One of Europe’s most desirable and romantic destinations, the Amalfi coast has been seducing visitors since antiquity. But until the 40km-long Strada Statale 163 – connecting the hilltop village of Meta, just outside Sorrento, with Vietri sul Mare in the east – was blasted out of the base of the Lattari mountains in 1852, there was no road linking the coastal communities.

Today, this “road of 1,000 bends” hugs soaring cliffs and weaves tortuously in and out of deep gorges, passing olive groves, lemon terraces and tumbling whitewashed villages, all against a background of a shimmering azure sea. It is barely wide enough for two lanes of traffic, so in the crowded summer months traffic jams are inevitable, and best avoided by visiting off-season. In spring, the colours are bright, the air is fresh but the sea is chilly; better to come in late September or early October when the evenings are balmy, the water is still warm and the crowds have all but disappeared.

Meal prices exclude drinks and cover charge. Room rates all include breakfast

Sant’Agata sui Due Golfi

Named for its hilltop position overlooking due golfi, the two bays of Naples and Salerno, Sant’Agata makes a good base for exploring the coast if you want to combine it with some walking. Agriturismo Le Tore is an organic olive farm just outside the village that offers nine simple, pretty rooms with hand-painted stencils on white-washed walls and two family-friendly apartments. Breakfast – fruit from the garden, fresh eggs, homemade cakes – is served under a fragrant pergola of roses and jasmine. From here, the famous Nastro Azzurro road twists and turns its way down the mountainside towards the shimmering sea below and Positano.
• +39 081 8080637, agriturismosorrentoletore.com. Doubles from €90

Where to eat
If you can’t afford the prices at Michelin-starred Don Alfonso, family-run trattoria Lo Stuzzichino serves regional favourites such as melanzane alla parmigiana (baked aubergines with tomatoes and cheese) and paccheri pasta tubes with sweet piennolo tomatoes from the slopes of Vesuvius.
• +39 081-533 0010, ristorantelostuzzichino.it. Two courses from €17

Don’t miss
You will see many breathtaking views in these parts, but among the best is the 360-degree eyeful you get from the belvedere of the Benedictine monastery known as Il Deserto. Stendhal, Wagner and Goethe thought so too, apparently. It opening times can be rather unreliable, so call ahead.
• +39 081-878 0199. Open 10am-noon and 5-7pm, voluntary donations appreciated

Positano

This tumble of cubic pastel-hued buildings clinging impossibly to an almost sheer cliff face is the coast’s most picturesque town, in spite of the crowds that clog its steep, narrow lanes in high season. Sharing the same premium views from most of its bedrooms as its much pricier neighbours, the stylish, super-friendly Villa Rosa is one of Positano’s better hotel deals. The cool whitewashed rooms all have spacious bougainvillea-draped terraces with comfy deck chairs placed to make the most of the views. There’s no dining room, so fresh pastries and steaming cappuccinos are served on your terrace in the morning.
• +39 089-811955, villarosapositano.it. Doubles from €170

Where to eat
Adolfo’s shabby-chic beach-shack on Laurito beach, a 10-minute boat-ride from Positano (from the jetty, catch the shuttle boat with the red fish sign) offers the ultimate toes-in-the sand lunch experience, with punchy, sunny local dishes such as mozzarella grilled on lemon leaves and garlicky spaghetti alle vongole (clams).
• +39 089-875022, daadolfo.com. Two courses from €18

Don’t miss
Strappy, made-in-Positano leather sandals make great souvenirs, but make sure you buy the artisan-made real deal. Safari, a squeeze of a shop just above the beach, sells handmade sandals that range from classic thongs to elaborate jewel- or shell-encrusted models.
• +39 089-811440, safaripositano.com. Sandals from €40

Capri

Although not strictly part of the Amalfi coast, Capri is a classic day trip from Positano. To get a more authentic feel for this dramatically beautiful island you should stay overnight: once the last packed hydrofoil has departed, the place seems to breathe a sigh of relief. Leave Capri town to the super-rich and catch one of the Lilliputian orange buses to low-key (and slightly more affordable) Anacapri where, a gentle half hour stroll above the town, Da Gelsomina offers a taste of rural island life. Known for its excellent restaurant, this smallholding has a handful of simple, pastel-hued rooms (with terraces and sea views) plus a pool.
• +39 081-8371499, dagelsomina.com Doubles from €115

Where to eat
For typical Caprese cuisine, including the local take on ravioli (stuffed with caciotta cheese and fresh marjoram) and delicious wines made from the falanghina grape, you need go no further than Gelsomina’s wonderful veranda-with-a-view.
• Detail as above. Two courses from €25

