Capri, italy
Attractions Guide

Capri is an incredibly scenic and mountainous island located just off of Italy’s Amalfi Coast and the city of Naples. Due to its tiny size, Capri is only accessible by ferry boat, which run very frequently connecting to Naples and Sorrento, as well as the Amalfi Coast towns of Positano, Amalfi, Minori, Maiori, and Cetara.

The island of Capri hosts several beautiful rustic villages, and a stunning coastline with with several sea caves and rocky islands which you can see via boat tours. Capri also hosts many lavish villas, as s well as some great hiking and many viewpoints overlooking the coast from atop the island’s high cliffs.

Capri’s main port is the Marina Grande, where all the ferries to the island arrive. Approaching the island you’ll be able to appreciate the island’s beauty rather quickly.

From Marina Grande you can walk up the hill to the island’s main Piazzetta square, also known as Piaza Umberto I, from which you can enjoy stunningly picturesque views overlooking the coastline from high above. The Piazzetta square is the most urbanized part of the island, and in this area you’ll find many restaurants, cafes, bars, shops, and hotels.

From Piazzetta you can walk/hike along to several incredible viewpoints overlooking the coastline of the southern side of the island (above Marina Piccola). By far the most popular viewpoint and among the top attractions in Capri are the Gardens of Augustus, a lovely clifftop botanical garden offering breathtaking views over the coast and the iconic Faraglioni rock islands.

Belvedere Tragara

From Piazzetta you can walk about 1.2 miles (2km) round-trip to reach the Belvedere Tragara observation deck, another gorgeous viewpoint overlooking the sea from high above, very close to the Faragloni sea rocks. Just below this viewpoint is Via Tragara, a road that you can walk along for many more vantage points along the coast.

Arco Naturale

From Via Tragara you can connect to the pathway of Via del Pizzolungo, which follows along the clifftops above the coast with many more incredible views along the way. Eventually this path connects to the Via Arco Naturale, which concludes at a viewpoint overlooking the stunning Arco Naturale (Natural Arch) formation framed against the ocean in the background.

Continuing along this path from Belvedere Tragara to Arco Naturale is about 0.9 miles (1.4 km), and then another 0.8 miles (1.3 km) to return to Piazzetta Square from Arco Naturale.

Punta Cannone

From Capri’s Piazzetta you can also walk to Via Castello and onto a smaller road, continuing down to the end of the road to reach the Belvedere of Punta Cannone, an observation deck with similar views to the Gardens of Augustus overlooking Marina Piccola and Faraglioni. The walk to reach this viewpoint is about 10-15 minutes each way but also a little tricky to find.

Below the Gardens of Augustus is Capri’s Marina Piccola Beach, which is small but has beautiful vibrant blue waters. Technically the beach is connected to the Gardens by the Via Krupp pathway, however due to the steep cliffs this pathway is always closed due to the danger of falling rocks. Instead you’ll have walk around to reach Marina Piccola, which is about 0.7 miles (1.1 km) away from Piazzetta by walking.

Villa Jovis

Among Capri’s most interesting and oldest attractions is the Villa Jovis (Villa of Jupiter), which was built by the Ancient Roman Emperor Tiberius 2,000 years ago. While the villa is considered to be ruins, much of the structural elements remain and are open for exploration. You can also enjoy scenic views from Villa Jovis looking eastward from Capri towards the Sorrentine Peninsula on the Italian mainland.

The hike from Villa Jovis from Piazzetta is quite steep, with a distance of about 2.7 miles (4.4 km) round-trip.

Vila Lysis

If you hike all the way up to Villa Jovis, you should also strongly consider visiting the nearby Villa Lysis. There is a somewhat hidden primitive trail connecting the two villas, which is sometimes closed. If this is the case, you’ll add about (2 km) to your entire round-trip route from Piazzetta to see both villas.

The Villa Lysis displays a neoclassical architectural style built atop the cliffs high above the coast. Much more impressive than the villa’s interior is the villa’s lovely gardens, which hosts fine statues and a beautiful terrace with white columns offering picturesque views overlooking Marina Grande and the northern side of Capri’s coastline.

