|
 Positano, known as the "Gem of the Divine Coast", is probably the most beautiful and well-photographed village of the Amalfi Coast. Positioned at the centre of the Gulf, its multi-coloured houses and villas seem to cascade down the cliff side amongst beautiful gardens planted with palm trees, orange and lemon groves, offering stunning panoramic views over the town and coastline. The artist Paul Klee called Positano "the only place in the world conceived on a vertical rather than a horizontal axis".
Between Amalfi and Positano on the picturesque Amalfi coast, Praiano is less striking and compact than its neighbours, but is still a charming village with a beautiful beach and a lovely atmosphere. Largely without the tourist crush of its more famous neighbours, it offers a more peaceful experience at cheaper prices for those using a car to explore the area and is becoming increasingly popular as a less-crowded alternative.
Positano  From being a prosperous port of the Amalfi Republic in the 16th and 17th centuries, Positano had dwindled to a relatively poor fishing village by the first half of the 20th century. Then in May 1953 John Steinbeck published an essay about Positano in Harper's Bazaar, and the town's fortunes turned. "Positano bites deep", Steinbeck wrote. "It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone."
Today, Positano is the most popular and chic tourist destination on the Coast of Amalfi, offering elegant luxury hotels, many apartments and residences, comfortable resorts and small family hotels with a friendly atmosphere. It has a unique atmosphere - exclusive and chic with many little boutiques and small artisans' shops, but at the same time it retains its appeal as an authentic Italian family holiday resort. It can get overrun by busloads of tour groups in the summer, but it's delightful at other times of the year. The best all-around seasons are spring and early fall, although winter (December to March) is a pleasant time if you want to avoid crowds and don't care about swimming.
Things to do in Positano
Soak up the beauty on either of Positano's two beaches: Fornillo, the smaller, more secluded beach is accessible either by a set of stairs from the grotto above or via a path from Spiaggia Grande. Fornillo has a more laid back atmosphere with four beach bars lining the shore and no ferry traffic. Spiaggia Grande, the main beach and ferry port, is the hub of activity in Positano. Don't miss it, but don't forget there is much more to Positano. Don't miss the beautiful church of Santa Maria Assunta, which features a dome made of majolica tiles as well as a 13th Byzantine century icon of a black Madonna. According to local legend, the icon had been stolen from Byzantium and was being transported by pirates across the Mediterranean. A terrible storm had blown up in the waters opposite Positano and the frightened sailors heard a voice on board saying "Posa, posa!" ("Put down! Put down!"). The precious icon was unloaded and carried to the fishing village and the storm abated. Positano is the place to shop for all sorts of lemon products, colourfully-painted tiles and silks, and of course - limoncello, the lemon liqueur produced mainly in the region around the Gulf of Naples and the coast of Amalfi and Islands of Ischia and Capri. Positano is also famous for its fashion - ‘Moda Positano’ is now a recognised label. As well as exclusive clothing, you can also find sandals, flip flops, wooden and cork clogs, and cloth slippers with rope soles, made by famous shoe makers and by local cobblers. Take the local bus to Montepertuso which leaves from the church. From there you need to find a small steep path uphill. The mountains along the Amalfi Coast have a hidden and unknown network of public footpaths and long stairs criss-crossing the lemon teraces, from Montepertuso you will be able to walk to Santa Maria, a small church high up, and back down to Positano. This will give you stunning views down the coast featuring Capri, Positano and the sea. In springtime all sorts of rare spices and flowers grow between cypress trees. Make sure you get a map of some kind showing the footpaths since you WILL get lost without. Praiano  Once an ancient fishing village, Praiano is spread out over a long stretch of coastline. it has a small and picturesque harbour, Marina di Praia, but otherwise is a more scattered settlement than the tight-packed resorts of Amalfi and Positano. Superb views of the coastline can be enjoyed from pleasant panoramic walks around Praiano, as well as from more demanding hikes above the town. The "Sentiero degli Dei" (Walk of the Gods) is a famous hike that starts from Praiano and reaches Agerola, giving hikers the chance to really get the best views of the Amalfi Coast.
There are several places to eat in Praiano, although many of the hotels here have their own restaurants. Somewhat surprisingly, Praiano also offers some of the Amalfi Coast's leading night-time attractions. The famous nightclub Africana dates back to the 1960s, when it was the trendy haunt of Europe's glamorous bright young things, and enjoys a rather unique location, built on top of a beautiful illuminated grotto with a glass dance floor that juts out over the sea. It can be accessed either by boat, from a lift to the main road of Praiano, or by a path from the main beach. ARTICLE SUMMARY: Amalfi Coast tourists going from Positano to Amalfi often ride right through a little jewel of a town, Praiano. Where to stay, where to eat the best food, where to enjoy good beaches and walks.