Don’t miss
The 589-metre summit of Monte Solaro offers dizzying views that extend to Vesuvius on a clear day and is accessed via a bracing climb or a 12-minute ride on the chair lift from Via Caposcuro.
• +39 081-8371428, seggioviamontesolaro.it. Single €7.50/return €10

Praiano

A quiet, low-key contrast to Positano’s glitz, the sprawling village of Praiano works well as a base for visiting the area and is also an access point for the challenging but spectacular 11km Sentiero degli Dei (Path of the Gods) that leads along the ridged top of the Lattari mountains. Stay at Le Sirene, a simple, friendly little hotel on a hillside that offers bedrooms with aircon and balconies along with five-star views west along the coast to Capri. The rooftop terrace is a perfect spot for basic breakfast or a sunset Campari.
• +39 089-874013, lesirene.com. Doubles from €80

Where to eat
A short walk east along the coast road in tiny Marina di Praia, expansive host Armandino sets tables out on the quayside under the towering cliffs and serves fish and seafood dishes according to the day’s catch: the grilled swordfish steak drizzled with the local mint-spiked dressing is memorable (€15).
• +39 089-874087, trattoriadaarmandino.it. Pasta dishes from €12

Don’t miss
Hire a boat from Marina di Praia: in order to understand the contorted topography of this coastline, you really need to be at water level. A gentle chug towards Amalfi takes you past the dramatic gully of Marina di Furore and will reveal hidden coves and sea caves, Saracen watchtowers and tiny beaches.
• +39 089-874365/+39 334-307 8344, lasibilla.org. From €50 an hour

Furore

Directly above the deep Vallone del Furore gorge lies the rugged little town of Furore, known for colourful murals and excellent DOC wines. The road from the coast zigzags up through a dramatic landscape of bare limestone and precariously narrow terraces planted with vines and accompanied by increasingly extraordinary views. A stay at the welcoming Agriturismo Sant’Alfonso, set on the mountainside 400 metres above sea level in steeply terraced grounds, will give you a feel for life beyond the coast, with great walking nearby. The nine cosy rooms are in a former monastery building: you’ll find wonderful home-cooked food, gardens with a small Jacuzzi, a menagerie of farm animals and great walking nearby.
• +39 089-830515, agriturismosantalfonso.it. Doubles from €70

Where to eat
The upmarket Hostaria di Bacco, just beyond Furore, serves unusual fish and seafood dishes such as ferrazzuoli (the local flat, twisted
pasta ribbons) with smoked swordfish, tomatoes, rocket, pine nuts and sultanas on a panoramic terrace. There’s a heavyweight wine list too.
• +39 089-830360, baccofurore.it. Two courses from €28

Don’t miss
Marisa Cuomo put the DOC Costa d’Amalfi wines on the map with her Gran Furor Costa Divina winery, where you can enjoy a tour and tasting (by appointment). The white Fiorduva wine, a blend of native fenile, ginestra and ripoli grapes, is outstanding.
• +39 089-830348, granfuror.it

Ravello

With a magnificent setting on a mountain buttress overlooking the Bay of Salerno, the ravishing town of Ravello remains aloof from the madness of the coast 350 metres below. Its shady gardens, quiet lanes and sense of faded grandeur attracted the likes of Wagner, DH Lawrence and the Bloomsbury set, and you can see why: the slower pace of life is still seductive today. On a steep hillside halfway between the coast and town, Torre dello Ziro is a super-stylish B&B with six smart modern bedrooms, sea views and a fantastic garden-cum-terrace for breakfast and lounging. Owner Alex’s mum bakes fresh cakes and muffins each morning, which she serves with fresh orange juice, homemade jams and fruit from the garden.
• +39 089-873503, torredelloziro.com. Doubles from €80

Where to eat
Jackie O and Gore Vidal were once regulars at rustic, family-run Cumpà Cosimo, in the ancient town centre, where you can fill up on the misto di primi, a quintet of homemade pasta dishes. It costs €15 but, with the addition of a salad, is enough for two.
• Via Roma 44, +39 089-857156 (no website)

Don’t miss
Greta Garbo and her lover, the conductor Leopold Stokowski, holed up at Villa Cimbrone in the 1930s and no wonder: the romantic garden with its Terrace of Infinity is among the most beautiful in Italy.
• +39 089-857459, villacimbrone.com. Open daily 9am-30 mins before sunset, €7

Amalfi

Once a glorious maritime republic, Amalfi is the coast’s busiest town, but tourism aside, it’s a very pretty little place fringed by lemon terraces with a spectacular setting between sea and mountains, and a magnificent Arab-Norman cathedral. Just off the main drag and up three flights of steep stairs, the Residenza del Duca has six rooms done out in pastel colours with fine fabrics, 16th-century beamed ceilings and the odd antique: one has a private terrace, others rooftop or sea views. The showers come with massage jets and there’s aircon and (free) Wi-Fi throughout. Breakfast is served in a dining room that spills out on to a flower-filled terrace.
• +39 089-873 6365, residenzadelduca.it. Doubles from €90

