Capri is a limestone island at the southern tip of the Bay of Naples, about six kilometres long, with two towns: Capri, around the Piazzetta on the saddle in the middle, and Anacapri, higher up to the west under Monte Solaro. Ferries and hydrofoils land at Marina Grande on the north shore; Marina Piccola, on the south side, faces the three rocks of the Faraglioni.
In summer the island receives tens of thousands of day visitors, most of them between late morning and the last boats of the afternoon, so the best of Capri is early, late, or a short walk away from the Piazzetta: the paths to the Arco Naturale and Villa Jovis, the chairlift from Anacapri, and the evening, when the day trippers have gone. The boat trip around the island is on Italy's list.
Ride the single chairlift to the top of Monte Solaro
Seggiovia Monte Solaro, Piazza Vittoria, Anacapri
1 and a half to 2 hoursNo booking needed
Dangle your feet from a single-seat chairlift over gardens and vineyards to Capri's highest point, then look down on the Faraglioni.
What it is
From Piazza Vittoria in Anacapri, a chairlift of single seats lifts you over gardens and vineyards to the summit of Monte Solaro, the island's highest point, in about 13 minutes, with your feet dangling. At the top, the terrace looks down on Capri town, the Faraglioni and, on clear days, across the gulf to the Amalfi Coast.
How to do it
A return costs €15 and one way €12. To combine it with a walk, ride up and walk down past the hermitage of Santa Maria a Cetrella, about 30 minutes from the top, rather than walking up, which takes about an hour.
Good to know
From April to October it runs from 9:15 to 17:00, with the last ride down at 17:30, and later on summer weekends; in February, March, November and December it runs 9:30 to 16:00; it is closed in January.
A doctor's house about 327 metres above the sea, with a cliff-edge pergola and a granite sphinx gazing over the bay.
What it is
The Swedish doctor and writer Axel Munthe built his house on a ledge at the top of the Phoenician Steps in Anacapri, about 327 metres above the sea, and decorated it and its garden with Roman remains found on his land, a story he told in his memoir The Story of San Michele, published in 1929. It now belongs to the Swedish state.
How to do it
Walk through the rooms to the pergola, a long colonnade under climbing plants on the cliff edge, and the terrace with a granite sphinx gazing out over the bay, which the villa dates to about 3,200 years ago. Tickets cost €12, €8 for young people and students, and are free under 12.
Good to know
Hours change by month: 9:00 to 19:00 from June to August, shorter in spring and autumn, 9:30 to 15:00 and closed on Tuesdays in winter, and closed all of February; last entry is 30 minutes before closing.
Time needed
1 to 1 and a half hours
Best time
Opening time, before the tour groups; closed in February
Look down on Via Krupp from the Gardens of Augustus
Giardini di Augusto, Via Matteotti, Capri
45 minutes, 1 hour with Via KruppNo booking needed
Terraced gardens looking south over the Faraglioni, above a footpath of hairpin bends cut into the cliff and dropping to the sea.
What it is
The terraced Gardens of Augustus look south over the Faraglioni and Marina Piccola. Below them hangs Via Krupp, a footpath of hairpin bends cut into the cliff between 1900 and 1902 for the German industrialist Friedrich Krupp, dropping about 100 metres to the sea.
How to do it
The gardens are ten minutes from the Piazzetta, along Via Vittorio Emanuele, Via Federico Serena and Via Matteotti. They open all year, 9:00 to 20:00 from May to mid September and 9:30 to 16:30 in winter, with last entry 15 minutes before closing. Entry costs €2.50, free under 12, on site or online.
Good to know
Via Krupp has been closed for most of the time since 1976 because of falling rocks; it reopened in 2023 and in 2026 opened in April, closed after storms and reopened on 11 October, so check on the day.
Walk up to Tiberius's Villa Jovis on Monte Tiberio
Monte Tiberio, Capri
3 hours with the walkNo booking needed
The largest of Tiberius's twelve island villas, a hilltop of brick terraces and great cisterns with a view over the whole Gulf.
What it is
The Emperor Tiberius ruled the empire mainly from Capri from about AD 27 until his death in 37, and of the twelve villas the historian Tacitus says he built on the island, Villa Jovis, at 334 metres on the eastern headland, was the largest. What remains is a hilltop of brick terraces around the great cisterns that stored rainwater from the roofs, the emperor's guarded private quarters and the base of a watch tower that signalled to the mainland, with a view over the whole Gulf.
