Jane Verdonk
The island of Capri is located off the coast of Naples. Nature is breathtakingly beautiful with a jagged coast, many caves – such as the magnificent Grotta Azzurra – and steep cliffs. In this article we present you the 10 most beautiful places on Capri.
The highest mountain on the island is Monte Solaro (589 m) near Anacapri. The Monte Tiberio is the other mountain (334 m), located on the east side of the island. The island is 7 km long and a maximum of 3 km wide, the surface is 10 square kilometers and approximately 14.000 people live there.
In the summer months, Capri is overrun by tourists. Are you there in high season? Then it is recommended to spend the night on the island. In the evenings and early mornings it is wonderfully quiet, because Capri is mainly visited by day trippers who leave in the evening.
How do you get to Capri?
Ready to discover the most beautiful places of Capri? You can visit the island by ferry from Naples. It is between 50 minutes and 85 minutes, depending on which boat you take. Capri is about 20 minutes by boat from Sorrento on the Amalfi Peninsula.
In the summer months you can also visit the Amalfi Coast to Capri. It is not possible to take a car or scooter to Capri (this is possible in the winter months). Scooters can be rented on the island.
You can easily buy tickets for the crossing online or in the ports. If you are traveling with shipping company SNAV, a nice video will be shown on board with the safety instructions.
A bearded, gray-haired captain, dancing and singing on the foredeck, tells the passengers what to do in an emergency. His words are supported by beautiful flight attendants who dance around him in high heels.
This cutscene is shown continuously, so that you almost hope that the boat hits the rocks and that you will be rescued by a beautiful flight attendant or a good-looking captain…
Once safely on Capri, it's time to explore the island's sights. These are the most beautiful places on Capri that you should not miss.
1.Marina Grande
The boat will take you to Marina Grande, the harbor on the north side of the island. Almost everyone arrives at this port and this is where your exploration of Capri begins. In the harbor you will also find the counters of the buses, the rack railway, the ferries and the tourism office.
There are many taxis and small buses waiting in the harbor to take you to all places of interest on Capri.
2. Capri Town
You can also take the rack railway (funicolare) to Capri town. The rack railway will take you directly to La Piazzetta, the heart of Capri. Piazzetta means 'little square'. The square is indeed only a few square meters and has many terraces.
Famous actors, billionaires, princes and princesses, as well as ordinary people, sit on the terraces. Early in the morning, La Piazzetta (the actual name is Piazza Umberto I) really belongs to the people of Capri.
People come here for work, to read the newspaper and for breakfast of a cappuccino and a cornetto. The symbol of the square is the Clock tower, a small bell tower that stands separate from the Santo Stefano church.
In Capri Town are many luxury shops, small boutiques, restaurants, bars, ice cream parlors and souvenir shops. A typical souvenir of Capri is the Limoncello.
The story goes that Maria Antonia Farace, who owned a lemon and orange grove, first created this drink. The recipe for the limoncello is said to have been taken over by her cousin after the war and became a favorite drink in the bar he opened, until his son Massimo Canale started producing it on a larger scale and registered the brand in 1988.
On the Amalfi coast and in Sorrento, it is also claimed that limoncello originates from there. Danny de Vito, a great lover of caprese limoncello calls this drink "liquid sun."
3. Emperor Tiberius and Villa Jovis
Capri has been loved by the jet set and politicians for centuries. Emperor Augustus (born September 23, 63 BC) already came here and Emperor Tiberius (born November 16, 42 BC) has also lived here for a long time. Villa Jovis (Jupiter's Villa), which was on the eastern tip of the island, was his largest villa.
You can visit the ruins. It is about a 2 km walk from the center of Capri Town. The view from the ruins is beautiful, in the distance you can see Sorrento, the Vesuvius and the Amalfi coast in good weather.
The remains of the Imperial Villa Jovis 
This is what Villa Jovis looked like in better times (source: ArtStation)
From this villa he ruled the Roman Empire (because he disliked the Roman political snake pit and was afraid of attacks). He gave orders to the mainland by means of light signals, which were then passed on to Rome.
Tradition has it that Tiberius held "bunga bunga" parties here, as later emperors would do.
From the rock behind the church he had his opponents, lazy slaves or discarded mistresses, thrown into the sea, this rock is also called the Salto di Tiberio (literally 'leap of Tiberius). These stories were later disputed again.
4. Anacapri
From the port there are many taxis, but also buses that take you to Anacapri bring, the other town on the island. The road to Anacapri is steep and has numerous hairpin bends.
Taxi and bus drivers make many crosses on the route, not because they are concerned about chasms you drive past, but because there is a statue of Mary at almost every bend.
Anacapri is quieter than Capri Town, especially at night, but no less rewarding. you can here Villa San Michele visit a villa built by the architect Axel Munthe, on the remains of a Roman house.
The villa is open to the public. There are Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan and Roman antiquities on display. In the garden with its many Mediterranean plants there is also a sphinx that gazes thoughtfully over the sea. If you touch the back of the sphinx with your hand, you may make a wish.
You can do it too Red House (red house), here the exhibition 'Isola Dipinta' – the painted island – can be seen in combination with images found in the Grotta Azzurra.
Also the church Saint Michael the Archangel is worth seeing, especially the majolica tile floor showing the earthly paradise with Adam and Eve.
Majolica floor in the San Michele Detail of the floor
In Anacapri you can also take the chairlift to the Mount Solaro, the highest mountain on the island. From the top you have a beautiful view of the whole island, the Bay of Naples, the Amalfi Coast and even Calabria.
You can also go up on foot, the walk takes about 1 to 1,5 hours.
