorrento is Piazza Tasso that is divided by the Corso d' Italia which is the main thoroughfare. The way is usually closed to traffic in the evenings to let the visitors and locals move around the town.

Tasso is stuffed with many fine bars and restaurants with huge patio areas while Corso is full of many tourist shops, gelateria, and designer stores little more upward.

Sorrento has two marinas; Marina Grande and Marina Piccola. Piccola is the larger of the two and it is the departure point for the ferries that cross to Naples and the surrounding islands as well as for the cruises along the Amalfi coast.

Maria Grande is the smaller of the two and is home to a number of fishing and pleasure vessels and is well worth a visit. It has a small beach area and some nice sea food restaurants.

Sorrento is the town bountifully blessed with scores of beauties and attractions. Major tourist attractions of the town include Lemon terraces, Marina Grande, Marina Piccola (pretty Small Port), the puntacampanella natural reserve, Villa Pollio roman ruins in Capo di Sorrento, and Hotel Tramontano, where Norwegian writer Henrik Ibsen lived while writing parts of Peer Gynt (1867) and Ghosts (1881).

Sorrento is not the destination that offers miles and miles of sandy golden beaches. Though it’s a costal town, it doesn’t have fine beaches to offer to the visitors. Yet there is a small beach at Marina Grande. It offers same water for swimming that is used by boats, so these sometimes a lot diesel deposits in the water. The wooden lido between the two harbors that has sheltered swimming areas is good option to go for swimming.

On the whole, Sorrento is a nice destination having a very beautiful coastline, impressive sea cliffs, fine bars & restaurants, and luxury hotels.

Sorrento can be accessed via Naples. It is 1.5 hours drive from Naples. There is a nice bus service from Naples Airport (Capodichino) to Sorrento. Busses depart six times daily. Trains are also available from Naples to Sorrento. The Circumvesuviana is a local private train link serving the area around the Mount Vesuvius from Naples to Sorrento. The Sita buses also serve from Positano and Amalfi to Sorrento. Sorrento is also accessible via ferries from Naples, Ischia and Capri.

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