The Campania region marks the start of Southern Italy and the area shows a marked transformation in geography as you cross the palm tree line into the Mezzorgiorno. The area boasts beautiful and unique sites, most notably, incredible Roman ruins and spectacular coastlines.

What makes Campania unique?

The Romans called the area Campania felix or the Happy Land. All within striking distance of vibrant Naples are the Amalfi Coast, arguably the most dramatic and beautiful coastline in Europe, the finest and most revealing Roman sites of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Càpua and the islands of Càpri and Ischia.

A visit to Naples is utterly compelling. Travel by foot, driving to the Neapolitans is not so much a means of transport but more a competitive sport! In any case you would miss much by not walking; it gives you the opportunity to look beyond the graffiti and scaffolding to appreciate the beauty of the city.

From Naples you can travel by Circumvesuviana to Pompeii-Scavi-Villa dei Misteri, right next to the western entrance of Pompeii, a city frozen in time from the AD 79 eruption of Vesuvius until excavations commenced in 1748. A visit to Pompeii will take most of the day and try to combine it with a visit to the Museum in Naples to appreciate the real jewel that it is.

Farther south from the noisy streets of Naples and the dusty heat of Pompeii you can find Sorrento, a cool and peaceful town with lemon groves and beach cafés. A trip from Sorrento to Salerno can be taken by boat or bus both equally exciting! From Salerno, near where the World War II landings of the peninsula first took place, lies Paestum. The English writer George Eliot described the Temple of Neptune at Paestum as “the finest thing, I verily believe, we have seen in Italy”.

Don’t Miss...

1. Museo Archaeologico Nazionale to see all the good stuff missing from Pompeii, followed by a pizza and an ice cream in Centro Storico.
2. A bus ride to Amalfi from Sorrento and a boat trip back to see the Amalfi Coast at its best.
3. Italy’s answer to the Palace of Versailles, the Palazzo Reale at Caserta.
4. The underground section of the 1st Century Amphitheatre at Santa Maria Càpua Vetere, not for the faint hearted.
5. Pompeii or if you do not have the whole day, the summit of Vesuvius followed by a visit to Herculaneum.