Things to do · Sorrento · Italy
16 best things to do in Sorrento
16 sights and experiences ranked for a first visit, with honest notes on time, cost and crowds.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Mentnafunangann, CC BY-SA 3.0
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Quick answer
The essential sights in Sorrento are Piazza Tasso, Vallone dei Mulini and Villa Comunale. Of the 16 picks below, 14 are free, 3 work on a rainy day and 2 suit children. Allow about 5 days to see the highlights without rushing.
Key facts
- Top sight
- Piazza Tasso
- Free sights
- 14
- Good on a rainy day
- Sorrento Cathedral
- Time to see the highlights
- 5 days
At a glance
| Sight | Area | Time needed | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Piazza Tasso | Centro storico and Piazza Tasso | 30 minutes | Free |
| Vallone dei Mulini | Centro storico and Piazza Tasso | 15 minutes | Free |
| Villa Comunale | Centro storico and Piazza Tasso | 30 minutes | Free |
| Cloister of San Francesco | Centro storico and Piazza Tasso | 20 minutes | Free |
| Sorrento Cathedral | Centro storico and Piazza Tasso | 30 minutes | Free |
| Museo Correale di Terranova | Marina Piccola and the port | 1.5 hours | Low cost |
| Museobottega della Tarsia Lignea | Centro storico and Piazza Tasso | 1 hour | Low cost |
| Marina Grande | Marina Grande | 2 hours | Free |
| Bagni della Regina Giovanna | Via Capo | 2–3 hours | Free |
| Sedile Dominova | Centro storico and Piazza Tasso | 10 minutes | Free |
| Via San Cesareo | Centro storico and Piazza Tasso | 1 hour | Free |
| Basilica of Sant'Antonino | Centro storico and Piazza Tasso | 20 minutes | Free |
| Punta Campanella | Massa Lubrense | 2.5 hours return | Free |
| Baia di Ieranto | Massa Lubrense | 3 hours | Free |
| Marina del Cantone | Massa Lubrense | Half a day | Free |
| Il Deserto viewpoint, Sant'Agata | Sant'Agata sui Due Golfi | 1.5 hours | Free |
The 16 best things to do
Landmark · Centro storico and Piazza Tasso
1.Piazza Tasso
Sorrento's main square, built over the gorge that once divided the town, is named after the poet Torquato Tasso, born in Sorrento in 1544, whose statue stands on its western side. Cafés ring the square, Corso Italia runs through it and the road down to Marina Piccola starts here.
Take an evening coffee or gelato here around 9pm, when locals come out for the passeggiata along Corso Italia.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Iconic
- After dark
Nature · Centro storico and Piazza Tasso
2.Vallone dei Mulini
Just off Piazza Tasso, a deep ravine drops below street level, its floor overgrown with ferns around the ruins of a flour mill and a sawmill that worked here until the 19th century. It cannot be entered, but the railing on Via Fuorimura gives a clear view down.
Look from the viewpoint on Via Fuorimura, a minute's walk from Piazza Tasso.
- Time needed
- 15 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Nature
- Photo spot
- Off the beaten path
- History
Viewpoint · Centro storico and Piazza Tasso
3.Villa Comunale
A small public garden on the cliff edge next to the church of San Francesco, with a terrace looking across the Bay of Naples to Vesuvius. A public lift and steps lead down from here to Marina Piccola and the bathing platforms below.
Come at sunset, then take the lift down to the port for a seafront walk.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Views
- Couples
- Photo spot
Religious site · Centro storico and Piazza Tasso
4.Cloister of San Francesco
The 14th-century cloister of the church of San Francesco mixes interlaced tuff arches with older columns, shaded by a bougainvillea. It is a popular wedding venue and hosts summer concerts.
Visit in the morning before weddings and events, when the cloister is often quiet.
- Time needed
- 20 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Architecture
- History
- Couples
Religious site · Centro storico and Piazza Tasso
5.Sorrento Cathedral
The cathedral of Saints Philip and James on Corso Italia has a 20th-century neo-Gothic façade on a much older church, a separate bell tower standing on an open arch, and inside, wooden choir stalls and stations of the cross in the local inlaid-wood craft.
Look closely at the inlaid-wood choir stalls and stations of the cross, a good introduction to Sorrento's intarsia tradition.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Art
- History
- Rainy day
Museum · Marina Piccola and the port
6.Museo Correale di Terranova
Set in the villa of the Correale counts, this museum holds Neapolitan paintings, porcelain from Capodimonte and elsewhere, furniture, clocks and Greek and Roman finds from the peninsula. Its garden ends at a belvedere over the bay.
Save it for a hot afternoon or a rainy day, and finish at the garden belvedere.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- History
- Rainy day
- Views
Museum · Centro storico and Piazza Tasso
7.Museobottega della Tarsia Lignea
Sorrento's inlaid-wood tradition, intarsia, is shown in the 18th-century Palazzo Pomarici Santomasi, with 19th-century furniture, boxes and panels made in local workshops alongside paintings and prints of the old town.
Visit before buying inlaid-wood souvenirs so you can recognise quality work.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- History
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
Waterfront · Marina Grande
8.Marina Grande
The old fishing harbour below the western edge of the old town has wooden boats on the shingle, nets drying by the quay and restaurants with tables over the water. It is reached on foot through an old gateway and a stepped lane from Via Marina Grande.
