Positano Holidays

Positano, locals will tell you, has been kissed by the Gods. Blessed with enviously good looks, this one-time fishing village on the Amalfi Coast became the playground for ‘la dolce vita’ in the 1950s, drawing a who’s who of the rich and famous. Even today, it still pulls a celebrity crowd. Its pastel-hued houses and plush hotels cling like oysters to its steep cliff face. The Mediterranean Sea, flecked with fishing boats, spreads out at its feet.

Positano has a pair of beaches joined by a scenic path. The larger one is Spiaggia Grande, where deckchairs are arranged on an expanse of dark sand. Fine Italian restaurants overlook the beach, and there’s a harbour where you can sign up for watersports and boat trips. Spiaggia del Fornillo is a less crowded pebbly stretch. It has a dive centre and gently deepening waters, making it popular with families.

The town’s streets are a snakes and ladders board of wide thoroughfares and bougainvillea-draped stairways. As you wind up the hillside, there are surprises at every turn – from family-run trattorias to backstreet sandal makers, and luxury clothes stores to boutique hotels. The 11th-century Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta, with its green cupola, stands tall above them. It’s right in the centre of the cobblestoned Flavio Gioia square.

In Positano, you’re within 30 minutes’ drive of the Amalfi Coast’s other star turns. They include Sorrento, which overlooks the Bay of Naples, and Amalfi, with its 13th-century Duomo di Sant'Andrea Apostolo and yacht-filled marina. Capri – believed to be Homer’s mythical land of the Sirens – is also within easy reach, thanks to daily ferries from the harbour on Spiaggia Grande.