Phoenician Steps

Another popular hiking route on Capri is along the Phoenician Steps (or Scala Fenicia) pathway, a long staircase up the side of a mountain which connects Marina Grande to the village of Anacapri. Along this path you can enjoy amazing views overlooking Marina Grande, with views reaching out to the Sorrentine Peninsula of Mainland Italy.

Villa San Michele

At the top of the Venetian Steps in Anacapri is Capri’s most popular villa, the early 20th century Villa San Michele. Inside the Villa San Michele you can admire its lavish furnishings, before walking through its beautiful gardens and admiring one of the most gorgeous views in Capri overlooking the coast and the Italian mainland.

Nearby the Villa San Michele at Piazza Vittoria is the chairlift station which takes visitors up to the top of Monte Solaro mountain, the highest peak on Capri. If you want a rather challenging hike, its also possible to reach Monte Solaro via a steep hiking trail, which takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour each way.

Obviously from the top of Monte Solaro you can enjoy the best views in Capri, with breathtaking panoramic coastal views over Capri reaching far over mainland Italy’s Sorrentine Peninsula.

Hermitage of Santa Maria Cetrella

The most popular trail on Monte Solaro is to the quaint 16th century Hermitage of Santa Maria of Cetrella, which provides even more perspectives overlooking Capri’s incredibly picturesque coastline. The trail to reach the Hermitage is approximately 0.8 miles (1.3 km) one-way from the Monte Solaro Chair Lift Station.

After hiking down a bit from the summit of Monte Solaro you’ll reach a fork in the trail, with one side leading to the Hermitage (right fork) and the other leading back down to Anacapri (left fork). The distance from the Hermitage of Santa Maria of Cetrella to the Villa San Michele is a steep one-way distance of about 1.2 miles (2 km).

Several amazing attractions sit below the tall cliffs of Capri, or just off the island’s coast, including several “grotta” sea caves, and the Faraglioni sea rocks. From Capri’s Marina Grande you can take a boat tour around the island’s entire coastline, which stops at all of Capri’s most beautiful coastal features.

Some of the attractions you can see on Capri look very different and much more beautiful from the ocean, such as the Tiberius’ Leap next to Villa Jovis and the quaint Punta Carena Lighthouse on the island’s southwestern tip.

One of Capri’s most famous attractions are the Faraglioni sea rocks located just off the coast of the island. These highly photogenic and massive rocks tower above the sea, and one even has a natural arch that smaller boats can go through. It’s actually quite difficult to see this Faraglioni arch from Capri, which is one of the main sights along a boat tour around Capri.

One of the Faraglioni is actually connected to Capri with a tiny beach called Da Luigi, which you can hike down to from the Via Tragara road. Adjacent is the La Fontelina beach, which offers great views of the Faraglioni. Both of these beaches are very rocky but also rent out seats for beachgoers.

Grotta Bianca & Grotta Verde

The only way to see the stunning sea caves of Capri is via a boat tour. The Grotta Bianca (White Cave) is quite massive, much taller than any boat that visits it. Below Monte Solaro is the popular Grotta Verde (Green Cave) hosts vivid greenish-blue waters below a small cave that opens up on both sides. Some boat tours even allow tourists to swim in these stunning waters underneath the roof of the cave.

Grotta Azzurra

Capri’s most famous sea cave is the Grotta Azzurra (Blue Cave), which is known for its unreal naturally-illuminated vibrant blue waters. This cave is large however the entrance is very small, and so only very small boats can enter the Blue Cave. Some of the tour boats that encircle Capri Island will have tourists transfer to smaller boats in order to see inside the cave, so make sure yours does.

If you wish to only see the Grotta Azzurra (Blue Cave) by itself, you can head down to the northwestern coastline of Anacapri and take a very short boat tour to see inside the cave. The downside is that the lines for this method of seeing the caves are often quite long. Either way, it’s highly recommended to see Capri’s Blue Cave, as it’s quite an incredible sight.