5. Grotto Azzura
De Grotto Azzura is undoubtedly Capri's most visited attraction. In the Marina Grande you can take a boat to this cave. Or you can take the bus to Anacapri and take the bus from there to the Grotta Azzurra.
In case of strong wind, waves or high water, the blue cave is closed to visitors. With small rowing boats you enter the cave, which is 25 meters wide and 60 meters long. The entrance is often no higher than a meter, so you have to lie on the bottom of the boat, otherwise you will hit your head. The magical blue light is most beautiful just before noon.
It was not until 1826 that the cave was rediscovered by August Kopisch, a German poet and painter. The inhabitants of Capri believed that the cave was cursed and that if you went inside you would go crazy.
Kopisch was not afraid of this and a good swimmer and decided to swim in. He also found indications that the cave was already known in Roman times, for example he found two statues in the cave that you can now admire in the Casa Rossa.
Above the cave is a nice terrace from which you cannot see the cave, but you can see all the boats that are waiting in front of the cave to be allowed inside.
6. Range Phoenicia
These stairs run from Marina Grande to Anacapri (the end is at Villa San Michele). It is a beautiful walk with beautiful views.
The most beautiful and easiest is to walk from Anacapri to Marina Grande, because then you walk down and you can enjoy the beautiful views. The staircase has 921 steps and is 1,7 km long.
Built long ago by the Greeks, the staircase was the only entrance to Anacapri until 1877.
Halfway up the stairs you will pass an old chapel dedicated to St. Anthony, the patron saint of Anacapri. The chapel is also called the 'sailor's chapel' because sailors used to pray here before performing.
Several large crosses have been carved into the rocks. These stem from the 17de century and served as protection against the evil spirits and against falling rocks, a phenomenon that is known in several places on the island.
Just before Anacapri you walk through the Porta delle Differentenza. This was the door that marked the boundary between Capri Town and Anacapri.
In the time of the plague, the people of Anacapri kept this door closed, hoping to keep this disease out of their town.
7. Giardini di Augusto
De Gardens of Augustus is a beautiful garden with several terraces laid out by Friedrich Alfred Krupp, a German steel producer and the director of the Krupp company.
You have a nice view of the Via Krupp and the stacks. In the garden is a statue of Lenin. In 1908 he also lived on Capri.
8. Through Krupp
From the gardens Krupp had a road built, the Via Krupp. He financed most of the road himself. Construction began in 1900 and was completed in 1902, just before Krupp's death.
Krupp wanted this road to get to the sea more quickly (at Marina Piccola) where his ship was often anchored. This road bridges a height difference of approximately 100 meters and is beautiful to see.
The road was closed in 1976 for safety reasons, reopened in 2008, but is still often closed to the public due to falling rocks.
9. Faraglioni
From the Giardini di Augusto you have a beautiful view of the Faraglioni. The Faraglioni consist of three rocks that rise from the sea.
Each Faraglione has a name: Stella is called the rock that borders the mainland, Faraglione di Mezzo is called the middle rock and Faraglione di Fuori (or Scopolo) is called the third rock.
On this last rock lives the famous blue lizard, this is the only place on earth where this animal lives and according to the stories he guards a treasure hidden here by Tiberius.
The Faraglioni have a height of about 100 meters. The name is probably derived from the Greek headlights which means lighthouse. In ancient times, fires were lit here at night to warn sailors of these rocks.
10. Marina Piccola
Marina Piccola is the southern port of the island with a beautiful beach. Compared to other places on the island, it is always warmer here, because this place is enclosed by steep rock walls.
Even in winter you can relax on the beach (and swim). Here's the famous one Scoglie delle Sirene (rock of the Sirens). According to Greek mythology, this is the place where the Sirens tried to seduce Odysseus with their music.
Would you like to discover the most beautiful places on Capri yourself?
Do you already feel like traveling to this special island in the Gulf of Naples and experiencing all those beautiful places, walking routes, gardens, harbours, beaches and sights for yourself? Want to experience more than the day trippers on Capri? You will not regret a stay on Capri!
And how about this hotel with perhaps the best view in all of Capri?
There is much more beautiful accommodation on Capri, also relatively affordable in the early or late season, for example. Take a look through the hotels and holiday homes on the island.
Here you will find the most beautiful accommodations on Capri.
Frequently Asked Questions about Capric
Yes, Capri is relatively expensive. Many tourists come here from all over the world, all of whom want to buy souvenirs, eat, drink and spend the night on an island of limited size. That drives up prices. It is best to go in the early or late season.
No, you cannot camp on Capri. There are plenty of holiday homes, apartments and hotels, but you have to book them well in advance to be sure of a place on the island. You can also try whether you can sleep on a boat.
Both. The island is called Capri and the capital of Capri is also called Capri. The city is called Città di Capri (Capri City). Capri is part of the province of Naples.
Capri is located off the protruding tip of the Sorrento Peninsula, in the Gulf of Naples and belongs to the province of Naples. Reasonably in the south of Italy, so.
The island measures a maximum of 7 kilometers by a maximum of 3 kilometers. It is approximately 10 km2 in area.
The easiest way to get to Capri is via the ferries that leave several times a day from Naples or Sorrento. You can also rent a private taxi boat, but the costs are of course considerably higher.
Most of the year Capri is closed to cars and motorbikes. It is also not necessary, because you can easily explore the island by public transport, by scooter, bicycle, cog railway or on foot.
It really depends on the season, where you board and whether you take a fast or slow ferry. Count on prices between €20 and more than €70 per person for a one-way ticket. It is a good idea to compare multiple shipping companies and times to get the best price.
Have you ever been to Capri? What are your most beautiful places or sights? Let us know in a comment.
Also watch: the most beautiful islands of Italy.
For more information about Capri: www.capris.com
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