Amalfi Coast Little Jewel Town, Praiano
Most tourists exploring the magnificent Amalfi Coast just south of Naples stop at the two big diamonds, Positano and Amalfi and ride right through little jewel town of Praiano, about half way between Positano and Amalfi.
What a mistake! Why not stay in beautiful Praiano like I did? It's smaller, less crowded and feels less touristy than its more famous neighbours.
This September I wanted to hike the mountainside pathways between Positano and Amalfi (another story for another time!) so chose Praiano as a good point between the two. A three day stay full of delights!
My single room in Hotel Perla on the edge of Praiano opened on to a sunny, little balcony with good views of the coast of dry, brown and green steep mountains falling to the blue sea. Perched above the Amalfi Coast road the hotel is quiet, but you walk only a few steps to the bus stop for buses to Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi or Salerno.
I enjoyed a good buffet breakfast on the sea view terrace and the convenient Internet service in the lobby. Hotel La Perla, perlahotel.it Phone: 089-874246. Doubles range from 100-150 Euros.
Best of all, a staircase a few feet along the main road from Hotel Perla takes you down past a Saracen tower to a great restaurant on the sea that doubles as a beach spot during the day.
The Paradies Restaurant sits on a patio on rocks above the water's edge so you look out along the coast, watch boats come and go and admire the lights sparkling over the sea as darkness falls. I liked it so much I went twice!
The fish soup was full of prawns, mussels, squid, octopus and clams in a delicious tomato broth. The roasted peppers with capers and black olives with good quality olive oil were excellent. The outgoing owner gave me good advice on what wine to order by the glass. I spent about 27 Euros.
My third day, back from lots of sightseeing, I ambled down the same stairs to find a sun cot to laze on by the sea for a couple of hours and found the same restaurant owner. When I asked him how much the sun cot rental was, with a big smile he exclaimed, "For you, it's free!" He sure knows how to make people feel special! Terrazze Paradies in Praiano, Via Terramare 6. Phone: 089-874534.
A two minute walk east along the Amalfi Coast road from Hotel Perla takes you to a little sandy beach. You can also catch a water taxi from here to Positano where you take boats to Capri or along the coast.
Walking west for about 20 minutes on the pretty, sea view back roads from the hotel past houses, gardens, school, shops and hotels takes you to the centre of Praiano. To go there by bus, you can catch the cheaper, local orange buses or the more expensive, crowded Amalfi Coast SITA buses.
For local orange bus tickets at 1 Euro you pay the driver directly. For SITA buses, you buy your tickets first in designated places like some coffee bars. Tourist tickets good all along the coast are 5 Euros for a 24 hour period.
A SITA bus driver told me SITA won't sell foreigners 1 Euro local tickets unless they can prove they're local residents. A small thing but it left a bad taste in my mouth.
In Praiano's town centre I descended into the large main piazza dominated by the gleaming, white San Gennaro church with its striking dome of white, blue and yellow tile and tower with yellow and green tile roof.
Inside the church I got a really nice surprise, a very pretty Baroque interior in yellow, green and white. On the piazza I gazed out over the sea along the coast to Positano. What a beautiful view!
I followed steps below the church on streets too narrow for cars past homes, gardens and patios with tomatoes hung to dry, down to the other beach, a series of patios on the rocks, with views of Positano, sun cots and umbrellas, beach bar and restaurant. The 5-10 minute climb up or down the steps is good exercise!
I was in Praiano on September 19, the festival of their saint, San Gennaro, so what better place to have dinner than Trattoria San Gennaro set right above the main piazza. At my open air table it felt like a dinner theatre.
In the piazza brass bands were playing. The church was outlined in strings of white lights. The piazza was all dressed up in big flower forms of yellow, green and white lights. Children ran around the piazza playing with new toys bought at the stands. What a magical sight as the sun set in pink and orange over the sea!
My linguine allo scoglio loaded with fresh tomatoes, parsley, prawns and other seafood and my bountiful salad of lettuce, arugola, tomatoes, fennel, carrot and radicchio were excellent. Trattoria San Gennaro, Via G. Capriglione. Phone: 089-874293.