How to do it
There is no road: from the Piazzetta it is about an hour on foot, partly uphill, by Via Longano, Via Sopramonte and Via Tiberio. A ticket costs €6, or €12 combined with the Certosa di San Giacomo and Casa Rossa, valid 30 days.
Good to know
It opens 10:00 to 17:00 from March to mid October and 10:00 to 16:00 in winter, last entry 30 minutes before closing.
Walk the Pizzolungo path from the Arco Naturale to the Faraglioni
Via Matermania and Via Pizzolungo, Capri
About 1 and a half hours for the loopFree
Capri's best walk needs no ticket: a limestone arch left by a collapsed cave, cliff-top viewpoints and the terrace above the Faraglioni.
What it is
The best walk on Capri needs no ticket. The Arco Naturale is a limestone arch about 18 metres high, all that is left of a collapsed cave; the Belvedere di Tragara is the terrace above the Faraglioni.
How to do it
From the Piazzetta, follow Via Matermania east for about 40 minutes to the Arco Naturale. From there, a steep stair drops to the Grotta di Matermania, and the Via Pizzolungo path runs south along the cliffs, past viewpoints over the coast, to the Belvedere di Tragara. The whole loop from the centre takes about an hour and a half.
Good to know
It is rated moderate: the path is paved but has hundreds of uneven steps, about 200 between the cave and the arch alone, so wear proper shoes and carry water.
Time needed
About 1 and a half hours for the loop
Best time
Late afternoon, when the Faraglioni catch the light
Swim at Marina Piccola or on the rocks under the Faraglioni
Marina Piccola and the Faraglioni
Half a dayBook ahead
Pebbles, rocks and ladders into deep water, from two small free beaches at Marina Piccola to clubs on platforms below the Faraglioni.
What it is
Swimming on Capri mostly means pebbles, rocks and ladders into deep water. Marina Piccola, on the south side, has two small free beaches next to the church, Marina di Mulo and Marina di Pennauro, and paid clubs such as La Canzone del Mare. Below the Faraglioni, two beach clubs sit on platforms on the rocks: Da Luigi ai Faraglioni and La Fontelina.
How to do it
Get to Marina Piccola by bus from the centre, or walk down Via Mulo. Da Luigi is about 30 minutes' walk downhill from the Piazzetta on Via Faraglioni, with a shuttle boat to Marina Piccola; La Fontelina is reached by the path down from Punta Tragara. Both need booking, and Da Luigi charges about €120 a person for the day.
Good to know
The sun leaves the bay at Marina Piccola around 16:00. Both Faraglioni clubs close from mid October to late April. Do not walk down to them without a reservation.
Climb the 921 Phoenician Steps from the sea to Anacapri
Via Palazzo a Mare, Marina Grande to Anacapri
About 1 hour upFree
Climb 921 ancient steps cut into the cliff from Marina Grande to Anacapri, with the bay opening below you.
What it is
Until the road between Capri and Anacapri was built in 1874, the only way up to Anacapri from the sea was a stair cut into the cliff. Despite the name, the Phoenician Steps are now thought to be Greek work of the 7th or 6th century BC. There are 921 of them, from Marina Grande to the old gate of Anacapri, next to the chapel of San Michele and below Villa San Michele. The stair was restored in 1998, with steel netting against falling rocks.
How to do it
Start by walking about 400 metres west of the port along Via Palazzo a Mare, where a majolica sign marks the foot of the stair. The climb takes about an hour, steep and steady, with the bay opening below you; walk it up rather than down, which is hard on the knees.
Take the funicular to the Piazzetta and stay for the evening
Piazza Umberto I, Capri
An hour, or an eveningNo booking needed
Café tables beside a clock tower in Capri's living room, for an evening aperitivo once the day visitors have gone back to their boats.
What it is
From the ferry quay at Marina Grande, the funicular climbs in a few minutes to Piazza Umberto I, the Piazzetta, a small square of café tables beside a clock tower that is Capri's living room. By day the square is a crossroads of tour groups; from summer 2026 groups are capped at 40 people and guides must use headsets.
How to do it
A single funicular ride costs €2.40, from the ticket office at Marina Grande, in front of the ferry offices, or by card at the turnstiles; the line closes from January to Easter, when a replacement bus runs. Come back in the evening, when the day visitors have gone back to their boats, for an aperitivo at one of the café tables and a walk through the lanes.