Walk down for a seafood lunch, then swim from one of the bathing platforms.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Food
- Couples
- Photo spot
Historic site · Via Capo
1.Bagni della Regina Giovanna
On the Capo di Sorrento headland, the ruins of the Roman Villa of Pollio Felice surround a natural rock pool linked to the sea through an arch. It is a favourite local swimming spot, reached by a path of about 20 minutes from Via Capo.
Bring water shoes and food; there are no facilities and the rocks are uneven.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Outdoors
- Off the beaten path
- Views
Historic site · Centro storico and Piazza Tasso
2.Sedile Dominova
A 14th-century open loggia where Sorrento's nobles once met, with a frescoed dome and walls under a tiled cupola. Today it is home to a workers' society, and old men often play cards inside.
It sits on Via San Cesareo, so combine it with a stroll down the lane.
- Time needed
- 10 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Architecture
Street · Centro storico and Piazza Tasso
3.Via San Cesareo
A narrow pedestrian lane running parallel to Corso Italia, packed with shops selling limoncello, lemon soaps, ceramics, inlaid wood and leather sandals. It is the busiest shopping street in the old town.
Many shops offer limoncello tastings; compare a few before buying.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Shopping
- Food
- After dark
Religious site · Centro storico and Piazza Tasso
4.Basilica of Sant'Antonino
The basilica of Sorrento's patron saint has a crypt with the saint's relics and walls covered in ex-voto offerings from sailors. Legend says Antonino rescued a child from a whale, and whale bones hang near the entrance.
Visit on 14 February to see the saint's feast-day procession.
- Time needed
- 20 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Art
- Kids
Nature · Massa Lubrense
5.Punta Campanella
The tip of the Sorrento peninsula faces Capri across a narrow strait, protected as a marine reserve. A paved Roman path leads about an hour down from the village of Termini to a medieval watchtower and the ruins of a temple to Minerva, with views of Capri's Faraglioni.
Start early in summer; the trail has almost no shade and the return is uphill.
- Time needed
- 2.5 hours return
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Active
- Views
- Nature
- Outdoors
Nature · Massa Lubrense
6.Baia di Ieranto
A cove looked after by FAI, the Italian National Trust, on the Gulf of Salerno side of the peninsula, reached by a footpath from the hamlet of Nerano. The trail passes an old quarry and ends above clear water facing the Faraglioni of Capri.
Allow about an hour each way from Nerano and carry plenty of water.
- Time needed
- 3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Active
- Nature
- Views
- Off the beaten path
Beach · Massa Lubrense
7.Marina del Cantone
A long pebble beach below Nerano on the southern side of the peninsula, with beach clubs, public stretches and restaurants known for spaghetti alla Nerano. Boats leave from here for the grottoes and coves of the coast.
Reach it by local bus via Sant'Agata or by boat; parking fills up fast on summer weekends.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Free
- Outdoors
- Food
- Kids
- Free
Viewpoint · Sant'Agata sui Due Golfi
8.Il Deserto viewpoint, Sant'Agata
Above Sant'Agata sui Due Golfi, the former Carmelite monastery of the Deserto has a rooftop terrace that looks over both the Bay of Naples and the Gulf of Salerno, with Capri, Vesuvius and the Li Galli islets in view.
Walk up from Sant'Agata's main square, about 20 minutes uphill, on a clear morning.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Views
- Free
- Photo spot
- Off the beaten path
Pick by interest
| Interest | Best picks |
|---|---|
| Art and museums | Sorrento Cathedral, Museo Correale di Terranova, Museobottega della Tarsia Lignea and Basilica of Sant'Antonino |
| History | Vallone dei Mulini, Cloister of San Francesco, Sorrento Cathedral and Museo Correale di Terranova |
| Views | Villa Comunale, Museo Correale di Terranova, Bagni della Regina Giovanna and Punta Campanella |
| Outdoors and nature | Vallone dei Mulini, Bagni della Regina Giovanna, Punta Campanella and Baia di Ieranto |
| Food and markets | Marina Grande, Via San Cesareo and Marina del Cantone |
| After dark | Piazza Tasso and Via San Cesareo |
| With children | Basilica of Sant'Antonino and Marina del Cantone |
| On a rainy day | Sorrento Cathedral, Museo Correale di Terranova and Museobottega della Tarsia Lignea |
Plan the rest of your trip
Questions travellers ask
+What is the number one thing to do in Sorrento?
Piazza Tasso. Sorrento's main square, built over the gorge that once divided the town, is named after the poet Torquato Tasso, born in Sorrento in 1544, whose statue stands on its western side.
+What can you do for free in Sorrento?
Piazza Tasso, Vallone dei Mulini, Villa Comunale, Cloister of San Francesco and Sorrento Cathedral. More free things to do.
+What is there to do in Sorrento when it rains?
Head indoors to Sorrento Cathedral, Museo Correale di Terranova and Museobottega della Tarsia Lignea.
+What is there to do in Sorrento at night?
Piazza Tasso and Via San Cesareo are best after dark.