I would have loved to stay longer in Praiano and hang out for some carefree days at its beaches and eat more fish and drink white wine. Praiano is a little jewel set between two big diamonds, the perfect quieter spot to base yourself as you explore the busier, more famous Positano, Amalfi and Ravello. Article Republished From: Liberated Press Releases and Other FREE Information a web site that ONLY uses Google Adsense text links in the footer of article content. Author Resource:- Margaret Cowan of Vancouver, BC owns a tour company, Mama Margaret Italian Cooking Holidays at http://www.italycookingschools.com. They ran their first Italian cooking, wine and walking tour in 1995. Margaret and her local Italian tour partners offer tours all over Italy from Piedmont to Sicily. More information on Positani and Praiano  There's not much to POSITANO , only a couple of decent beaches and a great many boutiques; the town has long specialized in simple beach clothes made from linen, georgette and cotton, as well as handmade shoes and sandals. But its location, heaped up in a pyramid high above the water, has inspired a thousand picture postcards and helped to make it a moneyed resort that runs a close second to Cápri in the celebrity stakes. Since John Steinbeck wrote up the place in glowing terms back in 1953, the village has enjoyed a fame quite out of proportion to its tiny size. Franco Zefferelli is just one of many famous names who have villas nearby, and the people who come here to lie on the beach consider themselves a cut above your average sun-worshipper.
Positano is, of course, expensive, and an overnight stay isn't recommended, although its beaches are nice enough and don't get too crowded. The main one, the Spiaggia Grande right in front of the village, is reasonable, although you'll be sunbathing among the fishing boats unless you want to pay over the odds for the pleasanter bit on the far left; there's also another, larger stretch of beach, Spiaggia del Fornillo, around the headland to the west, accessible in five minutes by a pretty path that winds around from above the hydrofoil jetty - although its central section is also a pay area. Nonetheless the bar-terrace of the Puppetto hotel , which runs along much of its length, is a cheaper place to eat and drink than anywhere in Positano proper. Buses to Positano drop off at the top of the village, from where it's a steep walk down or a short bus ride (every 30min) to the little square at the bottom end of Via Cristoforo Colombo, five minutes' walk from the seafront; ferries and hydrofoils from Cápri, Naples, Amalfi and Salerno pull in at the jetty just to the right of the main beach. There's a helpful tourist office just back from the beach by the church steps. PRAIANO is a little further along to the east, squeezed into a cleft in the rocks. It's smaller than Positano, but these days its two tiny centres - Véttica Maggiore on the Positano side, and Marina di Praiano on the Amalfi side - are often no less congested; indeed Praiano is becoming more so as its status as a fashionable resort increases. There is a small patch of beach, together with a couple of sandy coves close by, but food and rooms are again quite pricey. Shortly after Praiano you pass the Furore gorge, which gashes into the mountainside just above the coast road, and a little further along, about 4km out of Praiano (reachable direct by taxi boat from either Praiano or Amalfi), the Grotta dello Smeraldo, one of the most highly touted local natural features. An elevator gets down to the level of the grotto, where you can tour the green-hued interior by boat - a mildly impressive but certainly not unmissable sight which includes a rather startling sub-aquatic nativity scene. Destination Guides > Europe & Russia > Europe > Italy > Campania > Inland and southern Campania > Amalfi coast > Positano and Praiano Where to stay  Domina Home Royal Positano * SPECIAL VALUE* 
Average Nightly Rate £65.54. A modern hotel on the rocky Positano coastline and overlooking the sea and surrounded by luxuriant Mediterranean vegetation. The 66 air conditioned guestrooms feature warm pastel colors, tiled floors and modern furnishings. All rooms include satellite television, minibars and balconies. As well as a large outdoor swimming pool and sun terrace with sea views, the hotel has a health and beauty center incorporating a fully equipped gym and a sauna. Guests can relax with a drink or a cocktail in the piano bar and families will appreciate the baby swimming pool, childcare service and play area. The spacious, air conditioned restaurant offers international cuisine and local specialties. Other practical amenities include a 24 hour front desk, nearby pay parking and room service. The hotel is less than a 600 meter stroll from central Positano and other highlights of the Amalfi coast including Amalfi itself, Ravello and Pompei are within 25 kilometers. The nearest airport is Naples, which is 60 kilometers and approximately an hour's drive away. Area Attractions Positano 0 kilometer
Amalfi 8 kilometers
Napoli 60 kilometers
Pompei 25 kilometers. Driving Directions Leaving Naples airport turn right on the first crossroad and take the A3 road in direction of Salerno. Proceed on the motorway until the Castellammare exit and leave the motorway. Then follow the coast road SS163 that leads to Positano.  Casa Angelina * SPECIAL VALUE* 
Average Nightly Rate £192.09. Casa Angelina is a modern hotel in white, situated on the Amalfi Coast, 100 metres from the beach and one kilometre from the centre of Praiano. more... |
