Italian culture, buzzing bars and delicious pizzas are all on the menu on holidays to Sorrento – a sophisticated seaside town in the heart of the Neapolitan Riviera.

A beautiful position

Cobblestone streets, colourful flowers and picture-perfect views of Mount Vesuvius and Naples – as a resort, hilly Sorrento comes up with it all. This chic setting on the southwest coast of Italy also offers designer boutiques, lively bars and authentic Italian restaurants. And it’s at the heart of the Neapolitan Riviera, so the beautiful towns of Positano and Amalfi are within easy reach as well.

Cobbles and cafés

Pavement cafés and tucked-away antique and craft shops cram the maze of cobbled streets in Sorrento’s old town, making it an ideal place for a wander. For culture vultures, there's also an impressive church – the 11th-century Chiesa di San Francesco – plus a bell tower, a monastery, and a cathedral with colourful frescoes.

Bathing platforms

They’re not big on sandy beaches here, so swimming Sorrento-style is via wooden or stone bathing platforms beneath the cliffs. The shores might be rocky, but the platforms mean you can easily dip into the sea. Seafront hotels usually have their own, and there are public platforms too, where for an entrance fee you get changing areas, places to eat and showers.

Daytrips to Pompeii

Pompeii's about 40 minutes away from Sorrento by train, and a proper must-see. Life in the city was stopped in its tracks when Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying everything – and everyone – in volcanic ash. Two thousand years later, you can still see Pompeii’s citizens, frozen in time in the city's well-preserved ruins.