We were looking for somewhere fairly chilled and warm in early April to spend a 50th birthday in the company of our teenage children and decided on Sorrento where neither of us had been for many years.
We arrived at lunchtime on the hydrofoil from Naples (only 35 minutes) down at the Marina Piccola below the grand Sorrento buildings of the town on the cliffs above. It was a quick 2 minute taxi ride up to our hotel, the Hotel Plaza, just behind Piazza Tasso.
What a great fun little hotel it was, right in the thick of the action of Piazza Tasso, but set back just enough to be peaceful. The roof terrace was awesome – beautiful views of the sea and Vesuvius from comfy sun loungers. Unfortunately the roof top pool wasn’t open for another week. From there we drank champagne later that evening and contemplated the view while our poor teenagers crammed in some revision for their GCSEs and AS levels (there are some advantages to being 50).
After dropping our bags we wondered out for lunch to the House of Mozzarella which the concierge had recommended and booked for us. It sounded a bit gimmicky but given we were in the epicentre of the finest mozzarella making area in the world, I figured it was worth the risk. We found it down a little bougainvillea filled lane and sat outside just before the lemon groves. We told our waiter we were celebrating a big birthday and immediately were given some glasses of prosecco on the house. We feasted on mozzarella in all its variations including smoked mozzarella and fior di latte – it was all excellent and we followed it with buffalo pasta, buffalo sausage and buffalo stew. Maybe it was a little gimmicky, but the food was delicious and the service excellent.
On the way home we dawdled in the pretty shops along via Corsa Italia- deciding that I did need another pair of Superga shoes and that the dusky pink handbag would look as good back in London.
That evening as it was a big birthday we ate in the vaulted Il Bucco Michelin starred restaurant and it really was amazing even though you don’t need to eat in Michelin starred restaurants to have an excellent meal in that part of the world.
We woke up on Palm Sunday to the sound of church bells ringing. Below in Piazza Tasso the Palm Sunday parade had arrived and palms were given out to all. We ventured out to the Duomo with it’s palm holding congregation spilling out and then wandered down to the old port, Marina Grande, where the pretty little fisherman’s church, Sant’ Anna, was celebrating Palm Sunday with its doors wide open to the sunny morning, palm leaves piled up outside.
Down at the port some tourists were on the beach and the bathing platforms soaking up the sun, much to the amusement of the Italians who had barely taken off their jumpers as they enjoyed a coffee outside the bars on the water’s edge.
The walk down the quiet lanes and steps to the port and back was beautiful- as well as bougainvillea, the wisteria was in full bloom and everything sparkled in the warm spring sunshine. The beauty of the Mediterranean spring is that you know that every day it will get a little warmer and that you will really not need your jacket again until late into the autumn.
We spent the rest of Sunday wandering the pretty streets of Sorrento popping into old palazzi, churches and galleries before retreating back to the relaxation of the Hotel Plaza’s roof terrace. That evening we enjoyed an aperitif aperol spritz in the fun cocktail bar at the hotel before heading out for a seafood feast down at the port, making sure we had as much calamari fritti as we could to keep us going until our next planned trip to southern Italy. On the way home we stopped for the obligatory gelato from Gelateria Primervera where even at 11.30 on a Sunday night in early April the customers were spilling onto the street.
I had not been to Sorrento for 20 years and although I had fond memories of it, they were nowhere near as good as the reality of it. It was prettier, more sophisticated and more charming than any of my recollections. This could be partly due to the time of year, as in early April it was still very much a town inhabited by the locals who were happy to share it with the small number of tourists who were there and in August the greater numbers of visitors can tip this balance.
I say go out of season, or rather avoid July and August, where you can enjoy the quiet buzz of a beautiful town in clement weather and you will not be disappointed.
We left by train, the ‘circumvesviana’, which was a short stroll from our hotel (via the supermarket to stock up on Parmesan). We were going to visit Pompeii on the way to the airport. It all worked like clockwork and we left our luggage at Pompeii station while we explored the site for several hours before jumping on the circumvesviana again to take us into Naples to catch our flight home.
Sorrento can be visited comfortably from March through to October and it’s an excellent base to explore the region from. Capri is a short boat ride away, the Amalfi coast can be explore by boat or car plus there are superb walking trails all along the spine of the peninsular. Pompeii is 30 minutes away by train and Herculaneum slightly longer while Naples can be easily reached by train or ferry. Speak to us about a stay here – it’s great for a long weekend or lengthier stay.
by TMS