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Arriving to Sorrento on Azamara Quest
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Sorrento is usually the first stop on cruises beginning at Rome's port of Civitavecchia and while first time visitors are whisked off to
Pompeii, Capri and the Amalfi Coast, those who already know the area can enjoy a leisurely visit in
town or a swim and lazy lunch at one of the many beach
places along the waterfront.
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| Azamara's tender to Sorrento |
These latter options
are much appreciated during the humid days of August.
This year
we discovered an alternative to the uncomfortable bus ride up from the port: a short walk
along the beachfront leads to the
entrance of a modern elevator/lift carved out of Sorrento’s
cliff.
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| picking basil |
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| beach cabins, loungers and umbrellas rented for the day |
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| the beach at Sorrento |
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| the free beach at noon |
As we made
our way to the lift the beach concessions/stabilimenti were just opening for the day: the day’s menu (fish, salad, tomatos) was being trundled in for the
trattoria kitchens and teenagers were
staking out places on the
free beach with their towels.
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| lower entrance to lift |
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| entrance to lift |
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| waiting for the lift |
Passing the
turnstile (entrance 1,20 euro) we were whisked up through the hillside to the Sorrento plateau and exited at the cliff top gardens (Giardino Comunale) close to San Francesco church and
cloister, a favorite venue for English couples who marry in Italy.
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| in the cloister with the couple from Casablanca who followed us |
The
shopkeepers we spoke with complained that
business this summer is not as good as it was 2 years ago: they had fewer clients with less spending power.
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| modern art exhibit in a Baroque church |
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| tired shoppers with Azamara Quest in background |
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| some hardy souls walking down the cliff |
The mid-summer sales were enticing but the
heat and humidity made shopping a hard
task, and our priority was to seek refuge from the blazing sun.
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| Antica Sartoria: wonderful selection, good prices |
Besides
the many air conditioned shops along Corso
Italia and Via San Cesareo, Sorrento is
full of cool, airy palazzi and churches offering benches for resting and art in many forms including presepe scenes the area is famous for.
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| a cool hall in Sorrento's Comune |
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| Duomo's holy water font & John Paul II's coat of arms |
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| in the Duomo, Sorrento |
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| benches in Duomo |
Other tips for cruising the Mediterranean can be found here and here : or use the Search bar to find more information on the blog.
Don't forget to check out the hundreds of articles about travel in Italy on my website and click here to see more about the ship we sailed on.
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Christmas Presepe scene, Duomo
(P.S. It is such a pleasure to read genuine comments, for lately there has been so much spamming. )
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I'm an American expat in Atrani (down the Amalfi Coast). Thanks for the info about the elevator. That new to me- and I'll definitely try it on my next day trip to Sorrento.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mary Jane, I'm visiting close to Sorrento in a couple of weeks time and I'll look out for the lift. Any other recommendations wold be useful thanks
ReplyDeletethose who already know the area can enjoy a leisurely visit in town or a swim and lazy lunch at one of the many beach places along the waterfront. discount code for Cooperative Electrical
ReplyDeleteDon't you hate that beaches are all occupied by the concessions/stabilimenti that plant their sun-umbrellas almost one upon the other?
ReplyDeleteTo me it's a shame for such awesome places like Sorrento...
Btw would you like to share your tips on Sorrento's page of my travel platform (gadders.eu)?