A Day Trip to Capri, Capri, Italy

I hadn’t been planning to visit Capri. I had only ever thought of the island as a vast rock rising up from the Bay of Naples, a place for yachts and sunbathers. However, when I saw a boat preparing to leave from Naples, I thought, why not try a day trip to Capri? After all, I reasoned, there must be something of interest to have attracted so many rich and famous people, from the Roman Emperor Tiberius to current day celebrities and politicians.

What I found was somewhere that was undoubtedly popular with tourists, but at the same time a place where it was easy to get off the beaten track. An island with walks, history and magnificent views.

Like most visitors to the island, I headed to the funicular railway as soon as I left the boat at Marina Grande. This took me up the cliff to Capri Town, the main settlement. Here I found the usual bustle of an Italian tourist town: piazzas, churches, cafés and souvenir shops.

However, once I had walked through the narrow streets and alleyways to the back of the town, I found a number of peaceful and pleasant paths. Roads lead out of Capri Town in different directions: there is more to explore on the island than you could manage in a single day. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).