Where to eat
Nip round the headland to tiny, beguiling Atrani and the brilliant A’ Paranza for an abundant array of tempting fishy antipasti and pasta dishes such as local scialatielli ai frutti di mare (with mixed seafood and tomatoes).
• +39 089-871840, ristoranteparanza.com. Two courses from €25

Don’t miss
It may not be as famous as its blue counterpart on Capri, but a visit to the Grotta dello Smeraldo is much cheaper and the greeny-blue light that filters into the underwater cave is very lovely. Boat trips leave from Amalfi (€15 return) or you can take the lift down from the road (€5).
• +39 089-831535. Open 9am-4pm daily until end Oct

Minori

The coastal towns to the east of Amalfi are much less fashionable than their neighbours to the west, but that’s part of the charm. Minori is an attractive old place with a sandy beach, the remains of a Roman villa and what is arguably the best pastry shop in the area. The nicest affordable place to stay locally is just along the coast in less appealing Maiori: Casa Raffaele Conforti is a slightly faded nine-room gem occupying the top floors (no lift) of a 19th-century townhouse stuffed with antiques and knick-knacks. Think frescoed rooms, original tiled floors and wallpapers, a salone with grand piano and a certain retro charm.
• +39 089- 853547, casaraffaeleconforti.it. Doubles from €80

Where to eat
Salvatore de Riso makes mouth-wateringly good ice-cream and granita and the finest pastries on the coast: creamy delizie di limone, ricotta-filled sfogliatelle, ricotta and pear tart and delicious babà.
• +39 089-853618 (no website)

Don’t miss
Fans of classical history should visit Minori’s very own Villa Romana, a first-century AD patrician mansion built around a huge viridarium or courtyard garden, with fresco fragments and a well-preserved thermal baths complex.
• Via Capodipiazza, +39 089-852893, .villaromanaminori.com. Open 8am-7pm daily. Free admission

Cetara

The authentic, unprettified village of Cetara offers a taste of what the Amalfi coast must have been like before the advent of mass tourism and has the only remaining working fishing fleet on the costiera. It also boasts several great restaurants where you can sample the local speciality, colatura di alici, a fermented anchovy essence thought to be similar to the Roman garum. There is a handful of simple B&Bs plus the swanky Hotel Cetus, built into the cliffside just outside the village: 37 fresh, sea-facing rooms have jazzy tiled floors and balconies or terraces. There’s also a good restaurant, a small spa and a private beach with sun beds and umbrellas.
• +39 089-261388, hotelcetus.com. Doubles from €140

Where to eat
Tables at contemporary Acqua Pazza spill on to the street in summer, giving harbour views which make a perfect backdrop for tucking into paccheri pasta with monkfish, capers and cherry tomatoes or spaghetti with the in-house colatura.
• +39 089-261606, acquapazza.it. Two courses from €25

Don’t miss
The tiny 10th-century chapel of Santa Maria de Olearia is an atmospheric place hewn out of sheer rock where early frescoes decorate the vaulted ceiling and apse. It’s just above the SS163 to the west of Erchie: blink and you’ll miss it.
• +39 089-814209. Open Wed 3.30-6.30pm and Sat 9am-1pm or call for an appointment

Vietri sul Mare

At the eastern limit of the costiera lies the town of Vietri, a name that is synonymous with the production of the colourful ceramics you find in every restaurant, hotel and bar up and down the coast. It has very little reasonably priced accommodation, but gritty, buzzing Salerno is only 4km away and here there’s plenty of choice, such as the Verdi, a bright new B&B not far from the tourist port. Housed on the second floor of an apartment building, it has three comfortable bedrooms in bold colours (one with a small terrace) plus a living room with a long communal table for an excellent breakfast spread.
• 345-3416372 (mobile), bbverdi.it. Doubles from €70

Where to eat
It’s a little way from the centre of town but the pizzas at the Due Fratelli, baked in a wood-fired oven, are superb and come in two sizes, 700g and a massive 1.1kg. The house special is panuozzo, a kind of long, filled pizza sandwich. Try and bag a table on the top floor terrace.
• +39 089-761300, www.iduefratelli.it. Pizza from €7

Don’t miss
Designed in the 1950s by Paolo Soleri, a pupil of Frank Lloyd Wright, the Solimene ceramics factory in Vietri is an extraordinary building that houses an Aladdin’s cave of an outlet shop, stuffed with bargains. The colourful naive animal designs are instantly recognisable.
• +39 089-210243, ceramicasolimene.it