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Perched on a clifftop above the Bay of Naples, Sorrento occupies one of the most dramatically positioned towns on the Italian peninsula. The tufa rock on which it sits drops sharply to the sea, and on a clear day the view across the water takes in Vesuvius to the north-east and the outline of Capri to the south-west. That geography has shaped everything about the place, from the terraced lemon groves that cling to the slopes to the centuries of travellers who arrived by boat and never quite managed to leave.

The town itself is compact and walkable, organised around the Piazza Tasso and the grid of narrow streets that make up the old centre. The Sedile Dominova, a frescoed loggia tucked into a corner of Via San Cesareo, is one of the few surviving examples of a medieval noble assembly hall still standing in southern Italy, and it tends to stop people mid-stride. The Marina Grande, reached by a steep path from the clifftop, retains the character of a working fishing quarter, distinct in atmosphere from the more polished Marina Piccola where the ferries dock. Visitors who spend time in both get a more honest picture of the town.