Things to do in Positano

Positano is built vertically. Houses stack up the cliff in tiers of pink, ochre and white, all facing the water. There is barely a flat street in it.

The town on the cliff

Spiaggia Grande is the main beach, grey sand under the church and the boat jetties. Santa Maria Assunta's dome is tiled in majolica. It shows from most of the town above it.

• Via Positanesi d'America. The old path between Spiaggia Grande and the quieter Fornillo beach, cut into the rock.
• Montepertuso and Nocelle. Hamlets above town, reached by road or by the steps locals still use daily.
• Ceramics workshops. Hand-painted tile and pottery, a trade that outlasted the fishing that once fed the town.
• Moda Positano. Loose linen and rope sandals, a resort-wear trade that grew out of the town's 1950s tourist boom.

How the town became famous

Steinbeck wrote up Positano for Harper's Bazaar in 1953. He called it a dream that only becomes real after you leave. Tourism followed within a few years, and a resort-wear trade grew alongside it.

The church bell and the boats below still run on their own clock. Fishing thinned out decades ago. A handful of boats still go out at dawn.

Practical

• Weather. Summer highs run near 28C with the sea around 26C; winters stay mild, rarely below 10C, wetter from November.
• The steps. Nearly everything is stairs; luggage and mobility are the real planning question, not distance.
• Beaches. Spiaggia Grande charges for loungers in season; Fornillo is quieter and cheaper.
• Getting around. The coast road carries one real lane each way; a scooter or your own feet beat a car.
• Money. Ceramics and linen shops expect cash for a discount; cards are fine at full price.