Good to know
From April to October the queue at the bottom can be long, so stay on the quay a while or take the bus.
Eat insalata caprese and torta caprese where they got their names
Capri and Anacapri
A long lunchNo booking needed
Capri gives its name to a salad in the colours of the flag and to a dense, flourless cake of almonds and dark chocolate.
What it is
Insalata caprese, tomato, mozzarella and basil in the colours of the flag, is dated by the Naples Chamber of Commerce to the 1920s, when the Futurist writer Marinetti held dinners at the Grand Hotel Quisisana. Torta caprese, a dense, flourless cake of almonds and dark chocolate, has a disputed origin: it is missing from Ada Boni's classic Italian cookbook of 1929, and the tales of who invented it are legends. Limoncello, the lemon liqueur served cold after dinner, is also claimed by Capri, by the family of a guesthouse keeper in the early 1900s, though Sorrento and Amalfi say the same.
How to do it
Order the salad at lunch and the torta with coffee.
Good to know
Have the salad in summer, when the tomatoes are at their best.
Circle Capri by boat, with the Blue Grotto as a bonus
Capri
1 to 3 hours with the Blue Grotto stopBook ahead
Loop around Capri by boat past the Faraglioni rocks, the sea caves and the cliffs below Anacapri that walkers only see from above.
What it is
The classic trip is the giro dell'isola, a loop around the island by boat from Marina Grande, where the ferries from Naples and Sorrento dock. Many tours pause outside the Blue Grotto. Going in means switching to a small rowboat whose oarsman pulls you through an opening so low that you duck down in the boat.
How to do it
The rowboat and cave entrance are paid separately on the spot, and the oarsmen expect a tip, so carry cash. With the grotto, allow one to three hours.
Good to know
The grotto often closes when tides and waves block the entrance, and boats queue to get in, so treat it as a bonus, not the reason to go.
Ferries and faster hydrofoils run all year from Naples, from Molo Beverello and Calata Porta di Massa, and from Sorrento, all landing at Marina Grande. In the warm months there are also boats from Positano and Amalfi. Buy the return for a specific time in summer, and leave margin: sailings are cancelled in rough seas.
Getting around
The funicular climbs from Marina Grande to the Piazzetta for €2.40 a ride; from January to Easter it is closed and a bus replaces it. Small public buses link Marina Grande, Capri, Anacapri and Marina Piccola for €2.50, or €3 bought on board, where cash is not accepted. Otherwise, walk: most paths start from the Piazzetta.
Day trip or stay
A day trip covers the boat around the island and one walk. In must30's view, one or two nights are worth it: the island empties after the last afternoon boats, and the early chairlift, Villa Jovis and the Pizzolungo path are far better before the ferries arrive.
When to go
Easter to October, ideally May, June or September. Many hotels, beach clubs and restaurants close from mid October to late April, and in January the chairlift and Villa San Michele close too. Since summer 2026 the island bans guided groups of more than 40 people and makes groups over 20 use headsets.
Where to base yourself
Capri town, near the Piazzetta, for restaurants and the walks to the Arco Naturale and Villa Jovis. Anacapri is quieter and cheaper, close to the chairlift and Villa San Michele, with buses down to the Blue Grotto.
Questions travellers ask
Is Via Krupp open?
It depends on the week. The path, built between 1900 and 1902 down the cliff below the Gardens of Augustus, has been closed for most of the time since 1976 because of falling rocks. It reopened in 2023, and in 2026 it opened in April, closed after storms and reopened on 11 October after safety checks. Ask at the gardens.
How do you get from Capri to Anacapri?
By the public bus from the Capri bus terminal near the Piazzetta, €2.50 with a ticket bought beforehand or €3 on board by card, or by taxi. Walkers can climb the 921 Phoenician Steps from Marina Grande to Anacapri, which takes about an hour.
Is Capri worth a day trip?
Yes, if you plan it: take an early boat, do the boat trip around the island first, then one walk or the chairlift, and book your return. In must30's view, a night on the island is better, because the crowds leave with the last afternoon boats.
Where can you swim on Capri?
Marina Piccola, on the south side, has two small free beaches next to the church, and the sun leaves the bay around 16:00. Below the Faraglioni, the beach clubs La Fontelina and Da Luigi have platforms on the rocks; book ahead, and note that both close from mid October to late April.
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